Field Quality Engineer – Aerospace & Defense

Telemetry Today LLC; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 117,000 - 154,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA, seeks a Product Quality Engineer to ensure manufactured products meet specifications from initial production through field deployment and sustainment. This role emphasizes hands-on field inspections, root cause investigations, and driving corrective actions that bridge factory and field performance.

You will lead production quality activities, develop and maintain inspection plans, perform FAI and in-process tests, analyze defect data, and collaborate with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Industrial, Aerospace, Manufacturing, or related discipline).
• Minimum 5 years of progressive experience in a product quality, quality engineering, or quality assurance role within a manufacturing or production environment.
• Experience conducting quality activities in field or operational environments—not solely factory-based.
• Working knowledge of 8D, 5-Why, Ishikawa and statistical quality tools (SPC, Pareto, capability analysis).
• Familiarity with quality management system standards (AS9100, ISO 9001, or equivalent).
• Proficiency in reading and interpreting engineering drawings, GD&T, and technical specifications.
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 30%.

Responsibilities

• Lead production quality inspections and acceptance activities.
• Develop, maintain, and improve inspection plans, quality control procedures, and acceptance criteria aligned with engineering drawings and specifications.
• Conduct first article inspections (FAI), in-process inspections, and final acceptance testing; document results and disposition nonconforming material.
• Analyze production quality data (defect rates, yield, SPC trends) to identify systemic issues and drive continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with manufacturing engineering on process capability studies and design-for-quality initiatives.
• Deploy to customer and operational field sites to perform quality assessments, product inspections, and failure investigations on fielded hardware.
• Lead root cause and corrective action (RCCA) investigations for field failures, including 8D, fishbone, and 5-Why analyses; drive timely closure of corrective actions.
• Establish and maintain field quality feedback loops to ensure lessons learned are incorporated into production processes and design changes.
• Coordinate with field service, logistics, and customer support teams to triage quality escapes and prioritize resolution.

Skills

Communication

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

8D

5-Why

Ishikawa

SPC

Pareto

Capability analysis

GD&T

Job description

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA, seeks a Product Quality Engineer to ensure manufactured products meet specifications from initial production through field deployment and sustainment. This role emphasizes hands-on field inspections, root cause investigations, and driving corrective actions that bridge factory and field performance.

You will lead production quality activities, develop and maintain inspection plans, perform FAI and in-process tests, analyze defect data, and collaborate with