Job Summary: The Quality Engineer I is responsible for supporting product and process quality throughout the manufacturing lifecycle in a highly regulated aerospace and defense environment. This role ensures compliance with customer, regulatory & internal quality requirements while driving continuous improvement initiatives to reduce risk and improve performance.
The Quality Engineer I role works cross-functionally with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Program Management and other functions of Quality to resolve production issues, improve process capability and ensure compliance to AS9100 and customer requirements.
Responsibilities and Tasks:
- Production & Manufacturing Support
- Provide daily quality engineering support on the production floor
- Review and approve manufacturing plans (production files, MOI’s, PI’s, etc.)
- Ensure compliance with AS9100, customer flow-downs, and internal QMS procedures
- Support production readiness for new builds, configuration and engineering changes
- Nonconformance & Corrective Action
- Support root cause & corrective action (RCCA) activities using 8D, 5WHY, Fishbone, PFMEA and other problem-solving tools, overtime develop the ability to lead these events
- Investigate internal nonconformances, rework, scrap and escape(s)
- Drive timely and effective corrective and preventative actions to prevent recurrence
- Support containment activities and risk assessments for quality issues affecting delivered or in-process hardware.
- Process Control & Improvement
- Monitor & analyze production quality data, trends, and defect metrics
- Support implementation and oversight of statistical process control (SPC), when required, and process capability improvements
- Identify and drive continuous improvement initiatives to reduce variation, rework, and cost of poor quality
- Participate & lead in Lean/Six Sigma and waste-reduction activities within manufacturing
- Inspection & Compliance
- Ensure inspection methods & acceptance criteria align with engineering drawings and specifications
- Support first article inspection (FAI) per AS9102 for production builds and process changes.
- Assist in validation and control of special processes and critical manufacturing steps
- Ensure compliance with requirements for traceability, serialization and configuration control.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Work closely with Manufacturing & operations to improve producibility and reduce quality risks.
- Lead material review board (MRB) activities including technical input on dispositions and evaluations.
- Interface with customer and government representatives during source inspections, audits and issue resolution.
- Support internal & external audits and help drive closure of findings related to production processes.
Education, Experience, License, or Certification:
- Must have a bachelor's degree. STEM degree preferred.
- 0-3 years of experience in quality, manufacturing, or engineering (internships count).
- Lean/Six Sigma experience.
- RCCA methodologies such as 5Whys, Fishbone, Pareto
- Hands on experience supporting shop floor manufacturing operations
- Preferred:
- Lean Six Sigma experience
- AS9100 experience
- FAA experience or designations (A&P, AI, DMIR, DER, DAR)
- ASQ Certified Quality Engineer
- Certified AS9100/ISO9001 Auditor
- Minitab or advanced Excel proficiency
- AS9102 FAI background
- Experience in MRB
Skills and Abilities:
- Attention to detail
- Critical thinking
- Data analysis
- Process improvement mindset
- Accountability and ownership
Travel/Physical Requirements:
- Minimal to no travel expected.
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