Director of Quality Assurance

About the Company

Our client is a leading manufacturer serving both commercial and defense aerospace markets. The organization operates multiple production facilities and maintains rigorous quality standards in a highly regulated environment. This is a confidential search — company name and location will be shared with qualified candidates upon mutual interest.

About the Role

The Director of Quality Assurance is a senior leadership role with cross-site responsibility for all quality functions across two manufacturing locations. Reporting to the COO, this leader will oversee a team of approximately 15 people across four functional areas: Compliance, Sparks Site Quality, Benicia Site Quality, and Supplier Quality. The role requires someone who can set the tone culturally, drive organizational pace, and bring both technical depth and executive presence.

• Compliance Manager
• Quality Manager (Site 1) — 10 direct reports
• Quality Manager (Site 2) — 3 direct reports
• Manager of Supplier Quality

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of quality professionals across multiple sites
• Drive compliance with AS9100 and other aerospace quality standards
• Oversee Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA) methodology
• Manage supplier quality at an enterprise level
• Implement process improvements using Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent
• Identify and mitigate risk proactively across commercial and defense programs
• Collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, operations, and program management
• Provide cultural leadership and change management
• Represent quality at the executive leadership level

Requirements

• Deep aerospace quality experience with AS9100 certification knowledge
• Direct experience working with DCMA — this is a hard requirement
• Demonstrated expertise in Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA) methodology
• Supplier quality leadership at a multi-site or enterprise level
• Hands-on process improvement capability (Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent)
• Experience across both commercial and defense aerospace programs
• Proven ability to identify and mitigate risk proactively
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills
• Cultural leadership and change management capability
• Executive presence with the ability to represent quality at the leadership level

Benefits

• Employer-subsidized medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Company-paid life insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Generous PTO

Pay

Competitive base salary commensurate with experience and location, plus eligibility for an annual performance bonus of up to 20% of W-2 wages.