Director of Quality

San Diego, CA
• Quality
• In office
• Full-time

Firestorm Labs is seeking an experienced and strategic Director of Quality to join our growing team in San Diego. At Firestorm Labs, we are building the future of distributed, mission-adaptive airpower for the modern warfighter. In your leadership position you will be responsible for setting the vision, strategy, and standards for quality across the entire product lifecycle, from supplier to customer delivery.

You will build and own Firestorm's quality management system, lead the company to AS9100 compliance and certification, and grow the quality team from a small core into Quality Engineering, Supplier Quality, and Inspection functions. You will also scale quality systems to support rapid production growth across our products and sites worldwide, serve as the primary quality interface with defense customers and auditors, and build a culture where quality is owned by every team.

In addition, you will report to the VP of Manufacturing while quality processes and systems are being established, and will lead an independent quality organization ahead of AS9100 certification.

• Quality strategy and leadership:
  This is the core of the role. You'll define the quality vision, objectives, and roadmap for Firestorm, and align quality priorities with production ramp, program commitments, and business growth.
• Team building:
  Lead, hire, and develop the quality organization, including Quality Engineering, Supplier Quality, and Inspection, with clear expectations and a path for growth.
• QMS and AS9100:
  Own Firestorm's path to AS9100 in its entirety. Build a quality management system that serves all of Firestorm worldwide, reach AS9100 compliance within your first 90 days, and lead the company through certification. This includes document control, internal audits, management review, and certification audits.
• Supplier quality strategy:
  Set the standards for supplier selection, qualification, audits, and performance monitoring, and ensure suppliers are held accountable through corrective action and scorecards.
• Corrective action system:
  Own a closed-loop NCMR, MRB, and RCCA process, ensuring root causes are verified and corrective actions are effective before closure.
• Quality by design:
  Partner with engineering, NPI, and manufacturing to ensure quality is designed in, not inspected in, through APQP, PFMEA, control plans, first article inspection, and ECO implementation.
• Customer and regulatory interface:
  Serve as the primary quality point of contact for customers, government representatives, and third‑party auditors, and ensure compliance with contractual, flow-down, and regulatory agency requirements across our production and flight test locations.
• Metrics and reporting:
  Define the quality KPIs that matter (DPPM, first pass yield, cost of poor quality, CAR closure), and report performance and risk to executive leadership.
• Measurement systems:
  Ensure inspection, calibration, and measurement systems (MSA, gage R&R) keep pace with production ramp and an evolving product line.
• Continuous improvement:
  Drive continuous improvement and a culture of quality ownership across Operations, Supply Chain, and Engineering.
• Audits and inspections:
  Lead customer source inspections, certification audits, and regulatory audits.
• Perform other duties as needed.

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Industrial, Aerospace, Manufacturing, or related discipline). In lieu of a degree, 20 years of progressive experience in discipline.
• 'U.S. Person' as defined by 22 CFR § 120.62 required due to ITAR regulations, which includes U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (Green Card holders), or protected individuals under asylee or…