Site Quality Director

GKN Aerospace; Tallassee (AL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

GKN Aerospace is seeking a Site Quality Director to architect a culture where quality is embedded in every process and decision. You will drive the site's quality transformation, champion zero defect thinking, and align customer/regulatory requirements to achieve performance excellence.

Working across engineering, operations, and leadership teams, you will build capability, lead problem solving, and foster a culture where quality is a competitive advantage.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s in Engineering, Business, or Quality Management—or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years in quality leadership within aerospace or complex manufacturing.
• Working knowledge in ISO 9001, AS9100, and aviation regulatory standards.
• Strong command of Lean, APQP, and risk-based thinking.
• Proven audit leadership using IAQG OASIS and Nadcap eAuditnet databases.
• Exceptional communication and influence skills in a matrixed environment.
• US Person with ability to work under ITAR compliance standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead the planning, deployment, governance, and continual improvement of the site's QMS/BMS, ensuring compliance with industry standards, aviation regulations, customer requirements, and APMS.
• Ensure customer, regulatory, and business requirements are effectively translated into processes, operational controls, training, and performance measures that drive consistent execution and defect prevention.
• Establish and maintain information transparency through common quality data, meaningful performance measures, and risk-based insights that support informed decision making.
• Monitor and improve Quality KPIs, including Quality Escapes, COPQ, corrective action effectiveness, process capability, and customer performance.
• Analyze QMS/BMS performance, trends, risks, and improvement opportunities to support management reviews and business decision-making.
• Promote standardized quality methods and common approaches that enable consistency, visibility, and scalable performance improvement.

Skills

Quality leadership

Lean

APQP

Risk-based thinking

Audit leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor/Master in Engineering or Quality Management

Tools

IAQG OASIS

Nadcap eAuditnet

Job description

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Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.

GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 32 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.6bn in 2025. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

Job Summary

As Site Quality Director, you will be more than the leader of the Quality Management System. You will be the architect of a culture where quality is embedded in every process, every decision, and every product delivered to our customers.

In this role, you will drive the site's quality transformation strategy, advancing from compliance to performance excellence. You will champion Zero Defect thinking, operationalize customer and regulatory requirements, strengthen process discipline, and lead initiatives that prevent escapes before they occur. Through standardization, continuous improvement, and data-driven decision making, you will improve customer satisfaction, reduce the Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ), and elevate overall business performance.

Working across engineering, operations, and leadership teams, you will build organizational capability, drive robust problem solving, and create a culture where quality is a competitive advantage.

If you are passionate about leading change, developing high-performing teams, and delivering world‑class aerospace quality, we want to hear from you.

Job Responsibilities

Leadership

• Partner with site leadership to foster a strong Quality culture, providing governance, assurance, and strategic leadership to embed quality as a competitive advantage across the business.
• Lead the site's transformation journey by aligning customer expectations, business objectives, and quality priorities into a shared operating vision across all functions.
• Coach leaders and teams on GKN Aerospace Global Standards while building quality capability, operational discipline, and ownership for quality at every level.
• Manage Quality resources, organizational capability development, and delegated Quality authorities to ensure effective execution and continual improvement.
• Champion a culture where problems are surfaced early, quality is owned by the business, and every issue creates an opportunity for learning and improvement.
• Represent the site in all Quality-related matters with customers, certifying bodies, aerospace authorities, and internal stakeholders.

Systems, Performance & Connected Information

• Lead the planning, deployment, governance, and continual improvement of the site's QMS/BMS, ensuring compliance with industry standards, aviation regulations, customer requirements, and APMS.
• Ensure customer, regulatory, and business requirements are effectively translated into processes, operational controls, training, and performance measures that drive consistent execution and defect prevention.
• Establish and maintain information transparency through common quality data, meaningful performance measures, and risk-based insights that support informed decision making.
• Monitor and improve Quality KPIs, including Quality Escapes, Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ), corrective action effectiveness, process capability, and customer performance.
• Analyze QMS/BMS performance, trends, risks, and improvement opportunities to support management reviews and business decision‑making.
• Promote standardized quality methods and common approaches that enable consistency, visibility, and scalable performance improvement.

Governance, Risk, Compliance & Learning

• Plan and execute internal, customer, and third-party audits, ensuring effective resolution of findings while leveraging audit outcomes to strengthen process maturity and organizational performance.
• Lead product and process audits, risk assessments, and opportunity analyses to ensure product safety, conformity, and operational effectiveness.
• Drive quality maturity by ensuring lessons learned, corrective actions, best practices, and problem‑solving knowledge are effectively shared across functions and sites.
• Establish and maintain Connected Governance through consistent standards, risk‑based decision making, accountability, and effective oversight of quality processes.
• Manage systemic quality risks, ensuring emerging issues are identified, escalated, and mitigated using structured methodologies.
• Hold delegated authority for product compliance and approval of regulatory and customer‑required conformance documentation.
• Ensure customer, regulatory, and certification requirements are effectively deployed, maintained, and verified throughout the product lifecycle.

Job Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s in Engineering, Business, or Quality Management—or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years in quality leadership within aerospace or complex manufacturing.
• Working knowedge in ISO 9001, AS9100, and aviation regulatory standards.
• Strong command of Lean, APQP, and risk‑based thinking.
• Proven audit leadership using IAQG OASIS and Nadcap eAuditnet databases.
• Exceptional communication and influence skills in a matrixed environment.
• US Person with ability to work under ITAR compliance standards

Preferred:

• Experience with AS13100 and aviation design/manufacturing regulations (Part 21G, Part J, Part 145).
• Six Sigma certification and continuous improvement leadership.
• Familiarity with IAQG SCMH, APQC frameworks, and AATT/IRCA AS9100/AS9110 training.
• Commercial acumen and stakeholder engagement experience.

We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working

Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.

We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.

We arethe place where human dreams, plus humanendeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.