Sr. Quality Assurance Engineer

Chandler, AZ, United States Job Overview Pac Sci  EMC is seeking two Senior Quality Assurance Engineers to strengthen quality performance in our aerospace and defense manufacturing operations. Each engineer will take independent ownership of manufacturing quality in assigned areas while serving as a quality partner to major customer programs and supporting supplier issues. These visible roles call for sound technical judgment, data-driven problem solving, strong relationships and the ability to mentor others as our quality processes continue to evolve.

Essential Functions
• Own manufacturing quality for assigned areas, working directly with Operations, Engineering and integrated product teams to resolve product and process issues and improve first-pass yield.
• Analyze production and quality data, identify trends and systemic risks, and drive action to reduce nonconformances, recurring defects and corrective-action backlog.
• Lead investigations, root cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions; use a structured method appropriate to the issue and follow actions through to verified resolution.
• Review engineering requirements, configuration and revisions, manufacturing and acceptance plans, inspection methods and quality records to support alignment with design intent, statements of work and customer requirements.
• Develop and improve manufacturing process validation, control plans, inspection instructions and quality-system documentation; support first article activities, including AS9102 requirements.
• Serve as a quality interface for assigned aerospace and defense customer programs, communicating risks, quality performance and corrective-action status professionally and clearly.
• Review proposals, statements of work and customer requirements with Program Management and cross-functional partners to identify quality and compliance risks early.
• Coordinate quality issues across manufacturing, customer programs, Procurement, Planning, Strategic Sourcing and suppliers, maintaining ownership until resolution.
• Support supplier quality requirements, flow-downs and issue resolution, including occasional supplier visits when needed.
• Make well-supported quality decisions independently; seek peer review or escalate material risks with a clear assessment and recommended path forward.
• Mentor and coach team members through technical problem solving, sound documentation and consistent follow-through; help strengthen proactive quality practices.
• Build effective relationships from the production floor through engineering, customer teams and leadership; influence decisions without direct authority and contribute to continuous improvement.

Education and Experience
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline required; manufacturing engineering, electrical engineering and chemistry backgrounds are especially relevant. A master’s degree is a plus.
• Five or more years of hands-on Quality Engineering experience required; ten or more years preferred. Strong ownership, judgment and relevant results can distinguish an exceptional candidate with fewer than ten years.
• Aerospace and defense quality experience strongly preferred. Experience in other highly regulated, high-volume manufacturing environments may be considered when the candidate meets the core quality engineering and AS9100 requirements.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Demonstrated hands-on manufacturing quality engineering ownership and experience supporting customer or program quality activities. Prior direct customer interaction is valuable, but candidates with strong transferable communication and program experience will be considered.
• Strong working knowledge of manufacturing process validation, control plans,…