Quality Manager

What We Do

Aspen is a technology leader in sustainability and electrification solutions. The Company's aerogel technology enables its customers and partners to achieve their own objectives around the global megatrends of resource efficiency, e-mobility, and clean energy. Aspen's PyroThin® products enable solutions to thermal runaway challenges within the electric vehicle ("EV") market. The Company's Cryogel® and Pyrogel® products are valued by the world's largest energy infrastructure companies. Aspen's strategy is to partner with world-class industry leaders to leverage its Aerogel Technology Platform® into additional high-value markets. Aspen is headquartered in Northborough, Mass.

What We Value

At Aspen, our values reflect who we are and how we work both with each other and our customers, suppliers, and communities. They shape our interactions, guide our decisions, and inspire us to bring our best. Whether collaborating internally or externally, our values drive us to make a meaningful impact within Aspen and in all our relationships. Aspen’s CORE Values We Do the Right Thing We are Problem Solvers We are Allies We Drive Forward

What You Will Do

• Lead the Quality organization to support manufacturing stabilization, supplier transitions, and customer protection activities.
• Establish and maintain strong quality governance across incoming material, in-process controls, final inspection, product release, and customer shipment readiness.
• Ensure supplier changes, material changes, process changes, and product qualifications are managed through proper change control, risk assessment, validation, APQP and PPAP processes.
• Lead supplier qualification and supplier development activities, including audits, performance monitoring, corrective actions, and PPAP readiness.
• Ensure incoming materials from critical suppliers are properly controlled, inspected, traceable, and approved before use in customer products.
• Drive containment, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and verification of effectiveness for internal and external nonconformities.
• Lead customer complaint response, 8D execution, customer communication support, and closure of quality issues.
• Ensure customer-specific requirements are reviewed, understood, flowed down, and implemented across the applicable functions.
• Ensure product and process traceability systems are robust enough to support customer inquiries, containment, suspect material identification, and recall risk mitigation.
• Maintain PFMEA, Control Plan, inspection standards and quality gates as living documents aligned with actual process risks and lessons learned.
• Ensure manufacturing process controls are effective, measurable, and consistently followed by Operations and Quality teams.
• Partner with Operations and Engineering to reduce scrap, rework, COPQ, recurring defects and process variation.
• Develop a strong Quality Engineering team with clear ownership for APQP/PPAP, process quality, supplier quality, incoming inspection, lab activities, calibration, testing, MSA, SPC and quality systems.
• Provide technical leadership during customer audits, certification audits, supplier audits and internal assessments.
• Escalate quality risks proactively when customer satisfaction, product conformity, supply continuity, and regulatory compliance may be impacted.
• Establish dashboards and routines to monitor customer complaints, supplier performance, internal defects, FTQ/FTY, audit findings, PPAP status, validation status, overdue corrective actions, scrap, and COPQ.
• Support organizational independence from legacy supplier/process dependencies by building internal capability, documented standards, and sustainable quality controls.
• Ensure the Quality Management System (QMS) aligns with customer, regulatory, and certification requirements.
• Promote a culture of quality by engaging and influencing key stakeholders across Aspen sites.
• Manage and implement quality programs that ensure consistent production aligned with established standards.
• Lead the implementation of the Problem-Solving and Corrective Action process across the organization.
• Lead or support root cause investigations and implement corrective actions for nonconformities.
• Maintain documentation and ensure compliance with document control policies.
• Lead and support activities related to PPAP, FMEA, SPC, Gage R&R, Supplier Qualification, Calibration, and Corrective & Preventive Actions in automotive assembly lines.
• Track and measure performing employee performance reviews.
• Develop and execute strategic plans to improve key performance indicators (KPIs) and enhance customer satisfaction year over year.
• Prepare and present technical, program, and operational quality reports as needed.
• Manage the Quality department budget and CAPEX projects.
• Review and audit SOPs, validations, and other documents.
• Train employees in QMS and ISO / IATF requirements.
• Support and lead other special projects as assigned.
• Avoid creating undocumented process changes and challenge weak root causes.
• Adopt and follow Aspen’s core values.

How Will You Do It

Lead the Quality organization to support manufacturing stabilization, supplier transitions, and customer protection activities.

Establish and maintain strong quality governance across incoming material, in-process controls, final inspection, product release, and customer shipment readiness.

Ensure supplier changes, material changes, process changes, and product qualifications are managed through proper change control, risk assessment, validation, APQP and PPAP processes.

Lead supplier qualification and supplier development activities, including audits, performance monitoring, corrective actions, and PPAP readiness.

Ensure incoming materials from critical suppliers are properly controlled, inspected, traceable, and approved before use in customer products.

Drive containment, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and verification of effectiveness for internal and external nonconformities.

Lead customer complaint response, 8D execution, customer communication support, and closure of quality issues.

Ensure customer-specific requirements are reviewed, understood, flowed down, and implemented across the applicable functions.

Ensure product and process traceability systems are robust enough to support customer inquiries, containment, suspect material identification, and recall risk mitigation.

Maintain PFMEA, Control Plan, inspection standards and quality gates as living documents aligned with actual process risks and lessons learned.

Ensure manufacturing process controls are effective, measurable, and consistently followed by Operations and Quality teams.

Partner with Operations and Engineering to reduce scrap, rework, COPQ, recurring defects and process variation.

Develop a strong Quality Engineering team with clear ownership for APQP/PPAP, process quality, supplier quality, incoming inspection, lab activities, calibration, testing, MSA, SPC and quality systems.

Provide technical leadership during customer audits, certification audits, supplier audits and internal assessments.

Escalate quality risks proactively when customer satisfaction, product conformity, supply continuity, and regulatory compliance may be impacted.

Establish dashboards and routines to monitor customer complaints, supplier performance, internal defects, FTQ/FTY, audit findings, PPAP status, validation status, overdue corrective actions, scrap, and COPQ.

Support organizational independence from legacy supplier/process dependencies by building internal capability, documented standards, and sustainable quality controls.

Ensure the Quality Management System (QMS) aligns with customer, regulatory, and certification requirements.

Promote a culture of quality by engaging and influencing key stakeholders across Aspen sites.

Manage and implement quality programs that ensure consistent production aligned with established standards.

Lead the implementation of the Problem-Solving and Corrective Action process across the organization.

Lead or support root cause investigations and implement corrective actions for nonconformities.

Maintain documentation and ensure compliance with document control policies.

Lead and support activities related to PPAP, FMEA, SPC, Gage R&R, Supplier Qualification, Calibration, and Corrective & Preventive Actions in automotive assembly lines.

Track and measure performing employee performance reviews.

Develop and execute strategic plans to improve key performance indicators (KPIs) and enhance customer satisfaction year over year.

Prepare and present technical, program, and operational quality reports as needed.

Manage the Quality department budget and CAPEX projects.

Review and audit SOPs, validations, and other documents.

Train employees in QMS and ISO / IATF requirements.

Support and lead other special projects as assigned.

Avoid creating undocumented process changes and challenge weak root causes.

Adopt and follow Aspen’s core values.

Why you are right for the job

• Minimum 8–10 years of progressive Quality experience in automotive manufacturing, preferably Tier 1 or Tier 2.
• Minimum 3–5 years of people leadership experience managing Quality Engineers, Supplier Quality, Process Quality or Quality Systems teams.
• Strong experience with IATF 16949, ISO 9001, APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, Control Plan, MSA, SPC and 8D problem solving.
• Demonstrated experience managing customer escalations, supplier changes, production stabilization, and major quality recovery plans.
• Experience interacting directly with OEM customers is strongly preferred.
• Able to lead in a fast-paced manufacturing environment with incomplete information, competing priorities and high customer visibility.
• Strong technical judgment and ability to challenge weak root causes, incomplete corrective actions, and undocumented process changes.
• Experience building quality systems, not only maintaining them.

Key Success Factors

• Ability to protect the customer while supporting operational continuity.
• Strong floor presence and hands-on leadership.
• Capability to drive discipline in control plans, quality gates, and process adherence.
• Ability to build independence from supplier-driven knowledge gaps.
• Strong escalation management and communication with leadership.
• Ability to develop people while holding accountability.
• Strong automotive mindset: prevention, traceability, validation, documentation, and customer approval before execution.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

Frequently required to stand, sit, and use hands.
Occasionally required to walk, climb, balance, bend, stoop, kneel, or crawl.
Frequently works near moving mechanical parts and may be exposed to fumes or airborne particles.
Occasionally exposed to extreme heat or cold.

The noise level in the work environment is typically moderate.
Must occasionally lift and move up to 10 pounds.

Perks of Joining Our Team!

Aspen is committed to offering a comprehensive benefits package, a positive and productive work environment, encouraged work/life and family balance, and opportunities for growth and development, in a culture that is focused on inclusion, sustainability, and working together to solve the world’s toughest challenges.

Aspen is proud to offer a competitive benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, Tuition Reimbursement, Paid Holidays, Sick Time, and PTO. In addition, we also offer 401k Employer Match, Life and Disability Insurance, and other benefits.

Expected Compensation

Between $130,000 and $150,000 USD/year based on experience.

Yearly Bonus eligibility.