Quality Manager

Eleven Recruiting is searching for a Quality Manager to build and lead the quality function at a growing aerospace and defense manufacturer in Southern Utah. This is a build‑it‑from‑the‑ground‑up role: the primary mandate is to stand up an AS9100 Quality Management System and carry it through certification, while serving as the site’s hands‑on technical quality authority — reviewing CAD drawings and dimensions, owning First Article Inspection Reports, and interfacing with DCMA.

Once that foundation is in place, this person defines, hires, and leads the quality team as the function scales. This is a hands‑on opportunity in a small‑company environment for someone who wants to own quality end to end.

• Stand up the site’s AS9100 Quality Management System and drive it through certification — building the procedures, document control, internal audit program, corrective action process, and management review cadence from the ground up.
• Serve as the primary interface for DCMA, leading audit preparation and response, and managing government source inspection requirements across programs.
• Review CAD drawings and dimensional requirements for correctness, manufacturability, and inspectability.
• Own First Article Inspection Reports (FAIRs) per AS9102, including preparation, review, and customer submittal.
• Oversee nonconformance management, Material Review Board (MRB) activity, root cause analysis, and corrective action.
• Partner with Manufacturing on process control, inspection effectiveness, process capability, control plans, and production readiness.
• Partner with Engineering on design reviews, risk assessments, configuration management, and design change control.
• Ensure compliance with customer, regulatory, and contractual quality requirements, and serve as the primary interface for customer and third‑party audits.
• Manage supplier quality activities, including requirement flow‑down, supplier qualification, performance monitoring, and corrective actions.
• Mitigate supplier risk to ensure purchased material meets all technical and quality requirements.
• Define, hire, and develop the site’s quality team as the function scales, establishing roles and resourcing based on risk, complexity, and customer requirements.
• Use data‑driven analysis to identify improvement opportunities and reduce the cost of poor quality.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Chemistry, Quality, Manufacturing, or a related technical field.
• 8+ years of quality experience in aerospace or defense manufacturing.
• Demonstrated experience standing up an AS9100 Quality Management System and carrying it through certification.
• Direct experience with DCMA, including DCMA audits and government source inspection.
• Hands‑on experience preparing and owning First Article Inspection Reports (FAIRs) per AS9102.
• Ability to read and review CAD drawings and dimensional requirements; expert knowledge of GD&T.
• Expert knowledge of AS9100 requirements and Statistical Process Control (SPC) implementation.
• Experience supporting both design and manufacturing in a defense environment.
• Ability and willingness to be hands‑on in a small‑company setting.

• Experience with energetics, propulsion, or solid rocket motor components.
• Experience building and scaling a quality team from the ground up.
• Experience managing supplier quality across a distributed supply base.
• Experience transitioning products from development into full‑rate production.
• ASQ certification — CQE, CQM/OE, or CQA.