Quality Manager, Maintenance Operations

Zipline • Fort Worth, TX

20d • Hybrid

About The Position

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service, aiming to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to essential goods. They design, build, and operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, making deliveries globally. The company is seeking practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth, motivated by building systems with a meaningful impact.

The Maintenance Quality Manager will be responsible for building the operating system that ensures maintenance repairs are consistent, measurable, and effective across Zipline’s U.S. operations. The role focuses on identifying quality gaps, supporting root cause analysis, and confirming the effectiveness of corrective actions. This is a hands-on, field-oriented position that involves combining observations from technicians and site visits with maintenance and reliability data, and collaborating with various departments to implement durable improvements. Success requires strong systems thinking, practical judgment, and the ability to influence teams through evidence and trust.

Requirements

• 3–7 years of experience in maintenance quality, operational quality, reliability, field service, or a related discipline supporting complex, field-deployed hardware.
• Field credibility and technical curiosity: you learn how work is actually performed, ask strong questions, and can understand complex mechanical, electrical, or electromechanical systems well enough to challenge assumptions.
• A track record of influencing cross-functional teams, driving change, and maintaining a high quality bar without creating unnecessary process or bureaucracy.
• Strong knowledge of root-cause analysis and structured problem-solving methods such as 5 Whys, fishbone analysis, 8D, or fault-tree analysis.
• Proficiency in SQL, and with data-analysis and visualization tools such as Python, Tableau, Looker, Power BI, or ThoughtSpot.
• The analytical ability to define useful measures, work with imperfect operational data, distinguish isolated defects from systemic problems, and determine whether a fix worked.
• Strong command of audits, nonconformance management, root-cause analysis, corrective action, change control, and effectiveness verification.
• Excellent program management and follow-through, including the ability to assign ownership, manage competing risks, escalate when needed, and close actions on time.
• Willingness to travel to maintenance sites and work directly with technicians and operational teams.

Nice To Haves

• Experience leveraging AI tools to advance data analysis & visualization, develop light-code user interfaces and tools, and synthesizing information.
• Working knowledge of quality standards such as ISO 9001, AS9100, or similar regulated quality frameworks.
• Experience leading continuous-improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methods.

Responsibilities

• Define the metrics and review mechanisms that make maintenance quality visible; use fleet-health, reliability, repeat-failure, and maintenance-record data to identify systemic issues and set priorities.
• Define inspection criteria, acceptance requirements, and return-to-service controls for preventive and corrective maintenance.
• Lead nonconformance and corrective-action work end to end, from containment and root-cause analysis through action ownership, effectiveness checks, and prevention of recurrence.
• Build and continuously improve a maintenance Quality Management System, including standards, governance, document control, audit processes, corrective actions, and performance reporting.
• Define metrics that reveal the effectiveness of aircraft repairs performed, particularly by repair type, and create relevant reporting for maintenance management & executive leadership.
• Close the feedback loop between the field and Engineering, Training, Technical Publications, and Supply Chain by turning quality findings into better procedures, training, tooling, parts, and designs.
• Reduce repeat repairs, downtime, and process variation.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed