Member of Technical Staff, Principal Quality

Ironstead; Denver, Northern (CO, KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Ironstead is seeking a Member of Technical Staff, Principal Quality to build the quality operating system for a growing portfolio of precision manufacturing businesses. This role is the senior technical authority for both Quality Management Systems and product quality.

You will establish the standards that allow our businesses to scale without compromising the quality expectations of aerospace, defense, and commercial customers and you will work directly with the people producing and inspecting

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, manufacturing, aerospace, industrial engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Significant experience leading quality in precision manufacturing or other high complexity production environments.
• Deep working knowledge of AS9100, ISO 9001, or comparable regulated QMS frameworks.
• Demonstrated experience with first article inspection, NCR/MRB, CAPA, root cause analysis, internal auditing, and customer quality.
• Strong knowledge of engineering drawings, GD&T, metrology, measurement systems, and manufacturing process capability.
• Willingness to travel extensively (60-80%) and embed on-site at Ironstead portfolio facilities for extended periods, including some nights/weekends during critical transition windows

Responsibilities

• Author and deploy a unified portfolio Quality Management System (QMS) framework, codifying AS9100/ISO 9001 governance, AS9102 FAI protocols, and multi-site audit standards into a scalable enterprise playbook.
• Upgrade quality infrastructure across newly acquired facilities, identifying systemic operational gaps and executing prioritized CAPAs to eliminate yield risk without compromising delivery schedules.
• Establish enterprise wide standards for document control, configuration management, instrument calibration, supplier quality, and internal audits to maintain compliance across growing network sites.
• Embed automated quality workflows and closed-loop inspection data directly into IronsteadOS, streamlining nonconformance tracking, MRB dispositions, and audit-trail generation.
• Drive network wide quality visibility by establishing real time tracking for customer escapes, first-pass yield, scrap/rework ratios, CAPA resolution velocity, and recurring failure modes.
• Serve as the senior technical authority for high stakes quality escalations, resolving discrepancies between engineering design intent, shop floor process capability, and customer specifications.
• Lead First Article Inspections (AS9102), Production Readiness Reviews (PRR), and MRB dispositions, executing disciplined root cause analysis and 8D corrective actions.
• Evaluate GD&T schemes, datum structures, and measurement uncertainty to de-risk high precision features and CTQ requirements.
• Modernize network metrology strategies, driving advanced CMM programming, automated in-process probing, closed loop gaging, and sampling protocols.
• Deploy SPC, CP/PPFMEAs across key product lines to proactively drive down defect rates and eliminate yield loss.

Skills

Quality leadership

AS9100 / ISO 9001

First Article Inspection (AS9102)

NCR / MRB / CAPA

GD&T / Metrology

Process capability / SPC

Travel 60-80%

Documentation control

Auditing

Digital QMS / MES / ERP

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical, manufacturing, aerospace, industrial engineering, or related technical discipline

Job description

About Ironstead

Ironstead Industrial Inc. acquires precision machine shops and manufacturing businesses in aerospace/defense, maritime, and commercial sectors, and rebuilds them into modern, data-driven operations. We don't run playbooks from a spreadsheet in another state. We parachute in, work shoulder to shoulder with machine operators, and rebuild the operating system of the business from the inside. IronsteadOS, our purpose-built operating platform syncing customer design to final inspection & logistics, is the backbone of that transformation, but the platform only works if someone on the ground earns the trust to implement it.

The Role

Ironstead is seeking a Member of Technical Staff, Principal Quality to build the quality operating system for a growing portfolio of precision manufacturing businesses. This person will be Ironstead’s senior technical authority for both Quality Management Systems and product quality. You will establish the standards that allow our businesses to scale without compromising the quality expectations of aerospace, defense, and commercial customers and you will work directly with the people producing and inspecting the parts.

This is not a corporate quality role that audits the shop from a distance. One day you may be defining how AS9100 processes should operate across the portfolio; the next you may be at a CMM, reviewing a first article, working through a customer escape, or helping a newly acquired facility close a systemic corrective action. The ideal candidate combines deep QMS knowledge with exceptional product quality judgement. They understand that a good quality system is not paperwork layered on top of manufacturing, it is the operating discipline that makes manufacturing predictable.

Responsibilities

Quality Management System

• Author and deploy a unified portfolio Quality Management System (QMS) framework, codifying AS9100/ISO 9001 governance, AS9102 FAI protocols, and multi-site audit standards into a scalable enterprise playbook.

• Upgrade quality infrastructure across newly acquired facilities, identifying systemic operational gaps and executing prioritized CAPAs to eliminate yield risk without compromising delivery schedules.

• Establish enterprise wide standards for document control, configuration management, instrument calibration, supplier quality, and internal audits to maintain compliance across growing network sites.

• Embed automated quality workflows and closed-loop inspection data directly into IronsteadOS, streamlining nonconformance tracking, MRB dispositions, and audit-trail generation.

• Drive network wide quality visibility by establishing real time tracking for customer escapes, first-pass yield, scrap/rework ratios, CAPA resolution velocity, and recurring failure modes.

Product Quality

• Serve as the senior technical authority for high stakes quality escalations, resolving critical discrepancies between engineering design intent, shop floor process capability, and customer specifications.

• Lead First Article Inspections (AS9102), Production Readiness Reviews (PRR), and Material Review Board (MRB) dispositions, executing disciplined root cause analysis and 8D corrective actions.

• Evaluate GD&T schemes, datum structures, and measurement uncertainty to de-risk high precision features and critical-to-quality (CTQ) component requirements.

• Modernize network metrology strategies, driving advanced CMM programming, automated in-process probing, closed loop gaging, and sampling protocols to accelerate first pass yield.

• Deploy statistical process control (SPC), process capability analysis, and PFMEAs across key product lines to proactively drive down defect rates and eliminate yield loss.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, manufacturing, aerospace, industrial engineering, or a related technical discipline

• Significant experience leading quality in precision manufacturing or another high complexity production environment.

• Deep working knowledge of AS9100, ISO 9001, or comparable regulated QMS frameworks.

• Demonstrated experience with first article inspection, NCR/MRB, CAPA, root cause analysis, internal auditing, and customer quality.

• Strong knowledge of engineering drawings, GD&T, metrology, measurement systems, and manufacturing process capability.

• Willingness to travel extensively (60-80%) and embed on-site at Ironstead portfolio facilities for extended periods, including some nights/weekends during critical transition windows

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience with AS9102 first article requirements, NADCAP-controlled processes, or PPAP quality requirements.

• Strong CNC machining and precision manufacturing knowledge.

• Experience integrating or rebuilding the QMS of an acquired manufacturing business.

• CQE, CQA, Six Sigma, or related quality credentials.

• Experience with digital QMS, MES, ERP, PLM, or manufacturing data systems.

Additional Requirements

• Ability to work extended hours, including nights and weekends, during active deployment windows

• Ability to pass any background/export-compliance screening required for defense-related client sites (ITAR-sensitive facilities)

• U.S. Citizenship required due to ITAR/export control considerations

Ironstead Industrial Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on merit, qualifications, and business needs.