Quality Manager

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense; Simsbury (CT); On-site; USD 110,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (EBAD) seeks a Quality Manager for its Simsbury, CT site to lead Energetics and Electronics quality engineering, drive process improvements, and ensure AS9100 compliance across manufacturing operations.

The role emphasizes hands-on leadership, strategic site planning, and building a strong quality culture while aligning with operations, engineering, and program management to deliver mission-critical products for aerospace and defense customers.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field; aerospace/defense preferred.
• Significant quality leadership experience in complex manufacturing.
• Aerospace/defense regulatory environment experience highly preferred.
• Experience supporting Energetics and Electronics manufacturing.
• Strong knowledge of AS9100 and customer requirements.
• Proven ability to lead multiple Quality Engineering teams.
• Ability to balance strategic and hands-on execution.
• Strong customer-facing communication and cross‑functional influence.
• Experience in growing or complex production environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead Quality Engineering teams for Energetics and Electronics.
• Maintain and improve the site Quality Management System.
• Lead audits and ensure timely closure of findings.
• Drive root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Partner with Operations and Program Management to meet quality goals.
• Develop quality leaders and sustain a high‑performing team.

Skills

Quality leadership

AS9100 knowledge

Regulatory compliance

Cross-functional collaboration

Root cause analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

At Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (EBAD), we believe that our strengths are built on our most important resource - our people. Join EBAD and you'll be a part of a team who creates cutting edge technology that will blast us into the future. No other company can match the innovative energetic solutions that we provide. At EBAD you will actively contribute to successful missions putting men, women and satellites into space, and protecting our armed service men and women around the world. If this is the culture and work environment you are seeking, then EBAD is the place for you!

Job Description Lead Quality. Strengthen the System. Deliver the Mission. Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (EBAD) is seeking a Quality Manager for our Simsbury, CT site. This leader will oversee all Quality Engineering teams across Energetics and Electronics, with site-level responsibility for quality performance, quality systems, customer compliance, and team development within a complex aerospace and defense manufacturing environment. We are looking for a hands‑on quality leader who can connect site strategy with shop‑floor execution, strengthen quality practices across diverse manufacturing processes, and develop teams with distinct technical expertise. This role requires strong knowledge of AS9100, customer requirements, manufacturing quality, and structured problem solving, along with the leadership discipline to build a stronger quality culture as the business scales.

Scope of Responsibility

The Quality Manager will provide unified leadership for the Energetics and Electronics Quality Engineering teams, with responsibility for manufacturing quality, customer quality, corrective action, compliance, and team development, along with oversight of the site quality management system. This leader will establish shared priorities, performance measures, and accountability across both groups while ensuring that quality practices reflect their respective technical requirements and manufacturing risks. Working closely with Operations and cross‑functional partners, the manager will embed quality into production readiness, daily execution, customer commitments, and long‑term site planning.

Key Responsibilities

• Site Quality Leadership Lead all Quality Engineering teams supporting Energetics and Electronics, with ownership for site quality performance, compliance, and execution
• Establish clear priorities, accountability, and a consistent operating rhythm across both groups
• Align team capacity, technical capability, and resources with program needs, production demand, and quality risks
• Balance hands‑on issue resolution with site priorities and long‑term quality system improvement
• Partner with Operations leadership to advance Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost objectives

Quality Systems & Compliance

• Maintain and strengthen the site quality management system in alignment with AS9100, customer requirements, and applicable aerospace and defense standards
• Ensure quality processes address the distinct requirements of Energetics and Electronics products and manufacturing operations
• Standardize practices where appropriate and share lessons learned across teams to prevent recurring issues
• Ensure disciplined adherence to internal procedures, regulatory requirements, and customer expectations
• Lead audit readiness, support customer and external reviews, and ensure timely closure of findings
• Identify systemic risks and drive improvements in process control, discipline, and predictability

People Leadership & Team Development

• Build and sustain a high‑performing team through effective hiring, development, performance management, and employee engagement.
• Build a cohesive site quality organization while developing the specialized expertise needed within each group
• Strengthen technical capability, succession depth, and employee engagement
• Encourage collaboration, knowledge sharing, and consistent problem‑solving practices across teams
• Create a culture of ownership, urgency, transparency, and continuous learning
• Develop quality leaders and individual contributors who can support increasing business complexity

Manufacturing Quality & Problem Solving

• Lead containment, root cause analysis, corrective action, and prevention across Energetics and Electronics manufacturing
• Ensure quality engineering support reflects each group’s product characteristics, process risks, and inspection and test requirements
• Drive structured problem solving using data, facts, and cross‑functional engagement
• Partner with Production, Engineering, Supply Chain, and Program Management to resolve quality issues and verify the effectiveness of corrective actions
• Improve first‑pass yield, reduce defects and escapes, and strengthen production readiness
• Apply lessons learned across product lines and teams to improve overall site performance

Customer Quality & Cross‑Functional Partnership

• Represent site quality with credibility to customers across Energetics and Electronics programs
• Lead communication and resolution of customer concerns, nonconformances, corrective actions, and quality performance issues
• Ensure customer quality requirements are understood and incorporated into planning and execution
• Build strong partnerships across Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Production, and Program Management
• Drive shared ownership of quality across functions as production demand and program complexity grow

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Engineering, Quality, Operations, or a related technical field preferred
• Significant quality leadership experience in a complex manufacturing environment
• Aerospace, defense, or other highly regulated manufacturing experience strongly preferred
• Experience supporting Energetics and/or Electronics manufacturing preferred; experience spanning both is highly desirable
• Strong working knowledge of AS9100 and customer quality requirements
• Demonstrated experience with manufacturing quality, containment, root cause analysis, corrective action, and quality system improvement
• Experience leading, coaching, and developing Quality Engineering professionals across multiple teams, product lines, or manufacturing processes
• Ability to establish consistent quality practices while addressing specialized technical and customer requirements
• Ability to operate effectively at both the strategic and hands‑on execution level
• Strong customer‑facing communication skills and credibility
• Proven ability to influence across Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Production, and Program Management
• Experience in a growing or complex production environment preferred

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, national origin, and veteran status.

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (EBAD), headquartered in Simsbury, CT with facilities in Moorpark, CA, and Graham, KY is a global leader of mission‑critical hardware and systems solutions including precision energetics systems and innovative explosive solutions. Our capabilities include customized man‑portable breaching systems; fully integrated payload system, subsystem or energetic component production; shock tube‑based, signal transmission technology integrated with our highly reliable family of detonators; and armored vehicle solutions. EBAD also has extensive satellite/spacecraft and missile/aircraft/launch vehicle manufacturing capabilities for system initiation, signal transfer, separation release, actuation and deployment and flight termination. No matter what the mission, EBAD can provide tailored, customized solutions to address our customers ' challenges.