Director of Quality

About the role

Mach Industries is a rapidly growing defense technology company focused on developing next-generation autonomous defense platforms. The role involves building and leading a world-class quality organization that ensures every product meets the highest standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead all aspects of quality across: Manufacturing Quality (inspection & in-process quality), Receiving Inspection (supplier quality gate), Quality Engineering (production support, RCCA, process capability), Reliability Engineering (flight & test performance, failure analysis).

• Establish a single, unified quality operating system across development and production.

• Build and manage a high-performing team of inspectors and quality leads embedded in production.

• Define inspection strategies (risk-based, critical feature-driven vs blanket inspection).

• Drive transition from inspection-heavy to process-capable manufacturing.

• Own receiving inspection and supplier acceptance strategy.

• Define supplier qualification, audit, and performance systems.

• Drive supplier quality improvement through: SCARs, On-site audits, Process validation.

• Reduce incoming inspection burden via supplier certification and trust models.

• Lead root cause and corrective action (RCCA) processes across the factory.

• Own nonconformance management (NCR/MRB systems).

• Drive statistical process control (SPC) and process capability (Cp/Cpk).

• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering to: Eliminate variation, Improve yields, Scale processes to rate.

• Define clear quality ownership boundaries between engineering and production.

• Lead failure investigations from test and flight anomalies.

• Ensure rapid feedback loops from test → design → manufacturing.

• Define and enforce flight readiness quality criteria.

• Build a pragmatic, high-velocity QMS (not bureaucratic, but disciplined).

• Define and implement: Change control systems, Configuration management alignment with engineering, Traceability (materials, processes, builds), Establish clear quality gates tied to TRL/MRL and production readiness.

• Ensure audit readiness (internal and external, e.g., AS9100-style environments if needed).

• Build a culture of: Accountability over blame, Speed with rigor, Data-driven decision making.

• Recruit, develop, and retain top-tier quality and reliability talent.

• Be a strong cross-functional partner to: Manufacturing, Design Engineering, Test & Flight Ops, Supply Chain.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.

• 8+ years of experience in manufacturing quality, quality engineering, or reliability engineering.

• 5+ years leading high-performing technical teams in a production environment.

• Experience operating in high-reliability industries (aerospace, defense, automotive, energy, etc.).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience scaling from prototype → production (NPI through rate production).

• Deep experience with: RCCA / 8D / 5 Whys, SPC and process capability, Failure analysis (mechanical, electrical, or systems-level).

• Familiarity with: AS9100 / ISO9001 frameworks (without over-reliance on bureaucracy), Digital quality systems / MES integration.

• Demonstrated ability to: Stand up quality organizations from scratch, Drive measurable improvements in yield, reliability, and cost.

• Experience working tightly with manufacturing engineering and design teams in fast-paced environments.