Field Product Quality Engineer - Altius

Anduril • Atlanta, GA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Field Product Quality Engineer is part of Anduril’s Field Product Quality Engineering team, which supports the reliability and mission success of autonomous aerial systems. This field-forward role works on-site at launch and recovery locations with flight crews, systems engineers, and program leadership, connecting flight and operational findings with corrective actions on the ground.

The engineer supports test planning, execution, reporting, and evaluation of aircraft systems; manages field configuration changes; and maintains accurate as-built records. The role develops consistent field data collection methods, observes flight operations for quality issues, and analyzes reliability metrics. It also coordinates flight failure investigations from evidence collection through root cause analysis, corrective action, and effectiveness verification, while supporting containment, return-to-flight decisions, and failure review boards.

The position contributes field findings to design, manufacturing, supplier, and process improvements; supports Material Review Board activities; and helps improve the Quality Management System, field procedures, acceptance criteria, inspection instructions, FMEAs, qualification plans, and design reviews. Extensive travel to field sites, work in austere environments, and flexible scheduling—including weekends—are expected.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Aerospace, Electrical, or Systems) or an equivalent degree in a similar technical field.
• At least 5 years of experience in quality engineering, product quality, or reliability engineering; aerospace, defense, or autonomous systems experience is preferred.
• Direct experience and strong interest in failure investigation and root cause analysis using structured methods such as 8D, 5-Why, Fishbone, and Fault Tree Analysis.
• Working knowledge of AS9100, ISO 9001, or equivalent defense/aerospace quality management standards.
• Experience collecting, analyzing, and reporting product quality data and metrics in a manufacturing, test, or field environment.
• Familiarity with GD&T (ASME Y14.5), blueprint reading, and inspection of mechanical and electrical assemblies.
• Strong analytical skills and experience using data tools such as Excel, JMP, Minitab, MATLAB, or similar for statistical analysis and trend identification.
• Willingness to travel approximately 50% to field sites, work in austere environments, and support flight operations on flexible schedules, including weekends.
• Ownership mindset and demonstrated ability to drive cross-functional projects from identification through verified closure.
• Must be a U.S. citizen and able to obtain and hold a TS/SCI security clearance.

Nice To Haves

• Acumen for working in an environment comprised of active military and retired military / veterans.
• Experience with autonomous aerial vehicles, UAS/drone operations, or flight test quality in field-deployed environments.
• Demonstrated ability to lead Kaizen events and drive root cause corrective action processes to closure.
• Experience with MIL standards commonly applied to aerial vehicle quality requirements.
• Hands-on experience with avionics, PCBA, harnessing, composites, propulsion systems, software systems, or flight control surfaces.
• Familiarity with xFMEA methodologies and their application to product and process reliability.
• Experience embedded with flight operations, flight test, or field service teams.
• Working knowledge of configuration management tools such as Teamcenter, Jira, or Foundry.
• Prior experience with government contracts and DCMA quality surveillance requirements.
• Master’s degree in a technical field.

Responsibilities

• Work with minimal supervision on test planning, execution, reporting, and evaluation of aircraft systems under test, including software and/or hardware.
• Manage field configuration changes involving hardware, software, and as-shipped main box contents.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Quality, Mission Performance, Design, Software, and Configuration Management to maintain clear as-built records for root cause corrective actions and customer complaints.
• Develop and maintain standardized field data collection protocols, checklists, and digital forms for consistent quality records across flight events and sites.
• Observe launch sequences, in-flight operations, and post-flight recovery to identify workmanship issues, procedural deviations, configuration discrepancies, and environmental factors affecting performance or vehicle integrity.
• Establish, track, and analyze quality metrics, including first-flight success rate, recurring anomaly trends, pre-flight escape rate, and mean time between failures.
• Coordinate flight failure investigations from initial data collection and evidence preservation through root cause analysis, corrective action implementation, and effectiveness verification.
• Initiate rapid in-the-field 8D analysis and identify quick wins that enable return to flight.
• Lead cross-functional failure review boards to determine root cause using structured methodologies such as 8D, 5-Why, Fishbone, and Fault Tree Analysis.
• Coordinate containment actions after flight anomalies, including fleet-wide inspections, hold/release decisions, and return-to-flight risk assessments.
• Maintain a flight failure tracking system with traceability from symptom through root cause and corrective action closure; generate trend reports and lessons-learned summaries.
• Work with design engineering and upstream manufacturing and supplier quality to turn field findings into design changes, drawing updates, supplier corrective actions, and process improvements.
• Support Material Review Board activities for field-discovered nonconformances and provide disposition recommendations informed by flight data and operational context.
• Contribute to improvements in the Quality Management System, including field quality procedures, acceptance criteria, and inspection work instructions for flight-ready hardware.
• Feed field performance data into FMEA updates, qualification test plans, and design review inputs to support product development and NPI quality planning.

Benefits

• Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full-time offers and are considered part of total compensation.
• Top-tier benefits for full-time employees, including a comprehensive, competitive package available at little to no cost to employees.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior