Manager, Quality Systems Engineering

Relativity Space•Long Beach, CA

About The Position

Relativity Space is building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. The Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. This role is within the Reliability team, which ensures quality is built into every stage of the Terran R design and production process. The team works directly with design, manufacturing, test, and launch teams to stay close to the hardware, understand constraints, and proactively shape decisions. As the program moves from development into production and scaled operations, this is the time to establish the right processes, controls, and inspections without slowing progress. The team plays a key role in balancing risk, fostering a culture of ownership, and making sure speed never comes at the cost of reliability. Success means creating a quality system that scales with the Terran R program and Relativity as a whole. The Manager, Quality Systems Engineering will own the quality management system across the organization, setting strategy, driving continuous improvement, and ensuring alignment with customer requirements, regulatory standards, and international frameworks including AS9100. This role involves building, developing, and managing a team of quality systems engineers, providing coaching, technical guidance, and performance development. The manager will also own and oversee the Document Control system, manage and execute the internal and external audit program, lead configuration management processes, and drive root cause investigations and corrective and preventive action (CAPA) processes.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering, quality, or a related STEM field
8+ years of experience in quality systems or quality engineering, with demonstrated experience in aerospace or a similarly regulated industry
2+ years of direct people management experience, with a track record of developing and leading technical teams
In-depth working knowledge of AS9100 or ISO 9001 requirements and principles
Hands-on experience with document control systems, configuration management, and internal/external audit programs
Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with experience reporting quality metrics and program status to senior leadership

Nice To Haves

Lead auditor certification strongly preferred
Certified QMS lead auditor (AS9100)
Experience in a high-growth, vertically integrated manufacturing environment
Familiarity with QMS digital platforms and continuous improvement methodologies such as Lean or Six Sigma

Responsibilities

Own the quality management system across the organization, setting strategy, driving continuous improvement, and ensuring alignment with customer requirements, regulatory standards, and international frameworks including AS9100
Build, develop, and manage a team of quality systems engineers, providing coaching, technical guidance, and performance development
Own and oversee the Document Control system, ensuring accurate, compliant, and efficient management of controlled documents, records, and change control processes
Manage and execute the internal and external audit program, including planning, leading, and reporting on audit findings to evaluate QMS performance and effectiveness
Lead configuration management processes in coordination with engineering and operations stakeholders to ensure product and process integrity across all lifecycle phases
Drive root cause investigations and corrective and preventive action (CAPA) processes, ensuring timely closure and systemic improvement of the quality management system