Program Quality Engineer Lead

Leidos•Adelphi, MD

1d•$92,300 - $166,850

About The Position

Leidos is hiring a Program Quality Engineer Lead to support the U.S. Army C5ISR Center, Defensive Cyber Solutions Branch (DCSB) Cerberus Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) Support program in Adelphi, Maryland. The role leads Quality Engineering and Mission Assurance for a complex, mission-critical cyber program and serves as the senior quality subject matter expert and primary quality advisor to the Program Manager. The position partners with program leadership, technical teams, functional leads, subcontractors, and Leidos Quality Engineering and Compliance leadership to translate contractual and mission requirements into effective quality controls, measurable performance, and objective evidence of successful execution. The role is local to the area and requires frequent travel to the customer site. An active Secret clearance and U.S. citizenship are required.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and 8 or more years of professional experience; additional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
Experience in Quality Engineering, Quality Assurance, Mission Assurance, program quality management, or a related discipline.
Experience implementing or managing a Quality Management System (QMS) or program Quality Control Plan.
Experience interpreting contractual requirements, PWS requirements, performance standards, and deliverable requirements.
Experience with performance measurement, metrics, trend analysis, and management reporting.
Experience conducting quality audits, assessments, reviews, or inspections.
Experience with nonconformity management, corrective action, causal/root cause analysis, and effectiveness verification.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, facilitation, and written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to work effectively with Program Managers, technical SMEs, functional leads, subcontractors, customers, and senior leadership.
Ability to independently identify, communicate, and escalate significant quality and performance risks.
Proficiency developing executive-level quality and performance reporting using Microsoft Office and applicable collaboration/data-management tools.
Ability to satisfy applicable Government security, access, and badging requirements.
Active Secret clearance and U.S. citizenship.
Must be local to travel frequently to the customer site.

Nice To Haves

Quality or Mission Assurance leadership experience on DoD, Army, cybersecurity, IT, software/systems engineering, or other mission-critical Government programs, including DCO, CSSP, IT service management, or DevSecOps environments.
Experience establishing or maturing program-level QMS, QCPs, and performance-based Quality/Mission Assurance operating models.
Working knowledge of ISO 9001:2015, CMMI, EENG or comparable enterprise process frameworks, internal auditing, Tailored Process Baseline development, and process tailoring.
Experience with ISO 22301:2019 BCMS gap assessments, audits, business impact analysis, recovery strategies, and certification readiness.
Experience applying PWS, QASP, PRS, and CDRL requirements to establish measurable Quality controls.
Experience leading audits, requirement-escape investigations, RCA methods such as 5 Whys, Fishbone, and Pareto, and Corrective Action Requests with effectiveness verification.
Experience building executive Quality dashboards and PRS/KPI reporting using Power BI, SharePoint, Power Automate, Jira, Confluence, or similar tools, and facilitating QMRs and governance meetings.
Experience leading continual improvement initiatives using Lean Six Sigma, DMAIC, Kaizen, or Value Stream Mapping with measurable results, and supporting subcontractor Quality oversight.
Relevant certifications such as ASQ CQE, CMQ/OE, ISO 9001 or ISO 22301 Lead Auditor/Implementer, or Lean Six Sigma Green/Black Belt.

Responsibilities

Serve as the program's lead Quality Engineering and Mission Assurance subject matter expert and primary independent Quality advisor to the Program Manager, maintaining reporting and escalation channels through Leidos Mission Assurance leadership.
Lead implementation, execution, maintenance, and continual improvement of the DCSB DCO II – Cerberus Quality Control Plan (QCP).
Establish and maintain requirements traceability across the PWS, PRS, QASP, CDRLs, program Quality controls, applicable EENG processes, performance measures, and supporting objective evidence.
Assess program performance against contractual PRS requirements and internal Quality KPIs; identify adverse trends, requirement escapes, recurring deficiencies, and emerging Mission Assurance risks.
Plan, conduct, and report risk-based Quality audits, process assessments, product reviews, inspections, and compliance evaluations.
Coordinate independent Quality reviews of contractual deliverables and CDRLs before Government submission.
Lead and facilitate ISO 22301:2019 BCMS gap assessments and certification-readiness activities with the Government CSSP, PMO, and operational owners.
Identify, document, and escalate significant Quality nonconformities, requirement escapes, performance deficiencies, customer concerns, and Mission Assurance risks.
Lead or facilitate causal and root cause analyses; develop corrective and preventive actions, track implementation, and independently verify effectiveness before recommending closure.
Support subcontractor Quality and performance oversight, including supplier compliance assessments, performance trends, deficiencies, corrective actions, and contractual deliverables.
Lead data-driven continual improvement initiatives using Lean Six Sigma, DMAIC, Kaizen, Root Cause Analysis, Value Stream Mapping, and other appropriate methods.
Maintain accurate, current, configuration-controlled Quality records, assessment results, corrective-action documentation, performance measures, and objective evidence.
Support QMS assessments, enterprise process evaluations, customer surveillance, and third-party audits with Leidos EA&CI and other stakeholders.
Develop and execute a structured Quality/Mission Assurance maturity and improvement roadmap, with prioritized actions, success criteria, and progress reporting.
Exercise delegated Quality authority under Leidos policies and the applicable RAA framework, including initiating escalation or work-stoppage actions when defined critical conditions warrant.