UAS Regulatory & Quality Compliance Officer; FAA

Description

The Regulatory & Quality Compliance Officer (FAA) provides leadership over quality systems, regulatory alignment, and product conformity across UAS design, manufacturing, and operations. This role establishes policies, metrics, and escalation pathways that protect safety, reliability, and regulatory standing as the company scales production and fielded fleets. You will accomplish this work from our assembly shop in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Central UAS Technologies, a vertical of Central Life Sciences, is dedicated to the creation of uncrewed aerial systems that have a direct positive impact on public health, quality of life, and innovative technologies for the agricultural industry. The company helps reduce the spread of vector‑borne disease and limits chemicals or emissions released into the environment.

This position does not sponsor visas.

• Own the overall quality management system, including internal audits, external assessments, and certification efforts.
• Define quality objectives, KPIs, and review cadences that keep leadership informed and drive continuous improvement across production, R&D, procurement, and flight operations.

• Ensure design, production, and documentation practices remain aligned with applicable FAA guidance and relevant quality standards.
• Work with Compliance and Documentation staff; maintain audit‑ready records, clear configuration baselines, and robust controls around changes that may impact airworthiness and safety.

• Act as the primary escalation point for significant quality and compliance risks, including systemic defects, major field issues, or inspection findings.
• Coordinate with Manufacturing, R&D, Flight Ops, and Procurement to prioritize and resolve cross‑functional issues that affect product quality, delivery reliability, or regulatory posture.

• Oversee initiatives to reduce scrap, rework, and warranty burden while improving throughput and consistency.
• Support deployment of practical, data‑driven improvement methods, mentoring Quality and Manufacturing staff to use structured problem‑solving and metrics to guide decisions.

• Provide direction and coaching to the Quality & Compliance team, including Quality Engineers, Coordinators, Warranty staff, and Compliance Specialists.
• Ensure that responsibilities, authorities, and reporting lines are clear, and that the quality organization can scale to support increasing production volume and product complexity.

• Strong understanding of FAA regulatory expectations and quality system requirements for UAS operations and manufacturing.
• Prior knowledge of UAS‑specific compliance, including NDAA, Green List, and Blue List regulations, as well as familiarity with UAS certifications and FAA licensing requirements.
• Ability to enforce quality standards while maintaining effective cross‑functional relationships.
• Experience with internal audits, corrective action tracking, and controlled document systems.
• Ability to interpret quality data, identify trends, and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Familiarity with configuration control, traceability, and release documentation.
• Strong communication and leadership skills across Manufacturing, R&D, Flight Operations, Procurement, and Leadership teams.
• Experience supporting or leading compliance reviews, audits, or certification readiness activities.
• Experience in aerospace, aviation, or regulated technical environments preferred.

• Bachelor’s degree in Quality, Engineering, Aviation, Regulatory Affairs, Operations, or related field; equivalent experience may be considered.
• 5+ years of experience in quality, compliance, manufacturing quality, or regulated operations.
• Experience in aerospace, aviation, UAS, or another highly regulated environment preferred.
• Demonstrated experience with root cause analysis, corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), and process improvement.
• Working knowledge of audit preparation, inspection response, and quality management…