Head of Manufacturing Quality

ZipLine•South San Francisco, CA

42d

About The Position

Are you a hands-on, systems-level thinker who thrives at the intersection of technical rigor, operational excellence, and team leadership? Do you love building and scaling quality systems that ensure products meet the highest standards of reliability, safety, and performance-without slowing innovation? As Head of Quality, you will lead Zipline's Quality organization-including our Quality Engineers and Quality Technicians-overseeing the end-to-end quality lifecycle across all feeder lines and top-level assemblies: aircraft, droid, and dock. You will own the quality strategy, execution, and continuous improvement across Incoming Quality Control (IQC), End-of-Line (EOL), and Outgoing Quality Control (OQC) processes to ensure every Zipline product meets the performance and reliability expectations required for global operations. This role is both strategic and deeply operational. You'll develop scalable quality processes, coach and empower a high-performing team, and use data to drive continuous improvement in first pass yield (FPY), cost of poor quality (COPQ), and field reliability. As a key manufacturing leader, you'll collaborate closely with Production, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, and Product Design to ensure quality is built into every stage-from supplier through shipment. You'll need to be comfortable operating in an ambiguous, rapidly evolving environment, balancing day-to-day problem solving with building long-term systems that will scale as Zipline grows globally.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in manufacturing quality, reliability, or production engineering, including 3+ years in a leadership role managing quality teams.
Experience with scaling a quality system from low prototype production to low volume production (100/wk) to high volume production (1000s/wk) with complex electro-mechanical hardware (automotive, small aircraft, robotics, etc)
Strong understanding of quality engineering tools and methodologies: PFMEA, control plans, and CAPA.
Demonstrated success in scaling quality systems across complex electro-mechanical products.
Hands-on experience in production environments managing inspection, testing, and validation activities.
Proven ability to reduce quality escapes and improve first pass yield in high-mix, low- to mid-volume operations.
Strong data analysis skills; comfortable using quality metrics to drive improvement and accountability.
Experience collaborating closely with Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, and Design Engineering teams to influence product and process quality.
Excellent leadership and communication skills-capable of motivating teams and driving cross-functional alignment.
Ability to balance hands-on problem solving with long-term strategic planning.
Comfort operating in a fast-paced, ambiguous, and rapidly scaling environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience in robotics or automotive manufacturing.
Background in supplier quality and global production scaling.
Familiarity with MES, ERP, and PLM systems for quality data traceability.
Experience managing automated or semi-automated inspection systems.

Responsibilities

Lead and develop Zipline's Quality Engineering and Quality Technician teams, ensuring effective execution across IQC, EOL, and OQC functions.
Define, implement, and continuously improve quality processes across top-level assemblies (aircraft, droid, dock)
Establish and track key quality metrics including first pass yield, defect rates, rework hours, and field quality escapes (modifying these as scale changes)
Drive cross-functional investigations for major production or field quality issues-owning containment, root cause analysis, corrective/preventive actions (CAPA), and communication to leadership.
Drive PFMEAs for all products to be manufactured on the production lines to establish control plans and quality procedures
Partner with Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, and Product Design to implement design-for-quality (DFQ) and process control strategies that reduce variability and improve manufacturability.
Oversee and optimize incoming inspection programs to ensure parts and subassemblies meet quality standards before entering production.
Champion reliability improvement and validation testing at end-of-line to prevent downstream failures and quality escapes to the field.
Own the overall Quality Management System (QMS) maturity roadmap-balancing rigor with practicality as the company scales.
Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on driving yield improvement, waste reduction, and process standardization.
Build and foster a culture of accountability, root cause problem-solving, and pride in quality across the production floor.
Serve as the senior quality voice in leadership reviews-providing transparency into risks, performance trends, and improvement priorities.