Director of Quality

Mach Industries•Huntington Beach, CA

About The Position

Build and lead a world-class quality organization that ensures every product we design, manufacture, and test performs flawlessly in mission-critical environments. This role owns quality across the full lifecycle, from incoming materials to flight readiness, and is responsible for establishing the systems, culture, and execution rigor required to scale production without sacrificing reliability.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field
8+ years of experience in manufacturing quality, quality engineering, or reliability engineering
5+ years leading high-performing technical teams in a production environment
Experience operating in high-reliability industries (aerospace, defense, automotive, energy, etc.)

Nice To Haves

Experience scaling from prototype → production (NPI through rate production)
Deep experience with:
RCCA / 8D / 5 Whys
SPC and process capability
Failure analysis (mechanical, electrical, or systems-level)
Familiarity with:
AS9100 / ISO9001 frameworks (without over-reliance on bureaucracy)
Digital quality systems / MES integration
Demonstrated ability to:
Stand up quality organizations from scratch
Drive measurable improvements in yield, reliability, and cost
Experience working tightly with manufacturing engineering and design teams in fast-paced environments

Responsibilities

Lead all aspects of quality across:
Manufacturing Quality (inspection & in-process quality)
Receiving Inspection (supplier quality gate)
Quality Engineering (production support, RCCA, process capability)
Reliability Engineering (flight & test performance, failure analysis)
Establish a single, unified quality operating system across development and production
Build and manage a high-performing team of inspectors and quality leads embedded in production
Define inspection strategies (risk-based, critical feature-driven vs blanket inspection)
Drive transition from inspection-heavy to process-capable manufacturing
Own receiving inspection and supplier acceptance strategy
Define supplier qualification, audit, and performance systems
Drive supplier quality improvement through:
SCARs
On-site audits
Process validation
Reduce incoming inspection burden via supplier certification and trust models
Lead root cause and corrective action (RCCA) processes across the factory
Own nonconformance management (NCR/MRB systems)
Drive statistical process control (SPC) and process capability (Cp/Cpk)
Partner with Manufacturing Engineering to:
Eliminate variation
Improve yields
Scale processes to rate
Define clear quality ownership boundaries between engineering and production
Lead failure investigations from test and flight anomalies
Ensure rapid feedback loops from test → design → manufacturing
Define and enforce flight readiness quality criteria
Build a pragmatic, high-velocity QMS (not bureaucratic, but disciplined)
Define and implement:
Change control systems
Configuration management alignment with engineering
Traceability (materials, processes, builds)
Establish clear quality gates tied to TRL/MRL and production readiness
Ensure audit readiness (internal and external, e.g., AS9100-style environments if needed)
Build a culture of:
Accountability over blame
Speed with rigor
Data-driven decision making
Recruit, develop, and retain top-tier quality and reliability talent
Be a strong cross-functional partner to:
Manufacturing
Design Engineering
Test & Flight Ops
Supply Chain