Senior Quality Engineer

Senior Quality Engineer

This position reports directly to the Quality Engineering Manager. The Quality Assurance Engineer candidate will develop and execute the Program Plan and lead quality improvement activities in targeted areas of the organization in support of the business plan. The role provides quality assurance support to internal and external customers, suppliers, and DMT partners, executing the organization’s Quality Assurance strategy to ensure continuous production of products that meet customer requirements, government regulations, and established industry standards.

The Quality Assurance Engineer is responsible for providing quality assurance support to customers, suppliers, partners, and targeted departments of the organization.

• Quality Planning & Compliance
  • Develop and implement Quality Assurance plans, review and approve all drawings, specifications, and manufacturing operation documents to translate engineering and system-level functional requirements into inspection requirements for inspectors.
  • Lead and manage Quality Assurance requirements – including all contractual flow-downs on contractual products in support of manufacturing, procurement, test, and customer returns.
  • Ensure compliance with industry standards (e.g., AS9100).
  • Monitor compliance with contractual requirements and documented procedures, and assure compliance of deliverable end items. Report progress regularly and recommend recovery or mitigation plans to Quality and Program management.
  • Participate in all aspects of product development (project reviews, design verification, and risk assessments) and serve as the primary interface with DCMA and customer quality representatives.
• Manufacturing & Assembly Support
  • Monitor and audit fabrication, assembly, and integration processes to verify adherence to specifications and cleanliness standards.
  • Apply SPC as necessary to analyze product and process performance, recommending and implementing improvements in targeted areas. Continuously evaluate program process capability, control plans, and audits to improve process performance and capability.
  • Test and Validation Oversight.
  • Support environmental, vibration, and thermal vacuum testing to ensure system integrity.
  • Review test data and conduct root cause analysis on anomalies or non-conformances.
• Supplier & Material Quality
  • Evaluate and qualify suppliers of optical, structural, and electronic components.
  • Must be able and willing to travel as required.
  • Perform incoming inspection and quality control of high-precision components (e.g., optics, coatings, hardware).
• Documentation & Reporting
  • Generate quality documentation including inspection reports, nonconformance reports, first article inspection reports, and final acceptance documentation.
  • Maintain traceability from raw material to final assembly, in line with configuration management and flight certification requirements.
  • Facilitate Material Review Board (MRB) functions and disposition of all non-conformances as chair of the MRB team, including dimensional, performance, cosmetic, and workmanship issues.

Required:

• BS in engineering, physics, or optical sciences.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in Quality Assurance Engineering.
• Working knowledge and experience:
  • Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing.
  • AS9100 and ISO 9001, and other industry-specific standards and regulations.
  • Supporting optical, mechanical, and electrical products in a manufacturing environment.
  • Utilizing metrology equipment (CMM, autocollimators, interferometers, measuring scopes).
  • Preparing inspection and manufacturing operation instructions.
  • Cost of Quality and Cost of Non-Conformance; using metrics and trends to identify improvement opportunities and waste reduction.
  • Configuration management tools (Windchill, Teamcenter) and ERP systems.
• Analytical problem-solving skills – understands problem-solving methods (8D, root cause analysis, Fishbone, Sologic, 5 Why) and associated statistical tools used to analyze problems; can solve typical-scoped problems.
• Excellent team player, interacts well with other technical departments (Receiving Inspection, Manufacturing Engineering, and Design Engineering).

Desired:

• Prior…