Head of Qualification

About the role

The Role

Hadrian is seeking a Head of Qualification to own and scale how parts get qualified for production across our defense programs.

Responsibilities

• Own Hadrian's end-to-end qualification function — from part intake through technical data evaluation, gap resolution, qualification data package assembly, first article verification, and source approval — in alignment with customer requirements
• Define and maintain qualification scope, and own the qualification pipeline and its workflow automation
• Lead the technical core: direct Product Qualification Managers (PQMs) and Manufacturing/Quality Engineers performing technical data evaluation and qualification data package generation, producing production-ready design data sets and TDPs
• Own qualification performance and reporting — tracking metrics such as time-to-qualification, parts in pipeline, parts qualified, and parts overseen per PQM — and serve as Hadrian's qualification interface to the customer, running part prioritization jointly
• Partner closely with reverse engineering, manufacturing engineering, and quality to ensure qualification outputs translate into producible, source-approved parts, while hiring, developing, and scaling a high-performing qualification organization

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Manufacturing Engineering or a related technical field, and 8+ years of experience in qualification, quality, manufacturing engineering, or related leadership roles
• Detailed knowledge of part/product qualification, first article verification, technical data packages (TDPs), and source approval; aviation component qualification is a plus
• Demonstrated ability to interpret and apply complex regulatory and customer requirements based on intent and risk, and to translate them into clear, practical workflows
• Demonstrated ability to build, scale, or significantly improve systems, processes, or organizations in complex, ambiguous environments, including leading and developing high-performing teams
• Strong decision-making in ambiguous, high-risk, customer-facing situations, with excellent communication and cross-functional leadership across engineering, operations, and government customers

Qualifications

• Direct experience with DoW qualification, airworthiness, or source approval processes
• Hands-on experience with technical data package development, reverse engineering, and proprietary data/data rights issues
• Experience standing up qualification pipelines, workflow automation, or supporting tools
• Strong track record of balancing compliance requirements with practical, scalable implementation
• Experience in high-growth or startup manufacturing environments