Head of Quality & Reliability – Aerospace Systems

Northwoodspace; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwood Space is seeking a hands‑on Head of Quality to build and lead a world‑class quality organization as we scale from development to production. You will embed quality and reliability into every stage of the product lifecycle, driving performance, safety, and mission success.

As a leader of Quality & Reliability, you will architect and implement the QMS, lead AS9100 certification efforts, and establish processes, standards, and a culture of continuous improvement across Engineering,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related technical field.
• Proven experience building or scaling quality systems in high‑reliability environments.
• Experience leading cross‑functional quality initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Build, implement, and continuously improve the Quality Management System (QMS).
• Lead AS9100 certification processes including audits and training.
• Own document control, configuration management, nonconformance, CAPA, and audits.
• Embed quality across product lifecycle with engineering, manufacturing and production teams.
• Develop quality plans, controls, acceptance criteria, and supplier quality strategies.
• Lead root cause investigations and drive continuous improvement to reduce defects.
• Establish quality metrics, data reporting, and reliability programs.
• Develop and execute reliability strategies including testing and risk mitigation.

Skills

Quality leadership

DFMEA

QMS implementation

Process improvement

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelors in Engineering

Tools

QMS software

FMEA tooling

Job description

Northwood Space is seeking a hands‑on Head of Quality to build and lead a world‑class quality organization as we scale from development to production. You will embed quality and reliability into every stage of the product lifecycle, driving performance, safety, and mission success.

As a leader of Quality & Reliability, you will architect and implement the QMS, lead AS9100 certification efforts, and establish processes, standards, and a culture of continuous improvement across Engineering,