Quality Manager

Salient Motion•Torrance, CA

17h•$140,000 - $160,000•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a hands-on Quality Manager to own and mature our AS9100 Quality Management System. This is a working role, not a director-level seat. You will be on the floor, in the data, and in the audits. You will own the QMS day to day, drive corrective action, manage supplier and customer quality, and prepare Salient for the certification and production-approval milestones ahead as we grow our commercial aviation and defense programs.

Requirements

U.S. Person status as defined under ITAR, with eligibility to access export-controlled technical data.
Bachelor's degree in engineering, technical discipline, or equivalent experience.
Five or more years of quality experience in aerospace, defense, or a comparable regulated manufacturing environment.
Working knowledge of AS9100 and demonstrated ownership of, or significant hands-on contribution to, an AS9100 QMS.
Hands-on experience with internal and external audits, CAPA, nonconformance, and MRB processes.
Experience with first article inspection (AS9102) and inspection of electromechanical assemblies.
Practical, floor-level approach. Comfortable owning the system directly in a lean, fast-moving environment.

Nice To Haves

ASQ certification such as CMQ/OE, CQE, or CQA.
AS9100 / AS9101 Lead Auditor certification.
Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or Black Belt).
Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) experience.
Familiarity with counterfeit parts control (AS5553 / AS6174) program ownership.
Familiarity with NIST SP 800-171 and CUI handling on defense programs.
Strong working knowledge of IPC-A-610 and IPC/WHMA-A-620 workmanship standards.
Exposure to FAA PMA / TSO and Production Certificate processes, or EASA Part 21 / Part 145.
Experience evaluating or managing Nadcap special-process accreditation.

Responsibilities

Own, maintain, and continuously improve the AS9100 Quality Management System, including the quality manual, procedures, work instructions, and records.
Plan, conduct, and close internal audits. Host and manage external audits and customer and registrar surveillance.
Drive root cause analysis and corrective and preventive action (CAPA), and manage nonconformance and material review board (MRB) activity.
Manage supplier quality: approval, surveillance, scorecards, source inspection, and corrective action flow-down.
Own receiving, in-process, and final inspection processes and first article inspection (FAI) per AS9102.
Administer counterfeit parts prevention and control per AS5553 (electronic parts) and AS6174 (materiel).
Maintain workmanship standards and acceptance criteria per IPC-A-610 (electronic assemblies) and IPC/WHMA-A-620 (cable and harness assemblies).
Support protection of controlled unclassified information (CUI) on defense programs in alignment with NIST SP 800-171.
Manage calibration and measurement systems, control of monitoring and measuring equipment, and gage R&R.
Lead the quality readiness path toward FAA Production Approval Holder status, including PMA and TSO Authorization, FAA 14 CFR Part 21 Subpart G (Production Certificate), and FAA 14 CFR 21.9 (replacement and modification articles, tied to authority to issue FAA Form 8130-3).
Support parallel EASA workstreams, including EASA Part 21 Subpart G (Production Organization Approval) and EASA Part 145 (maintenance organization approval), as program requirements develop.
Responsible for training, training records, and competency matrices.
Track and report key quality metrics to leadership, and represent quality in program reviews, design reviews, and customer engagements.