Lead Compliance Auditor

Leidos • Huntsville, AL

22h • $73,450 - $132,775 • Onsite

About The Position

Leidos’ Defense Sector Mission Assurance is seeking a Lead Compliance Auditor to join their team. This role serves as the senior technical authority for audit execution across manufacturing and production operations. The Lead Compliance Auditor is responsible for planning, leading, and reporting internal quality and compliance audits. They will own the Layered Process Audit (LPA) program on the production floor and verify conformance to customer, contractual, governmental, and industry standards including ISO 9001, AS9100, CMMC, DFARS, ITAR, FAR, and applicable Department of Defense (DoD) requirements. This position reports to the Compliance Manager, Defense Sector Mission Assurance, and provides technical direction to compliance auditors and audit team members without direct supervisory authority. The Lead Compliance Auditor develops risk-based audit plans and checklists, leads audit teams through system, process, product, and layered process audits, mentors and calibrates auditors on technique, and drives root cause analysis and corrective action to verified closure.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Quality Management, Business Administration, Engineering, Industrial Management, or related field preferred; equivalent experience will be considered.
• 5+ years of experience in quality auditing, compliance, or quality systems within the defense, aerospace, or regulated manufacturing industry, including 2+ years leading audits or audit teams.
• Demonstrated experience auditing in an active manufacturing or production environment, not limited to office or documentation-only audits.
• Hands-on experience designing, deploying, or sustaining a Layered Process Audit program.
• Working knowledge of: ISO 9001 and/or AS9100, ISO 19011 auditing guidelines, ITAR/EAR regulations, DFARS clauses, Government contract compliance.
• Proficiency with internal audit techniques including process approach auditing, turtle diagrams, vertical and horizontal audits, sampling, and structured interviewing.
• Proficiency with root cause analysis and corrective action methodologies including 5-Why, Ishikawa, and 8D.
• Experience with electronic document management systems (EDMS), preferably Windchill.
• Strong understanding of records retention and configuration control practices.
• Ability to interpret technical documents, drawings, contracts, and regulatory requirements.
• Ability to write clear, concise, evidence-based audit findings and to defend them to leadership.
• Ability to influence process owners and management without direct authority.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple audit deadlines in a fast-paced production environment.
• Strong attention to detail and document accuracy.
• Willingness to work on the production floor, including shift and off-shift audit coverage as required.
• Ability to obtain security clearance

Nice To Haves

• ASQ Certified Quality Auditor (CQA)
• ISO 9001 or AS9100 Lead Auditor certification
• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) or Six Sigma Green Belt / Black Belt
• Familiarity with AIAG CQI-8 Layered Process Audit guidance or equivalent LPA framework
• Familiarity with AS9101 audit requirements and AS9102 first article inspection
• Experience with special process control and Nadcap-accredited process oversight
• Experience supporting DoD contracts or prime contractors
• Experience auditing against CMMC or NIST SP 800-171 practices
• Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems and PLM systems
• Experience with statistical analysis or quality data tools
• Security clearance eligibility or active clearance preferred

Responsibilities

• Develop the risk-based annual audit schedule with the Compliance Manager, weighting coverage by process criticality, nonconformance history, customer escapes, and contractual risk.
• Serve as lead auditor for assigned audits: build the audit plan, assign team roles, set scope and criteria, and manage the audit timeline to closure.
• Develop audit checklists traced to the specific clause, contract requirement, or procedure being verified, rather than generic question sets.
• Lead opening and closing meetings with process owners, program leadership, and site management.
• Consolidate team findings, adjudicate severity classification, and issue the final audit report.
• Maintain auditor independence and impartiality by assigning auditors outside their own areas of responsibility.
• Report audit program health, coverage, and escalating risk to the Compliance Manager on a defined cadence.
• Own the Layered Process Audit program across manufacturing and production areas, including question set design, layer assignment, frequency, and escalation rules.
• Build LPA question sets around high-risk and critical-to-quality process steps rather than finished-product attributes, verifying that the process is being run as designed.
• Establish tiered audit frequency by layer — team lead and supervisor at high frequency, value stream and department management at moderate frequency, and site leadership at defined intervals.
• Verify shop floor process adherence including standardized work, setup and first-piece verification, work instruction revision in use, tooling and gage calibration status, error-proofing and poka-yoke function checks, and workmanship standards.
• Audit production controls common to defense manufacturing environments, including traceability and serialization, lot and serial segregation, FOD prevention, ESD controls, material handling and shelf-life control, and nonconforming material segregation.
• Verify control of special and outsourced processes, first article inspection records, and key characteristic conformance where applicable to the product line.
• Require and verify on-the-spot correction of red findings at the point of use, and escalate repeat or unresolved findings to the next management layer.
• Train and qualify layered auditors across all levels of the organization so audits are performed consistently regardless of who is auditing.
• Track LPA completion rate by layer, pass/fail rate, and finding closure, and correlate results against scrap, rework, internal defect, and customer escape data.
• Refresh and rotate LPA questions based on emerging defect trends, corrective actions, and customer feedback so the audit stays relevant to current risk.
• Apply the process approach to auditing consistent with ISO 19011 guidance, evaluating inputs, outputs, resources, controls, and performance measures for each process audited.
• Use turtle diagrams and SIPOC mapping to define process boundaries and expose unverified interfaces between functions.
• Perform vertical trace audits by following a serial number, lot, or work order forward from order release to shipment and backward from shipment to incoming material.
• Perform horizontal audits of a single process or requirement across multiple programs and product lines to identify systemic weakness.
• Apply defensible sampling methods and document sample rationale, sample size, and population so conclusions are reproducible.
• Use structured interviewing technique — open-ended and funnel questioning, active listening, and evidence confirmation — to establish facts without leading the auditee.
• Write findings in a requirement, evidence, and nonconformance statement structure that cites the specific clause or contract paragraph and the objective evidence observed.
• Classify findings consistently as major nonconformance, minor nonconformance, or opportunity for improvement, and calibrate classification across the audit team.
• Lead and support external audits from customers, registrars, and government agencies, including evidence retrieval, auditor escort, and response coordination.
• Conduct audit readiness assessments and mock audits ahead of registrar and customer visits.
• Audit and verify organizational conformance with: ISO 9001, AS9100, DFARS, ITAR/EAR, FAR requirements, Customer contractual requirements, Internal quality management systems.
• Verify that contractual and regulatory requirements are correctly flowed down into procedures, work instructions, travelers, and inspection records.
• Verify that procedures, work instructions, specifications, drawings, and records in use on the floor are at the current released revision.
• Audit traceability and revision history against configuration management release guidelines.
• Confirm that records retention, storage, and archival practices meet defense industry and contractual requirements.
• Maintain audit-ready evidence packages and compliance artifacts within the designated repositories.
• Monitor changes in regulatory, industry, and contractual requirements and recommend audit program updates to the Compliance Manager.
• Handle controlled and export-restricted information in accordance with company policy and applicable handling requirements.
• Issue corrective and preventive action requests for audit findings and manage them to closure within the CAD database.
• Facilitate root cause analysis using 5-Why, Ishikawa, is/is-not, and 8D methods, and reject containment actions presented as root cause.
• Verify implementation and effectiveness of corrective actions through follow-up audit before closure, not on submitted paperwork alone.
• Analyze audit results, LPA data, nonconformances, and process metrics to identify recurring and systemic trends across programs.
• Present trend analysis and improvement recommendations to Quality and Operations leadership and to management review.
• Drive process improvements that reduce compliance risk, eliminate repeat findings, and improve audit readiness.
• Mentor and develop compliance auditors on audit technique, evidence standards, and finding write-up quality.
• Deliver internal auditor and layered process auditor training, and maintain the auditor qualification and requalification record.
• Calibrate auditors through shadow audits and joint scoring exercises so findings are consistent across the team.
• Provide guidance to department and program managers on audit preparedness and regulatory compliance.
• Partner with Operations, Manufacturing Engineering, Engineering, Contracts, Supply Chain, Program Management, and Quality teams throughout audit activity.
• Promote a culture of accountability, quality, and regulatory adherence on the production floor.

Benefits

• Diverse portfolio of systems, solutions, and services covering land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace for customers worldwide.
• Solutions for Defense include enterprise and mission IT, large-scale intelligence systems, command and control, geospatial and data analytics, cybersecurity, logistics, training, and intelligence analysis and operations support.
• Solving the world’s toughest security challenges for customers with “can’t fail” missions.

What This Job Offers

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