Director, Enterprise Quality Programs

KBR Careers; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Sign on bonus

Relocation benefits

Short term incentives

Long term incentives

Discretionary payments

401K plan with company match

Medical, dental, vision benefits

Job summary

KBR is seeking a Director, Enterprise Quality Programs to lead the strategic quality framework across global operations. You will drive governance, policy, and QMS improvements, working with executive leadership to ensure compliance with ISO 9001, AS9100, and customer requirements.

You will partner with business units and program managers to deploy quality initiatives, mentor quality professionals, and advance continuous improvement while balancing governance with operational flexibility.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in a related field required.
• 12-15+ years of progressive experience in quality management, compliance, or process improvement.
• 7+ years of leadership experience managing quality programs and enterprise initiatives.
• Experience supporting government/defense/aerospace/engineering/technology missions.
• Experience managing enterprise quality systems across multiple units and regions.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the enterprise quality vision, strategy, and operating model.
• Establish enterprise-wide quality goals, governance, and performance expectations.
• Lead design and continual improvement of the corporate QMS.
• Advise executive leadership on quality performance and risk.
• Promote a culture of quality, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Lead enterprise readiness for audits and certifications.
• Direct corrective and preventive action programs.
• Monitor regulatory developments and integrate into processes.
• Partner with business units to deploy quality initiatives and standards.
• Balance standardization with operational flexibility.
• Build stakeholder relationships across matrixed organizations.
• Establish enterprise quality metrics and KPIs; provide actionable insights.
• Drive Lean, Six Sigma, and process optimization efforts.
• Advance process maturity and action effectiveness.
• Integrate quality into enterprise risk management and customer outcomes.

Skills

ISO 9001 knowledge

AS9100 knowledge

CMMI

Regulatory compliance

Risk management

Executive presence

Cross-functional leadership

Leadership

Enterprise QMS

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Quality Management/Business Administration/Industrial Management/Operations Management

Job description

Title

Director, Enterprise Quality Programs

The Enterprise Director of Quality Programs is a strategic enterprise leader responsible for developing, implementing, governing, and continuously improving the organization's global quality management framework across domestic and international operations. This role supports a diverse portfolio of government, defense, aerospace, engineering, technology, and mission support contracts by ensuring quality programs align with business objectives, customer expectations, contractual obligations, and regulatory requirements.

The Director provides leadership to assigned and matrixed quality professionals while partnering with business unit leaders, program managers, functional organizations, and executive leadership to foster a culture of quality, operational excellence, accountability, customer focus, risk-based decision making, and continuous improvement. The successful candidate will establish enterprise quality strategies, policies, governance processes, standards, and performance measures that support compliance with ISO 9001, AS9100, CMMI, customer-specific requirements, and other applicable regulatory frameworks.

This role requires exceptional strategic thinking, executive presence, organizational agility, and cross-functional leadership to influence stakeholders across multiple business units and geographic regions while balancing corporate governance with operational effectiveness.

Trinzic is being established as an independent public company through the planned separation of KBR's Mission Technology Solutions business, which is expected to be completed on January 4, 2027. This role offers a rare opportunity to join the organization during a pivotal period of growth and transformation, helping build and advance enterprise quality, compliance, and continuous improvement capabilities that will position the company for long-term success while serving critical government and commercial missions around the world.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Quality Leadership

• Develop and execute the enterprise quality vision, strategy, roadmap, and operating model in alignment with corporate objectives and growth initiatives.
• Establish enterprise-wide quality goals, governance mechanisms, and performance expectations that support business results and customer success.
• Lead the design, implementation, and continual improvement of the corporate Quality Management System (QMS).
• Serve as the senior advisor to executive leadership on quality performance, compliance risks, process maturity, and organizational effectiveness.
• Promote a culture of quality excellence, accountability, customer-focused decision making, and continuous improvement across the enterprise.

Governance, Compliance & Regulatory Excellence

• Establish and maintain enterprise quality policies, standards, procedures, controls, and governance frameworks.
• Ensure compliance with applicable quality and regulatory requirements, including ISO 9001, AS9100, CMMI, customer-specific standards, government contracting requirements, and applicable international frameworks.
• Lead enterprise readiness activities for certification audits, surveillance audits, recertifications, customer assessments, and regulatory reviews.
• Direct corrective and preventive action programs arising from audits, assessments, customer findings, or internal evaluations.
• Monitor emerging industry standards and regulatory developments and ensure timely integration into enterprise processes and governance structures.

Business Partnership & Operational Integration

• Partner with business unit leadership, program management offices, and functional organizations to deploy enterprise quality initiatives and standards.
• Provide strategic quality leadership and consultation across government and commercial programs.
• Balance enterprise standardization with operational flexibility to support diverse customer and business requirements.
• Build strong stakeholder relationships and influence decision-making across matrixed and geographically dispersed organizations.

Performance Management & Continuous Improvement

• Establish and oversee enterprise quality metrics, dashboards, key performance indicators (KPIs), and leading performance indicators.
• Analyze enterprise quality trends and provide actionable insights to executive leadership.
• Drive data-informed improvement initiatives that enhance operational performance, strengthen compliance, and reduce business risk.
• Champion Lean, Six Sigma, process optimization, and operational excellence methodologies across the organization.
• Advance process maturity, corrective action effectiveness, and enterprise performance improvement initiatives.

Risk Management & Customer Satisfaction

• Integrate quality and compliance principles into enterprise risk management processes.
• Evaluate quality-related risks associated with programs, operations, suppliers, and strategic business initiatives.
• Partner with business leaders to improve customer outcomes, contract performance, and organizational effectiveness.
• Ensure timely resolution of quality concerns and strengthen customer confidence through proactive engagement and governance.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop assigned quality professionals and matrixed teams.
• Build organizational capability through training, coaching, succession planning, and leadership development initiatives.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing work environment.
• Strengthen enterprise quality capability by promoting professional development, knowledge sharing, and continuous learning.

Basic Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality Management, Business Administration, Industrial Management, Operations Management, or a related field.
• 12-15+ years of progressive experience in quality management, compliance, operational excellence, process improvement, or related disciplines.
• 7+ years of leadership experience managing quality programs, teams, and enterprise initiatives within complex, multi-site organizations.
• Demonstrated experience supporting government, defense, aerospace, engineering, technology, or mission-focused organizations.
• Experience managing enterprise quality systems across multiple business units, functions, and geographic regions.
• Proven success leading quality transformation initiatives, compliance programs, audit readiness efforts, and enterprise process improvement initiatives.

Skills & Competencies

• Deep expertise in ISO 9001, AS9100, CMMI, and enterprise quality management systems.
• Strong knowledge of government contracting environments and customer quality requirements.
• Advanced understanding of quality auditing methodologies, root cause analysis, corrective action management, and process governance.
• Expertise in risk management, performance measurement, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence methodologies.
• Demonstrated strategic thinking, executive presence, and ability to influence senior leaders and stakeholders.
• Strong leadership capabilities, including change leadership, team development, coaching, mentoring, and talent management.
• Exceptional cross-functional collaboration, stakeholder engagement, matrix management, conflict resolution, and relationship-building skills.
• Experience utilizing enterprise quality management systems, analytics tools, and performance reporting platforms.
• Strong business acumen, including operational, financial, and customer-focused decision-making capabilities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Quality Management, Operations Management, or a related field.
• ASQ Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE).
• ASQ Certified Quality Auditor (CQA).
• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE).
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt certification.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
• Experience supporting government departments, agencies, intelligence community organizations, or international government customers and contracts.
• Experience leading geographically dispersed quality organizations and enterprise-wide quality programs.
• Familiarity with FAR, DFARS, NIST, and related compliance frameworks.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide process standardization, digital transformation, and business modernization initiatives.

Additional Compensation: KBR may offer bonuses, commissions, or other forms of compensation to certain job titles or levels, per internal policy or contractual designation.

• sign on bonus
• relocation benefits
• short term incentives
• long term incentives
• discretionary payments for exceptional performance

Benefits: KBR offers a selection of competitive lifestyle benefits which could include a 401K plan with company match, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, AD&DD, flexible spending account, disability, paid time off, or flexible work schedule.

• 401K plan with company match
• medical
• dental
• vision
• life insurance
• AD&DD
• flexible spending account
• disability
• paid time off
• flexible work schedule

We support career advancement through professional training and development.

Belong, Connect and Grow at KBR

At KBR, we are passionate about our people and our Zero Harm culture. These inform all that we do and are at the heart of our commitment to, and ongoing journey toward being a People First company. That commitment is central to our team of team’s philosophy and foster an environment where everyone can Belong, Connect and Grow. We Deliver – Together.

KBR is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

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