Senior Quality Manager; Aerospace

Overview

Job Title: Senior Quality Manager
Location: Everett, WA
Employment Type: Salaried full-time direct employee
Industry: Aerospace
Compensation: $165K - $185K plus performance bonus, plus sign on bonus to help with relo (if out of region)

The Senior Quality Manager is a hands-on aerospace quality leader responsible for stabilizing, improving, and sustaining a highly compliant Quality Management System (QMS) within a demanding, turnaround manufacturing environment
. This role leads all aspects of quality execution for an overloaded site
, ensuring regulatory compliance, customer confidence, and operational recovery under aggressive delivery and performance constraints.

This position requires deep technical quality expertise
, mastery of aerospace standards (AS9100), and advanced proficiency in ERP management (preferably EPICOR), enabling disciplined execution, data-driven decision-making, and rapid problem resolution. The Senior Quality Manager actively partners with operations and engineering to reduce escapes, stabilize processes, and rebuild a culture of quality accountability while leading and developing inspectors and quality engineers in a high-pressure environment.

Why This Opportunity is Exciting:

Bring your turnaround and Lean expertise to help this plant of an international organization improve its processes and AS9100 compliance. Help the approximate 20 person quality team consisting of 4-6 QEs, supervisor(s) and inspectors grow and prosper. Your contributions helping the organization improve this plant's overall quality system will be rewarded handsomely.

• Lead the compliance to customer specifications in a build to print business.
• Lead and stabilize the site's Quality Management System (QMS) in compliance with AS9100, customer, regulatory, and internal requirements, particularly in a high-risk, high-backlog environment.
• Serve as the site quality authority during a business and operational turnaround
  , prioritizing risk, containment, and recovery actions while balancing short-term containment with long-term system improvements.
• Lead advanced root cause analysis and corrective action execution (8D, RCCA, systemic CAPA) to address chronic quality escapes, rework, scrap, and customer complaints.
• Own quality-related ERP execution within Epicor
  , ensuring accuracy and discipline in nonconformances, corrective actions, inspection records, FAIs, and audit readiness.
• Direct and prepare the site for customer, regulatory, and special process audits (AS9100, customer-specific), ensuring findings are addressed thoroughly and on time.
• Provide hands-on leadership in First Article Inspection (FAI) execution, calibration systems, internal audits, and special process controls to ensure technical rigor and on-time completion.
• Partner closely with Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, and Program Management to manage competing priorities and protect product integrity under schedule pressure
  .
• Establish and lead short-interval quality reviews using data, KPIs, and risk-based prioritization to drive rapid corrective decisions.
• Monitor productivity and cost effectiveness of the Quality function; lead initiatives to reduce scrap, rework, COPQ, and bottlenecks impacting delivery.
• Develop, coach, and hold accountable a Quality team operating in a stressed, fast-changing environment; build bench strength and technical depth.
• Champion a culture of compliance, accountability, and ownership
  , reinforcing that quality is non-negotiable even during recovery situations.
• Ensure full adherence to all company safety, compliance, export control, and standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Acara is a premier recruiting and workforce solutions provider—we help companies compete for talent. With a legacy of experience in various industries worldwide, we partner with clients, listen to their needs, and customize visionary talent solutions that drive desired business outcomes. We leverage decades of experience to deliver contingent staffing, direct placement, executive search, and workforce services worldwide.

What You'll Bring (Requirements):

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality or…