Quality Manager (AS9100)

Precision aerospace and defense manufacturing organization seeking an experienced Quality Manager to lead its Quality Management System and quality operations within a highly regulated manufacturing environment.

About the role

This individual will own the effectiveness and continuous improvement of the site's AS9100-certified Quality Management System, ensure compliance with customer and regulatory requirements, and strengthen quality performance across manufacturing, inspection, calibration, supplier quality, and nonconformance processes. The successful candidate will combine hands-on quality systems expertise with practical, cross-functional leadership and the ability to work effectively with Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, customers, and external auditors.

Responsibilities

• Lead, maintain, and continuously improve the site's AS9100-certified Quality Management System, including quality policies, procedures, work instructions, records, and document-control practices.
• Ensure ongoing compliance with applicable aerospace and defense standards, FAA and DoD expectations, customer-specific requirements, regulatory obligations, and internal quality objectives.
• Plan, coordinate, and lead internal audits, customer audits, and third-party certification or surveillance audits.
• Ensure audit findings are documented, addressed, and closed effectively and within required timelines.
• Lead corrective and preventive action activities and structured root-cause analysis for audit findings, nonconformances, customer complaints, process failures, and recurring quality issues.
• Verify the effectiveness and sustainability of corrective actions.
• Oversee quality assurance and inspection activities across incoming, in-process, and final-product stages, with an emphasis on conformance, traceability, and consistent execution.
• Ensure product and process nonconformances are identified, contained, documented, evaluated, and resolved through disciplined processes.
• Oversee calibration controls and measurement-system practices to maintain accuracy, traceability, availability, and compliance.
• Partner with Supply Chain to monitor supplier quality performance, investigate supplier-related nonconformances, and drive appropriate corrective actions.
• Work closely with Operations and Engineering to improve product quality, manufacturing process capability, risk controls, and consistency while reducing scrap, rework, and preventable defects.
• Develop, monitor, and report quality KPIs, including scrap, rework, customer complaints, audit performance, nonconformance trends, and corrective-action closure and effectiveness.
• Establish priorities for the quality function, provide functional leadership and coaching, reinforce accountability, and promote a culture of quality ownership.
• Serve as a credible quality representative in customer and regulatory interactions, communicating issues clearly and ensuring responsive follow-through.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of progressive quality leadership experience within aerospace and defense manufacturing.
• Demonstrated hands-on ownership and management of an AS9100-certified Quality Management System.
• Strong working knowledge of aerospace and defense quality expectations, including applicable FAA, DoD, customer-specific, and regulatory requirements.
• Proven experience leading internal, customer, and third-party audits, including preparation, response, corrective action, and closure.
• Demonstrated success leading CAPA programs, root-cause analysis, problem-solving, and continuous-improvement initiatives.
• Practical understanding of manufacturing quality assurance, inspection, calibration, nonconformance management, supplier quality, and document control.
• Ability to translate quality data into clear priorities and actionable improvements using KPIs and trend analysis.
• Strong leadership, judgment, organization, and cross-functional communication skills.
• Ability to work regularly onsite in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and periodically support other local company facilities as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, or a related discipline (preferred).
• Experience in precision manufacturing, machining, or other high-mix, tight-tolerance production environments serving highly regulated customers (preferred).
• Experience strengthening or scaling quality practices within a new, growing, or multi-site manufacturing operation (preferred).

Schedule

Hybrid, with regular onsite presence required. Periodic work at other company locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area may be needed.

Pay

$80-$100 per hour.

Benefits

W-2 benefits include access to medical benefits, PTO, and 401(k).

Engagement: Contract-to-hire with expected conversion to full-time employment at or before the six-month mark, based on business needs and mutual fit. Start date is flexible based on candidate availability. Engagement options include W-2 or C2C through the consultant's own LLC.