Senior Principal Quality Engineer

Long Wave Inc.; Oklahoma City (OK); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Salary

Medical, Dental & Vision coverage

401k

Educational Assistance

Life Insurance

Employee Assistance Programs & Work/Li

Paid Time Off

9/80 work schedule

Job summary

Long Wave Inc. is seeking a Senior Principal Quality Engineer - PRQA to lead program quality assurance, ensure contractual compliance, and drive QMS activities in an aerospace and defense environment.

You will oversee QA for assigned programs, coordinate with cross-functional teams, and support supplier quality oversight and audits. This role requires strong leadership and deep knowledge of AS9100/ISO 9001 quality management practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical discipline with extensive relevant experience.
• Mastery-level knowledge of quality engineering and contractual quality requirements.
• Experience in aerospace/defense or similarly regulated industries.
• Strong ability to interpret complex contractual and regulatory quality requirements.
• Experience with nonconformance management, CAPA, and risk management.
• Proven ability to mentor teams and communicate with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead program quality assurance for assigned DoD/aerospace programs.
• Review contracts, SOWs, SQARs, and requirements to identify quality obligations.
• Develop and maintain program quality plans and compliance matrices.
• Coordinate with Contracts, Program Management, and suppliers on quality issues.
• Ensure quality requirements are embedded in planning, design, and delivery.
• Support design reviews, production readiness, verification, and customer acceptance.
• Coordinate First Article Inspections and source inspections as required.
• Oversee nonconformance, MRB, CAPA, and corrective action processes.
• Interface with customer and government quality representatives on audits and reviews.
• Report metrics, status, risks, and trends related to program quality.

Skills

Quality engineering

Program quality assurance

AS9100 knowledge

Regulatory compliance

Root cause analysis

Earned value management

Leadership

Analytical skills

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Master's degree preferred

Tools

TipQA

TipSFE

EVMS

AS9100/ISO 9001

Job description

Active DoD Security Clearance Preferred

US Citizenship Required

NO VISA SUPPORT or C2C

Primary Function

Long Wave Inc. is seeking a Senior Principal Quality Engineer - Program Quality Assurance (PRQA) to support program execution, contractual quality compliance, and Quality Management System (QMS) activities within an aerospace and defense environment.

Essential Responsibilities

Program Quality Assurance & Contractual Compliance

• Serve as lead PRQA for assigned programs, providing quality oversight throughout program development, production, testing, integration, and acceptance.
• Review and analyze contracts, Statements of Work (SOW), Supplier Quality Assurance Requirements (SQAR), purchase orders, specifications, and other customer requirements to identify quality obligations, compliance gaps, and risks.
• Develop and maintain program quality plans, contractual quality requirements matrices, compliance documentation, and associated program quality records.
• Identify contractual quality concerns and coordinate recommended clarifications, exceptions, or resolutions with Contracts, Program Management, and other responsible organizations.
• Coordinate with program and functional teams to ensure quality requirements are incorporated into program planning, schedules, technical activities, and deliverables.
• Review technical documentation, design changes, inspection and test requirements, and contractual deliverables for applicable quality compliance.
• Support program design reviews, technical reviews, production readiness activities, verification, testing, and customer acceptance.
• Coordinate applicable First Article Inspection (FAI), source inspection, product verification, and acceptance requirements with responsible functional organizations.
• Support supplier quality oversight, contractual quality flowdowns, nonconformance resolution, and corrective action activities in coordination with Supply Chain Management and Hardware Quality Assurance.
• Review and coordinate Quality Assurance inputs and approvals for contractual deliverables, including applicable SDRLs/CDRLs.
• Identify, document, communicate, and track program quality risks, nonconformances, corrective actions, and compliance concerns through resolution.
• Support nonconformance reporting, Material Review Board (MRB) activities, root cause analysis, and corrective and preventive action (CAPA) processes.
• Interface with customer and government quality representatives to support program reviews, inspections, audits, and quality issue resolution.
• Develop and report program quality metrics, compliance status, risks, trends, and corrective action performance.
• Serve as QA Control Account Manager (CAM) for assigned program, supporting budget and resource planning, ETC/EAC forecasting, cost and schedule performance monitoring, variance analysis, and applicable EVMS reporting requirements.

Senior Technical Quality Leadership

• Serve as a senior technical resource for complex aerospace and defense quality engineering, customer quality requirements, and compliance matters across the organization.
• Provide technical guidance and recommendations to Quality Assurance, Engineering, Program Management, Operations, Supply Chain Management, and other functional organizations.
• Lead or support complex cross-functional quality investigations, risk assessments, and improvement initiatives.
• Evaluate existing quality processes, systems, and controls; recommend and implement improvements to strengthen compliance, effectiveness, and operational performance.
• Provide technical mentoring, coaching, and knowledge transfer to quality personnel and other functional stakeholders.
• Advise Quality leadership on complex quality concerns, technical risks, and opportunities for improvement.

QMS Compliance & Continuous Improvement

• Support implementation, sustainment, and continual improvement of the AS9100/ISO 9001 Quality Management System.
• Support QMS process improvements, digital quality management applications, and associated workflows, including TipQA/TipSFE, as assigned.
• Participate in internal, customer, and certification audits, including objective evidence reviews, corrective actions, and follow-up activities.
• Support integration of program-specific contractual quality requirements into established QMS processes and controls.
• Perform other assigned QA and QMS support activities based on department priorities.

Work Conditions

• Remote or on-site work arrangement based on business needs and position requirements.
• Occasional travel may be required in support of program, customer, supplier, QMS, audit, or inspection activities.
• Remote employees must be able to perform assigned duties and access authorized company systems in accordance with company and contractual requirements.

Minimum Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality Assurance, Manufacturing, Mathematics, or a related technical discipline with a minimum of 12 years of relevant experience; graduate degree with a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience; or 16 years of directly related experience in lieu of a degree.
• Mastery-level knowledge of quality engineering, program quality assurance, contractual quality requirements, and related disciplines.
• Extensive experience in aerospace, defense, or similarly regulated industries performing quality engineering, program quality assurance, or related quality functions.
• Demonstrated experience reviewing, interpreting, and implementing complex contractual, customer, technical, and regulatory quality requirements.
• Advanced knowledge of AS9100 and/or ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems and applicable aerospace/defense quality practices.
• Experience developing or implementing program quality plans, contractual requirements matrices, compliance verification activities, and associated quality documentation.
• Demonstrated ability to independently assess complex quality issues, identify compliance risks, recommend solutions, and coordinate resolution across functional organizations.
• Experience with nonconformance management, root cause analysis, corrective action, and quality risk management.
• Ability to provide technical leadership, influence stakeholders, and communicate complex quality matters with management, customers, and cross-functional teams.
• Strong analytical, organizational, written, and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience serving as a lead Program Quality Engineer or Program Quality Assurance representative supporting aerospace/defense programs.
• Experience supporting major defense contractors, Department of Defense programs, or government contractual quality requirements.
• Experience performing detailed contractual quality requirements analysis, developing compliance matrices, and establishing program-specific quality controls.
• Experience with AS9102 First Article Inspection, customer/government source inspection, product acceptance, and supplier quality requirements.
• Knowledge of AS9145/APQP/PPAP, configuration management, engineering change control, and technical data requirements.
• Experience supporting complex quality investigations, RCCA/CAPA activities, and cross-functional process improvement initiatives.
• Experience implementing, sustaining, or improving AS9100-certified Quality Management Systems.
• Experience implementing or supporting electronic QMS applications, including TipQA, TipSFE, or similar systems.
• Experience with CAM, program budgeting, ETC/EAC forecasting, or Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS) in a DoD program environment.
• ASQ or other relevant professional Quality certification, including CQE, CQA, CRE, CMQ/OE, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated experience providing technical mentoring and guidance to quality engineering personnel.
• Active or previously held Secret security clearance.

Position Benefits:

As a full-time employee of Long Wave, you are eligible for our benefits package including:

• Competitive Salary
• Medical, Dental & Vision coverage
• 401k
• Educational Assistance
• Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Programs & Work/Life Solutions
• Paid Time Off
• This position's standard work schedule is a 9/80. The 9/80 schedule allows employees who work a nine-hour day Monday through Thursday to take every other Friday off.

EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability