Director of Quality

Allocor Tech•Crozet, VA

4d•$150,000 - $185,000•Onsite

About The Position

Allocortech designs and manufactures mission-critical power electronics and avionics — motor controllers, battery management, power distribution, flight control, and flight termination — for UAS, eVTOL, and unmanned maritime platforms. We are moving from an engineering-services company to a production-capable manufacturer. AS9100D certification is the gate to that business. The Director of Quality owns Allocortech’s Quality Management System end to end and is accountable for taking the company to AS9100D certification. This is a builder role: the draft system exists on paper, and this person makes it real, approved, and audited. You are the single owner of quality. You take the existing draft document set, get it approved and rolled out, generate the operating records auditors require, and lead the company through Stage 1 and Stage 2. You also run day-to-day product quality: nonconformances, first article inspections, supplier quality, and product release. At our size there is no one else to hand either half to. The measure of this role is an AS9100D certificate within roughly 12 months of start, earned on real operating records rather than paperwork. Milestones are counted from your start date. The internal build plan estimates about 44 weeks from kickoff to certificate; you own that schedule and tell leadership early when it is at risk.

Requirements

The non-negotiable is having personally led an organization through an initial AS9100 (or equivalent aerospace) certification. Everything else can be learned faster than that experience.
Led or co-led at least one initial AS9100 certification, or a major transition such as AS9100C to D, as the accountable quality lead.
8+ years in quality roles in aerospace, defense, or another regulated hardware industry, with at least 3 years owning a QMS.
Hands-on manufacturing quality experience: NCR and MRB, root cause analysis, receiving and in-process inspection, and AS9102 First Article Inspection.
Working knowledge of electronics assembly standards: IPC-A-610, J-STD-001, and ANSI/ESD S20.20.
Supplier quality experience, including supplier evaluation, flow-downs, and counterfeit parts prevention.
Trained internal auditor to AS9100 or ISO 9001, or willing to complete training within 90 days.
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, a technical discipline, or equivalent experience.
Clear, direct writer; able to turn a procedure into something technicians actually follow.

Nice To Haves

AS9100 Lead Auditor certification or ASQ certification (CQE, CQA, or CMQ/OE).
Experience building a QMS at a small or fast-growing company with no existing quality team.
Background in avionics, UAS, or embedded systems, including firmware and software configuration control.
Familiarity with configuration management practice (baselines, MCOs, ECOs, Class I and II changes) and design control for hardware and software.
Exposure to DCMA oversight, customer source inspection, or defense prime supplier requirements.
Awareness of airworthiness and assurance standards such as DO-178C, DO-254, or ARP4754A.
Experience with ITAR/EAR controls and handling of CUI.
Comfort with modern tooling (Jira, Git, SharePoint, ERP/PLM) as systems of record.

Responsibilities

Build and certify the QMS
Own the AS9100D certification program: schedule, budget (external spend of roughly $20–35K), registrar selection, pre-assessment, and Stage 1 and Stage 2 audits.
Review, reconcile, and drive approval of the draft Quality Manual, Quality Policy, and QMS-001 through QMS-016, including cross-document consistency in terminology, record retention, and category definitions.
Build the forms, templates, and registers the procedures require, including the Context and Interested Parties Register, Risk Register, and Lessons Learned Register.
Stand up document and record control with the Head of IT: controlled repository, Master Document List, electronic signatures, and backups.
Run the system day to day
Manage the internal audit program; become a qualified internal auditor and train one or two others.
Prepare and run Management Review, reporting QMS performance, quality objectives, and on-time delivery to top management.
Own the NCR, MRB, and corrective action processes, including root cause analysis and effectiveness checks.
Deliver QMS awareness training company-wide, covering product safety, ethical behavior, counterfeit prevention, and Stop Work authority.
Own product and supplier quality
Define inspection plans, mandatory inspection points, and receiving inspection criteria for electronic and electromechanical assemblies.
Perform or lead AS9102 First Article Inspections and approve product release.
Manage supplier quality: evaluation and approval, ASL maintenance, PO quality flow-downs (QMS-008-EXT), performance monitoring, and SCARs.
Run the calibration program for monitoring and measuring equipment, including ATE instrumentation. Maintain counterfeit parts prevention controls.
Be the quality voice in engineering and change control
Serve as the Quality member of the Configuration Control Board and Product Review Board.
Verify that design reviews, category promotions, ECOs, and Category T tooling validation meet QMS requirements.
Represent Allocortech to customers and registrars on quality matters, including customer audits and source inspections.