Director of Quality

Description

The Director of Quality at Kratos is responsible for building and leading a world-class quality organization that ensures consistently high-quality finished products. This role develops the methods, capabilities, and culture required to prevent defects, improve process capability, and deliver consistent execution from suppliers through final test.

Primary Responsibilities

• Operational Quality Leadership: Lead all quality functions including Supplier Quality, Incoming Inspection, In-Process Quality, Final Inspection, Test Quality, Quality Engineering, and Corrective Actions. Develop and execute a multi-year quality strategy aligned with Kratos growth objectives and operational goals. Establish clear quality metrics, targets, and accountability systems that drive measurable business performance. Partner with Operations leadership to improve process capability, reduce variation, and eliminate recurring defects. Drive quality ownership across all functions and ensure accountability resides where issues originate. Lead rigorous root cause investigations utilizing structured problem-solving methodologies. Ensure corrective actions address true root causes and prevent recurrence. Develop organizational capability in root cause analysis, corrective action, and continuous improvement methodologies. Review recurring issues, identify systemic failures, and drive sustainable solutions. Develop a robust supplier quality strategy. Establish supplier performance metrics and accountability processes. Drive supplier corrective actions and continuous improvement initiatives. Partner with Supply Chain to improve supplier selection, qualification, and performance management processes. Reduce incoming defects and improve supplier responsiveness.

• Manufacturing and Process Quality: Ensure quality requirements are effectively integrated into manufacturing processes. Support development and implementation of standard work, process controls, inspection plans, and quality checkpoints. Drive initiatives that improve first-pass yield, reduce rework, and improve schedule execution. Utilize quality data and trend analysis to identify improvement opportunities and operational risks.

• Customer Quality and Field Performance: Lead customer quality issue resolution efforts. Establish processes for identifying and addressing field failures and customer complaints. Ensure lessons learned are incorporated into engineering, manufacturing, and supplier improvement activities. Drive continuous improvement in customer satisfaction and product reliability.

• Quality Systems and Compliance: Maintain an effective Quality Management System that supports operational excellence and customer requirements. Ensure compliance with ISO 9001 and applicable customer requirements. Utilize audits as a tool for improvement rather than a compliance exercise. Ensure quality systems scale effectively with company growth and operational expansion.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of progressive quality leadership experience in complex manufacturing.
• Demonstrated success improving product quality by building organizational capability and driving measurable business results.
• Strong knowledge of quality engineering, statistical methods, process capability, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and Lean manufacturing.
• Experience leading ISO 9001 quality systems in a manufacturing environment.
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams and drive sustainable business change.

Leadership Responsibilities

• Recruit, develop, and retain a high-performing quality organization.
• Create a culture of ownership, urgency, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Develop future leaders within the quality function.
• Build strong cross-functional relationships that drive collaboration and business results.
• Maintain a visible presence throughout manufacturing operations and supplier interactions.