Quality Engineer

Firehawk Aerospace is a leading propulsion-focused aerospace and defense company located in Addison, TX. Our innovative approach empowers us to design and manufacture cutting‑edge solid and hybrid rocket motors and engines. We aim to push the boundaries of propulsion technology to serve both commercial and defense sectors.

This position will be full‑time located at our Crawford, MS, facility with occasional travel potentially required (approximately 10%).

Firehawk Aerospace is seeking a highly qualified Quality Engineer responsible for establishing and executing quality assurance in compliance with AS9100 at our Crawford, MS facility. This role supports cross‑functional teams to establish robust production controls, validate manufacturing processes, mitigate risk, and ensure product conformity to customer and regulatory requirements.

The ideal candidate has experience in aerospace manufacturing environments and has supported programs through New Product Introduction (NPI) into stabilized production, driving continuous improvement throughout to deliver strategic value and profitable growth for the business.

• Collaborate with program management, supplier quality, manufacturing, and engineering to ensure manufacturing activities are performed in compliance with the Firehawk Quality Management System.
• Support Production Readiness Reviews (PRR), perform First Article Inspections (FAI) in accordance with AS9102, and prepare physical configuration audits (PCA).
• Develop and maintain quality procedures, work instructions, and process documentation aligned with production readiness.
• Develop control plans, PFMEAs, and inspection plans for production readiness.
• Validate process capability and support process qualification activities.
• Identify risks during scale‑up and implement mitigation strategies.
• Engage the customer quality representative to ensure compliance with contractual requirements.
• Work collaboratively with Firehawk supplier quality in the effective resolution of supplier issues affecting manufacturing.
• Serve as the site quality representative for external AS9100 and customer audits.
• Establish and maintain the site quality audit program and FOD prevention program.
• Manage the site calibration and material shelf‑life programs.
• Investigate internal and external quality issues and lead the cross‑functional Material Review Board to determine root cause, drive timely resolutions, and implement effective corrective and preventative actions.
• Drive quality improvements through variation reduction with process controls, defined quality defect criteria, clear and accurate manufacturing work instructions, effective training, and creative and innovative human error elimination tools.
• Work with manufacturing engineering to optimize processes, including automation of manufacturing and in‑process and final quality inspection methods, to reduce Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ) and ergonomic safety risks for manufacturing and quality control employees.
• Prepare and submit certification books and Ammo Data Cards for production lots.
• Generate quality alerts to heighten employee awareness of internal or external quality concerns.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field with a minimum of 5 years of experience in quality assurance within defense or aerospace manufacturing.
• Working knowledge of AS9100 quality management systems and AS9102 First Article Inspection requirements.
• Experience in New Product Introduction (NPI) with transition from development to full‑rate production.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking capabilities, sound judgment coupled with effective decision‑making skills and attention to detail, and a passion for problem solving and continuous improvement.
• Working knowledge of statistics, with particular emphasis on process control, sample selection, and measurement systems.
• Ability to drive root cause analysis and corrective actions in a cross‑functional team environment utilizing Lean methodologies.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks and projects simultaneously while delivering results in a high‑paced environment.
• Strong…