Director of Engineering & Quality

JOB TITLE: Director of Engineering & Quality

REPORTS TO: VP of Operations

FLSA STATUS: Exempt

SHIFT: Days – Monday through Friday

The Director of Engineering & Quality provides senior-level technical leadership and regulatory oversight for Pacific Aero Tech’s Engineering, PMA, Technical Data, and Quality functions within an FAA Part 145 and EASA-regulated aerospace MRO and manufacturing environment.

This role is engineering-forward, with primary accountability for PMA strategy and execution, repair development, technical data approval, and FAA-facing engineering deliverables, while ensuring the Quality Management System (QMS) supports compliant, repeatable, and scalable operations.

The Director owns the integrity of all engineering outputs—including repair specifications, PMA artifacts, drawings, analyses, test data, and conformity—while serving as the primary FAA interface for engineering, PMA, and quality matters. This position partners closely with DERs, Operations, and executive leadership to advance new product development, repair capability expansion, and long-term regulatory readiness.

The Director of Engineering & Quality models and promotes PAT’s Core Values of Quality, Integrity, Respect, Excellence, and Resourcefulness, and is expected to:

• Lead with technical credibility and regulatory confidence
• Establish clear ownership of engineering deliverables and timelines
• Drive accountability for PMA, repair development, and compliance outcomes
• Build strong, disciplined engineering and quality teams capable of supporting growth

• Lead all engineering, PMA, and repair development activities, from concept through FAA approval and production release.
• Own the PMA lifecycle, including project selection, FAA coordination, conformity planning, test strategy, compliance documentation, and ongoing support.
• Oversee the creation, review, and approval of engineering drawings, analyses, repair specifications, DER-approved data, and technical substantiation packages.
• Ensure all engineering data complies with FAA, EASA, customer, and internal requirements and is usable, clear, and production-ready.
• Serve as the primary technical authority for engineering deviations, waivers, and non-standard repairs.
• Coordinate closely with DERs and FAA engineers to support new and existing repair approvals and PMA articles.
• Lead engineering investigations related to tooling equivalency, material qualification, first-article failures, in-process discrepancies, and customer returns.
• Establish engineering standards, templates, and controls to ensure consistency, traceability, and audit readiness.
• Drive engineering input into training program updates resulting from new repairs, PMA approvals, or process changes.

• Maintain executive ownership of PAT’s Quality Management System (QMS) in compliance with FAA Part 145, EASA, and AS9100/AS9110 principles.
• Serve as or oversee the Chief Inspector function, ensuring compliant inspection, documentation, release authority, and audit performance.
• Act as the primary point of contact during FAA and EASA audits, surveillance, and conformity activities.
• Oversee OpSpec changes, OE Manual updates, and regulatory submission(s) tied to engineering and PMA activities.
• Ensure timely and effective RCCA for engineering- and quality-related issues, audit findings, and customer complaints.

• Lead structured engineering problem-solving using RCCA, FMEA, SPC, statistical analysis, and failure analysis techniques.
• Establish data-driven metrics to track engineering throughput, PMA cycle time, defect escape rates, and technical data quality.
• Drive standardization and process stability across engineering and inspection functions.
• Mentor engineering and quality leaders to strengthen technical depth, decision-making, and regulatory confidence.

• Partner with Production, Supply Chain, Facilities, and Executive Leadership on capacity planning, repair prioritization, PMA strategy, and growth initiatives.
• Provid…