Quality Manager

SYOS Aerospace; Fareham; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

SYOS is seeking a hands-on Quality Manager to establish and lead the quality function at its new UK production facility in Fareham. You will build the site quality system from the ground up across harness manufacture and assembly, reporting to the Head of Quality in New Zealand.

Collaborating with NZ engineering and quality teams, you will convert the NPI handover into a practical, production-ready quality framework, and eventually build and lead the quality team to embed quality across all

Qualifications

• Hands-on production quality experience in a complex manufacturing environment.
• Experience building a quality function or system from the ground up.
• Strong working knowledge of ISO 9001:2015 and audit cycles.
• Demonstrated PFMEA experience and linking PFMEAs to Control Plans.
• Experience managing quality across multiple production streams or complex activities.
• Hands-on experience with FAI, PPAP, calibration management, NCR and CAPA processes.
• Proven people leadership including recruiting, training and development.

Responsibilities

• Review the NPI handover package from NZ and identify requirements to make the package production ready.
• Own the PFMEA reviews and ensure controls are linked to the Control Plan.
• Establish the site QMS aligned with ISO 9001 and own quality controls for harness manufacture and assembly.
• Define and implement the site's quality infrastructure, records, inspection processes, calibration registers, NCR, and traceability systems.
• Lead recruitment, onboarding and development of the quality team as the factory scales.
• Oversee NCR management and CAPA, and drive supplier quality improvement with QE support.
• Obtain and maintain ISO 9001:2015 certification and progress towards AS9100.

Skills

Quality management

PFMEA

ISO 9001

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Audit experience

Problem solving

NPI to production

Tools

CMM

Job description

About SYOS

SYOS designs and manufactures advanced uncrewed systems across air, land, sea, and subsurface domains. We combine intelligent engineering, AI-driven autonomy, and innovative design to create next-generation vehicles operating in some of the world's most challenging environments. Our mission is to extend human capability, protect people, and deliver operational advantage through accessible, scalable, and intelligent autonomous technology. Join a team of engineers, builders, and innovators pushing boundaries and solving real-world challenges across robotics, aerospace, and autonomy.

About The Role

This is an opportunity to build something from the ground up.

As Quality Manager, you will lead the quality function at SYOS's new UK production facility, reporting to the Head of Quality in New Zealand. You will establish the site's quality system from scratch across wire harness manufacture, full product assembly, and any additional in-house production streams required by the final product architecture.

Working closely with the NZ engineering and quality teams, you will take the NPI handover package and turn it into a practical, production-ready quality system. As the facility grows, you will also build and lead the quality team, ensuring quality is embedded into every stage of production.

This is a hands‑on role for someone who enjoys building systems, solving problems on the shop floor, and making things happen in a fast-moving manufacturing environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Review the NPI handover package from NZ, including DFMEA, preliminary PFMEA, Control Plan, FAI plan, supplier quality requirements, assembly sequences, and open issues, and identify what is required to make the package production ready.
• Confirm the CDR Allocated Baseline, FCA/PCA, and MBOM-to-EBOM alignment before production begins.
• Own the open issues register through to closure ahead of the Production Trial Run (PTR).
• Facilitate PFMEA reviews for each production stream, challenging ratings and ensuring PFMEA controls are appropriately linked to the Control Plan.
• Author and approve Control Plans across all production streams and acceptance testing, ensuring traceability to PFMEA detection controls.
• Establish the site QMS from the ground up, aligned with SYOS's global ISO 9001 QMS structure and relevant SOPs and own quality hold points and stream‑specific quality controls across harness manufacture, product assembly, and any additional production streams.
• Implement the site's quality infrastructure, including records, inspection processes, calibration registers, Special Process Register, NCR processes, incoming goods inspection, and traceability systems.
• Define the quality team structure as the factory scales, including recruitment, onboarding, training, and development and oversee harness quality requirements including crimping, pull testing, and continuity testing in accordance with IPC/WHMA-A-620.
• Execute First Article Inspection (FAI) for new parts and own the PPAP process end-to-end, including supplier submissions, capability data, registers, and exceptions.
• Lead the Production Trial Run in collaboration with Production and Manufacturing Engineering.
• Own site NCR management and CAPA, while working with the Supplier Quality Engineer to oversee supplier quality standards and corrective actions.
• Obtain and maintain ISO 9001:2015 certification and support the site's progression towards AS9100.

What You'll Bring

• Hands‑on production quality experience within a complex assembly or manufacturing environment, including experience with shop‑floor quality, hold points, build records, and NCRs.
• Experience establishing a quality function or system from the ground up, including Control Plans, PFMEA, inspection processes, and special process qualification.
• Strong working knowledge of ISO 9001:2015 and practical experience with audit cycles and implementation.
• Demonstrated PFMEA experience, with the ability to develop, challenge, and link production PFMEAs to Control Plans.
• Experience managing quality across multiple production streams or complex manufacturing activities.
• Hands‑on experience with FAI, PPAP, calibration management, NCR and CAPA processes.
• Proven people leadership experience, including recruiting, training, and developing quality team members.
• A self‑starter mindset — you're comfortable building systems, solving problems, and taking ownership without waiting for someone else to provide the answer.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to work effectively across functions and influence without formal authority.

Nice to Have

• Experience within aerospace, defence, aviation, or uncrewed systems manufacturing.
• Familiarity with AS9100 and/or AQAP‑2110.
• Experience working to IPC/WHMA‑A-620 standards and/or CMM operation.
• Experience with engine or complex mechanical assembly quality.
• Experience receiving an NPI handover package and translating it into a production‑ready quality system.
• Production Trial Run or new production line qualification experience.
• CQI, CQE, or equivalent quality qualification.

Why SYOS?

You'll be joining SYOS at an exciting stage of its growth, with the opportunity to establish the quality function for a new UK production facility and directly influence how products are built, tested, and released.

This is more than maintaining an existing quality system — you'll build it, lead it, and help shape the standards that underpin the next generation of autonomous systems.