Lead Design Quality Assurance Engineer

JAM Recruitment Ltd; Welwyn; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

JAM Recruitment Ltd seeks a Lead Design Quality Engineer to ensure product designs meet safety, regulatory and customer requirements before production. You will drive risk mitigation, airworthiness compliance, and DOH-aligned processes across the DEV lifecycle.

In this senior role you will plan and deliver design assurance oversight, engage with EASA/CAA and internal teams, and lead RCCA/FRACA activities to sustain improvement and prevent in-service failures.

Qualifications

• APQP expertise and demonstrated proficiency in PPAP, FMEA and MSA.
• RCCA/FRACA problem solving with a structured approach.
• Experience with process excellence and design quality controls in aerospace.

Responsibilities

• Define strategy for design quality and KPI reporting for shared product platform.
• Lead design reviews (PDR/CDR) and DEV stages to embed quality, safety and producibility.
• Oversee DFMEA/PFMEA and DOH/airworthiness compliance with EASA/CAA Part 21J.
• Coordinate NCR closure, audits with EASA/CAA/ISO9001/AS9100 and root-cause analysis.

Skills

APQP

RCCA

FMEA

Six Sigma

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace/engineering

Job description

Lead Design Quality Engineer

Pitstone, Hertfordshire – Inside IR35 – 12 months contract

You will ensure that engineering designs meet safety, regulatory (EASA, CAA) and customer requirements before production commences, focusing on risk mitigation and process compliance, and engage effectively with all involved regulatory bodies.

The role is a senior engineer responsible for planning and delivery of design assurance oversight in line with Part 21J airworthiness requirements and Design Organization Handbook (DOH) requirements applicable to the customer products, responsible for achieving 100% compliance with airworthiness. You will engage with heads of production, engineering, configuration and support functions, defining strategy for defect prevention, root cause analysis and continuous improvement across the full product development lifecycle.

Responsibilities

• Strategy definition and KPI reporting for all customers on shared product platform.
• Plan created to measure how design change and technical documentation for product continued airworthiness meet EASA/CAA Part 21J airworthiness and customer requirements, and communicate KPI.
• Leading design reviews PDR/ CDR and all stages of DEV program to integrate quality, safety and producibility into initial design and decide additional resources where required.
• Leading technical documentation reviewed and validated to confirm design performance.
• Leading and facilitating root cause corrective actions (RCCA), failure reporting and corrective actions (FRACA) analysis & practical problem‑solving activities with corrective action sustainment monitoring in place to prevent in‑service failures.
• Strategy for APQP tools deployed for NPI created and deployed.
• Leading DFMEA/ PFMEA, Quality champion during DEV process stages for FMEA update.
• Customer, EASA, CAA, ISO9001 and AS9100 requirements and audits supported with NCR closeout oversight and follow‑on sessions implemented.
• Audit design methodologies and software tools to ensure conformity to AS9100.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace, science, or engineering highly desirable.
• Min 5 years’ experience in aerospace industry or equivalent at engineering, design & development, or quality positions.
• Proficiency in ISO9001, AS9100 QMS standards deployment and implementation.
• Previous experience working with EASA/CAA Part 21J.
• Experience in internal and external audit and auditing techniques; lead auditor trained preferred.
• APQP Specialist with demonstrated proficiency in PPAP, FMEA and MSA.
• Problem solving skills: 8D, RCCA, FRACA with Six Sigma DMAIC Black Belt desired.
• Configuration and data management experience.
• Ability to interpret and explain engineering drawings, CAD models and technical specifications.