Quality Manager- Aerospace and Defense Manufacturing

About the role

We are seeking a Quality Manager to lead incoming inspection operations at an aerospace and defense manufacturing facility. This individual will manage inspection personnel and ensure that purchased materials, components, and assemblies satisfy drawings, specifications, purchase orders, contractual requirements, and AS9100 quality standards before entering production.

This position requires direct manufacturing-quality leadership experience. Candidates must have supervised quality or inspection employees and worked within an AS9100-regulated environment.

Responsibilities

• Manage the daily workload, priorities, training, and performance of incoming inspectors.
• Ensure incoming products meet engineering drawings, specifications, purchase orders, and acceptance requirements.
• Maintain incoming inspection procedures, work instructions, inspection plans, and quality records.
• Review dimensional inspection results and address discrepancies before material is released to production.
• Manage receiving nonconformances, containment, documentation, MRB coordination, and disposition follow-up.
• Lead root-cause investigations and corrective actions related to incoming product defects.
• Coordinate supplier corrective-action requests and verify that completed actions are effective.
• Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Program Management to resolve quality issues.
• Monitor supplier defects, inspection turnaround time, rejection trends, and quality escapes.
• Support internal, customer, regulatory, and AS9100 audits.
• Improve inspection efficiency without compromising product quality or compliance.
• Ensure adherence to applicable safety, security, and export-control requirements.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Quality, Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Technology, or a closely related technical field.
• At least five years of quality experience in a manufacturing environment.
• At least three years of direct supervisory or people-management experience in Quality or Inspection.
• Direct experience managing incoming inspection, receiving inspection, or supplier acceptance activities.
• Working knowledge of AS9100 quality-system requirements.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, GD&T, technical specifications, and purchase-order requirements.
• Experience with dimensional inspection and precision measurement equipment.
• Experience managing nonconforming material, root-cause investigations, and corrective actions.
• Experience supporting quality-system, customer, or regulatory audits.
• Ability to work full-time onsite in Columbus, Mississippi.

Candidates will not be considered without the required bachelor’s degree, AS9100 knowledge, manufacturing-quality experience, and three years of direct people-management experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Aerospace or defense manufacturing experience.
• CMM, laser tracker, portable measurement arm, or advanced metrology experience.
• Supplier quality or supplier-audit experience.
• Experience supporting MRB activities.
• CQE, Six Sigma, or another quality-related certification.

Pay

$90,000–$100,000

Schedule

Full-time, onsite