Product Quality Engineering Lead

The Product Quality Engineering Lead owns the team and the systems that make product quality possible.  This includes but is not limited to inspection standards, process controls, internal corrective actions, and long-term process improvements. This role oversees a team of Product Quality Engineers and has the autonomy to adjust roles and responsibilities as necessary to support the business. It is a hands-on leadership role: you will build and scale product quality engineering processes while personally leading the investigations, root cause analysis, and high-impact issues that matter most. The right candidate is both a strategic builder and a technical operator. We are deliberately not looking for someone to step into a well-defined seat and run the existing playbook — the playbook is part of what you will rewrite.

Responsibilities:

Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Product Quality Engineers – including hiring, performance management, and career development

Set priorities and balance workload across the team while ensuring stakeholder alignment

Build a high-ownership culture in which each engineer is accountable for the quality of their assigned products and processes

Develop the architecture of product quality engineering processes end-to-end. This includes but is not limited to inspection planning, in-process and final inspection, nonconformance management, and root cause and corrective action

Drive processes to AS9100D compliance and beyond while supporting other certification or accreditation schemes as they come to fruition

Define key metrics for product and team performance and establish a reporting cadence that makes them visible across the organization

Provide significant input into the design and continuous improvement of the Quality Management System (QMS), especially product realization and verification/validation

Lead or directly support high-stakes investigations, test failures, first article inspections (FAI), and critical build and test activities

Own escalations for product quality issues the team cannot resolve independently

Lead or support MRB, root cause analysis, and corrective actions for product related issues

Partner with Engineering and Manufacturing on DFM, process capability assessments, control plans, and technical drawing reviews

Ensure inspection methods, sampling plans, and acceptance criteria are defined and implemented to balance risk, cost, and schedule

Support qualification efforts by ensuring activities are executed to requirements, evidence is complete and accurate, and quality controls are appropriately applied. Partner closely with the Responsible Engineers who own product qualification

Serve as the senior point of contact for product quality engineering across the entirety of the business

Represent product quality engineering in cross functional settings as applicable

Collaborate with Design, Configuration, Systems Engineering, Operations, and Test to align verification plans, test approaches, and quality controls

Other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree

5+ years of progressive experience in product quality, manufacturing quality, test engineering, or a comparable quality-focused role within aerospace, defense, or a regulated manufacturing environment

Demonstrated experience building or substantially overhauling product or manufacturing quality systems and processes

Working knowledge of AS9100D and a track record of bringing internal quality processes into compliance

Strong understanding of inspection planning, first article inspection, nonconformance management, root cause analysis, and corrective action

Expert-level command of GD&T, engineering drawings, and manufacturing processes

Ability to think in systems and redesign broken processes rather than work around them

Credibility with design engineers, manufacturing technicians, and executives, with the ability to shift communication styles between all three

Excellent analytical and communication skills, with the ability to lead through influence as much as authority and to defend quality decisions that carry cost or schedule impact

Preferred Experience:

Experience leading or mentoring engineers, formally as a manager or informally as a technical lead

Experience driving structural change to a team or process in a working manufacturing environment

Experience across multiple hardware types, including machined parts, additive, castings, welded assemblies, fluid systems, electronics, chemical manufacturing, or propulsion systems

Experience in propulsion, space, hypersonic, or missile systems

Familiarity with APQP/AS9145 concepts, advanced quality planning, and modern quality engineering practices

Experience with quality-related tooling, including inspection planning, eQMS, NCR/CAPA systems, SPC tools, and digital travelers

Experience working in a DCMA regulated environment

Working Conditions / Physical Demands

Split between office and production environments, with regular interaction across engineering, manufacturing, test, and quality teams

Regular time spent on the shop floor and in test areas, requiring adherence to safety protocols

Ability to sit or stand for extended periods and work on a computer for prolonged durations

Occasionally required to lift up to 25 pounds (e.g., hardware, materials, or equipment)

Ability to travel up to 10% domestically to supplier sites, test facilities, and company locations as needed

Colorado law requires us to tell you the base compensation range of this role, which is $106,000 - $132,000, determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities. What we can’t quantify for you are the exciting challenges, supportive team, and amazing culture we enjoy.

Classification: Full-time Exempt