As a Senior Product Quality Engineer, you will work inside & outside the organization to define, develop, and execute processes that deliver high quality & reliable products. You will be recognized as the lead point of contact for product quality leadership. This role focuses on our Ghost product and auxiliary accessory products with career growth to any of our products in the development stages. An ideal candidate for this role has knowledge of manufacturing, product development, test/system performance criteria, metrology, and continuous improvement for drones and/or aerial vehicles. If you are someone who loves to build world-class quality processes, work hands-on, and be accountable for results, then this role is for you.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
- Lead, execute, and ensure deliverables for Product Development Process within New Product Introduction phases collaborating and coordinating with Systems, Electrical, Mechanical, Software, and Test engineering team counterparts.
- Drive product development/improvement and production for Ghost by supporting drawings & work instruction reviews, process development, inspection, acceptance test performance management, end-of-line metrics, verification, validation, and qualification of processes and parts, sub-assemblies, along with the vehicle, itself.
- Drive clarity & resolution for quality ambiguities associated with product maturity, process stability, and field performance that impact the product achieving it’s quality & reliability goals for volume production. Design, develop, and lead the quality plan for the product.
- Provide product ownership surrounding Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) in determining appropriate disposition to rework or repair customer-owned hardware, and perform troubleshooting and/or root cause analysis by partnering with Reliability Engineering and other cross-functional teams.
- Champion the transition from new product introduction (NPI) to a sustainable & predictable, high rate manufacturing process and supply chain.
- Own the elimination of product risk to improve reliability & quality across the product lifecycle. Engage in quality issue management from concept stages through development & manufacturing to field use.
- Ensure the execution of product and process requirements. Define and improve such requirements.
- Work cross-functionally to define and execute the product roadmap for changes and customer acceptance testing.
- Lead Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA), Material Review Board (MRB) activities, and inspection process performance. Review the effectiveness of actions and share lessons learned across the product team.
- Lead product health data analysis and improvement activities. Establish metrics for measuring quality and the factors that predict quality performance.
- Support the continuous improvement of the Quality Management System for the product. Define and improve required quality documentation and processes.
- Support investigations, initiatives, and projects as needed, at the team or organization level.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or similar STEM fields.
- 8+ years of experience in Engineering, Manufacturing, or Quality in Drones, Artificial Intelligence, aeronautics/defense systems or similar hardware.
- Hands-on experience in system architecture, mechanical or electrical design, design review of precision mechanical, PCBA, harnessing, avionics, systems integration, composites, propulsion systems, and/or lethality systems.
- Experience driving product quality and performance requirements to test and measurement system development and optimization.
- Experience leading the transition from engineering/design qualification to manufacturing/production and verification and validation for product quality coverage.
- Working knowledge of product development methodologies such as Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) elements such as Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA), and Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T).
- Working knowledge of mechanical and/or electrical manufacturing processes.
- Working knowledge of Design of Experiments (DOE) and Statistical Process Control (SPC) methodologies.
- A strong ownership mindset with demonstrated capability to drive projects from start to completion.
- Analytical skills and experiences for data mining, data quality, metrics generation, issue management systems, and statistical analysis tools (MatLab, JMP, MiniTab, etc)
- Must be able to obtain and hold a U.S. S/TS security clearance
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Master’s degree in a technical field
- 10+ years of experience in Engineering, Manufacturing, or Quality in Drones, Artificial Intelligence, aeronautics/defense systems or similar hardware.
- System level ownership experience in Autonomous Drones and helicopters.
- Experience developing PCBA and FW/SW integration.
- Experience in executing MRO operations for/with Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) under U.S. military contract.
- Experience integrating Electronic Warfare (EW) and/or explosive munitions & launcher subsystems into vehicles.
- 7+ years of experience with developing quality systems for low volume, high complex manufacturing environments and suppliers.
- Working knowledge of AS9100/ ISO 9001-based Quality Management System requirements.
- Experience with IPC standards and general workmanship standards.
- Experience with government contracts and MIL standard requirements commonly applied to quality requirements for aerial vehicles.
- Experience with Teamcenter, NetSuite, SolidWorks/NX, Jira, Foundry, ERP/MES, and Altium (or other PCBA and harness design software)