Director of Quality

PROMETHEUS ENERGETICS, LLC•Bloomington, IN

About The Position

The Director of Quality is the senior quality leader for Prometheus Energetics, responsible for building, certifying, and sustaining the company’s Quality Management System (QMS) as the business progresses from facility startup and product industrialization into production. The role establishes an independent quality function with the authority, systems, people, and discipline needed to ensure products and processes meet contractual, technical, regulatory, safety, and customer requirements. Working across Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Programs, Safety, Security, and parent-company knowledge-transfer teams, the Director translates product and process requirements into practical controls throughout the product lifecycle. The position owns enterprise quality strategy, AS9100 certification readiness, customer and regulatory quality interfaces, supplier quality, inspection and metrology, nonconformance and corrective action, and the use of performance data to prevent defects and improve cost, schedule, and mission assurance.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical field.
At least 10 years of progressive quality experience in aerospace and defense manufacturing, including at least five years leading quality teams.
Demonstrated experience implementing, certifying, and sustaining an AS9100-based QMS and leading registrar, customer, and government audits.
Strong working knowledge of quality engineering and manufacturing controls, including AS9102 first article inspection, configuration and document control, nonconformance/MRB, corrective action, PFMEA, control plans, SPC, MSA, calibration, and supplier quality.
Experience translating drawings, specifications, customer quality clauses, and contractual requirements into executable manufacturing and inspection controls.
Proven ability to build teams, develop talent, influence across functions, and make sound independent decisions in a fast-paced startup and production environment.
Excellent written, verbal, analytical, and executive communication skills, including the ability to communicate with shop-floor employees, customers, auditors, government representatives, and senior leadership.
U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and/or maintain a security clearance.
Ability to wear required personal protective equipment and comply with site safety, explosives-safety, security, and access-control requirements.
Ability to move throughout a manufacturing site, participate in audits and reviews, work at a computer for extended periods, and occasionally lift up to 25 pounds.
Regular, reliable attendance.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in engineering, business, quality, or a related discipline.
Experience with solid rocket motors, propulsion, energetic materials, explosives, warheads, ammunition, or complex cast-cure manufacturing.
Experience establishing quality systems, laboratories, inspection capabilities, or certification programs in a greenfield facility or startup.
ASQ Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE), Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), Certified Quality Auditor (CQA), or comparable credential.
Experience with Lean philosophies, methodology, and tools.
Experience with Nadcap special processes, nondestructive evaluation, laboratory quality systems, and government source inspection.
Experience deploying ERP/QMS software and digital quality records in an aerospace manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute the quality strategy, certification roadmap, annual objectives, budget, staffing plan, and operating rhythm aligned with company growth and production ramp plans.
Build, lead, and develop a quality organization that may include quality engineering, supplier quality, inspection, metrology, document control, and quality systems personnel.
Serve as the company’s independent quality authority, stopping work, withholding product acceptance or shipment, and escalating risks when requirements are unmet or product integrity could be compromised.
Establish a culture of quality, accountability, prevention, ethical decision-making, and employee ownership of product quality.
Advise the COO and leadership team on quality risk, customer performance, resource needs, certification status, and systemic improvement priorities.
Design, implement, document, and maintain an AS9100D/ISO 9001-compliant QMS for a greenfield aerospace and defense manufacturing operation; lead initial certification, surveillance, and recertification activities.
Own QMS processes including document and record control, internal audit, management review, risk and opportunity management, change control, training effectiveness, calibration, nonconformance, corrective action, and continual improvement.
Ensure customer contracts, drawings, specifications, statements of work, FAR/DFARS clauses, DCMA oversight, and applicable military or industry standards are identified, flowed down, implemented, and objectively verified.
Establish audit schedules, train internal auditors, manage external and customer audits, and ensure findings are contained, corrected, and closed with effective systemic action.
Evaluate and implement applicable standards and special-process controls, including AS9102 first article inspection, AS9145/APQP and production part approval, AS9103 key characteristics, and Nadcap requirements where applicable.
Embed quality planning in product development, technology transfer, design reviews, process development, qualification, first article, production readiness, and rate-ramp activities.
Approve manufacturing plans, travelers, work instructions, inspection plans, acceptance criteria, control plans, sampling plans, and quality gates.
Provide quality oversight for applicable energetic-material receipt, mixing, casting, curing, assembly, machining, nondestructive evaluation, test, storage, and final acceptance processes.
Establish configuration, traceability, lot control, material-status identification, product-preservation, foreign-object prevention, counterfeit-parts prevention, and record-retention practices.
Lead defect prevention and resolution using PFMEA, control plans, measurement system analysis, statistical process control, layered process audits, root-cause analysis, and mistake-proofing.
Reduce scrap, rework, escapes, and variation without allowing production pressure to override safety, technical compliance, or product integrity.
Establish receiving, in-process, first article, source, and final inspection capabilities appropriate to precision aerospace and energetics manufacturing.
Select and qualify inspection and test methods, ensure personnel competency, and support appropriate use of dimensional, attribute, laboratory, and nondestructive inspection equipment.
Own calibration and measurement management, including equipment control, traceability to recognized standards, out-of-tolerance evaluation, and gauge repeatability and reproducibility.
Ensure inspection records, test results, certificates, material pedigree, and acceptance documentation are accurate, complete, controlled, and shipment-ready.
Maintain controls for identification, segregation, review, disposition, and verification of nonconforming material; administer the Material Review Board process within delegated authorities.
Lead containment, failure analysis, root-cause investigation, corrective and preventive action, and effectiveness verification for internal defects, supplier issues, customer complaints, and quality escapes.
Use data and structured problem-solving to identify systemic risk, prioritize improvements, and prevent recurrence rather than relying on inspection alone.
Partner with Operations and Engineering on Lean and Six Sigma initiatives to improve first-pass yield, capability, flow, reliability, and cost of quality.
Serve as principal quality representative to customers, government quality representatives, registrars, and other external authorities.
Review proposals and contracts for quality requirements, develop compliance plans, and flow requirements into design, purchasing, manufacturing, inspection, test, and delivery documentation.
Build a risk-based supplier quality program covering selection, qualification, quality clauses, source surveillance, first article approval, performance monitoring, supplier corrective action, and supplier development.
Partner with Supply Chain and Engineering to qualify critical materials and special-process suppliers, address obsolescence or alternate-source needs, and strengthen supply-base resilience without compromising conformity.
Establish actionable quality dashboards, review performance with functional leaders, and hold owners accountable for recovery and improvement plans.
Monitor measures such as yield, process capability, cost of poor quality, scrap and rework, defects and escapes, supplier performance, audit findings, corrective-action effectiveness, calibration compliance, customer satisfaction, certification milestones, and quality-team capability and retention.
Periodically travel and provide overtime, off-shift, or weekend support as necessary during audits, startup, qualification, or critical production events.
Comply with site safety, explosives-safety, security, and access-control requirements and wear required personal protective equipment.