Quality Manager

Blackwave designs, manufactures and ships flight-qualified, commercial off-the-shelf composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) for launch vehicles and satellites. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Munich, Germany, the company delivers COPVs from a standardized portfolio with flight heritage. The approach reduces lead time from months to days while ensuring that each tank is qualified and flight-ready. Blackwave's mission is to end COPV failure in spaceflight. The company employs more than 150 people across manufacturing facilities in Germany and Texas.

Role Mission

The mission of the Quality Manager is to establish and implement a pragmatic, ISO 9001-compliant Quality Management System for the new Texas site, aligned with the existing German QMS while adapting processes to local operational needs. This role builds a scalable, hands-on quality culture from the ground up, ensuring the Texas site operates with the same rigor and reliability as our German operations.

Expected Outcomes

A Successful Quality Manager Will

• Lead the site to ISO 9001 certification, with all required processes, documentation, responsibilities, and evidence in place
• Build the Texas QMS in close collaboration with the German quality organization, following existing standards and principles while allowing practical local adaptations where needed
• Define, implement, and drive adoption of essential quality processes, including non-conformance management, document control, audits, corrective actions, and quality-related decision paths
• Ensure quality expectations, documentation requirements, acceptance criteria, and process requirements are clearly understood and applied by local engineering, manufacturing, and management teams
• Keep processes pragmatic, scalable, and usable in daily work, so the Texas organization operates effectively while maintaining compliance and alignment with company-wide quality standards

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain a Quality Management System for the Texas site in accordance with ISO 9001
• Partner with the German quality organization to align local processes with existing company-wide standards, adapting them to Texas operations where practical
• Design and implement core quality processes: non-conformance management, document control, internal audits, corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), and quality-related decision paths
• Prepare for and support internal, customer, and certification audits, including tracking and closing out audit findings
• Set up and maintain controlled documentation systems and manage quality-related process changes
• Define documentation expectations, acceptance criteria, and process requirements in collaboration with engineering, manufacturing, and management
• Train and coach local teams on quality processes, standards, and their day-to-day application on the production floor
• Identify, assess, and mitigate quality-related risks as new processes are established and existing QMS elements are adapted
• Build a practical, hands-on quality culture where standards are treated as an enabler of good work, not bureaucracy
• Communicate quality status, risks, and progress toward certification to local and German leadership

Competencies

Technical Know-How

• Strong working knowledge of ISO 9001 requirements, with experience establishing, implementing, and maintaining Quality Management Systems in manufacturing environments (must have)
• Excellent structural and systematic thinking, with the ability to develop, adapt, and implement practical quality processes while balancing compliance, operational efficiency, and organizational maturity (must have)
• Experience preparing for and supporting internal, customer, and certification audits, including implementation and follow-up of audit findings (must have)
• Experience establishing and maintaining controlled documentation systems and managing quality-related process changes (must have)
• Understanding of manufacturing processes, quality controls, acceptance criteria, and how quality requirements interact with production operations (nice to have)
• Ability to identify, assess, and mitigate quality-related risks when establishing new processes, with a strong understanding of risk-based thinking per ISO 9001 principles (must have)

Professional Skills

• Builder mentality, with the drive to set up processes and systems from the ground up
• Practical, hands-on quality mindset
• Views standards like ISO 9001 as an enabler, not bureaucracy
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability for outcomes
• Respect for production reality and the day-to-day demands of manufacturing
• Continuous improvement orientation

Qualifications

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality Management, or a related field
• 5+ years of experience in quality management, preferably in aerospace, manufacturing, or a regulated industry
• Experience establishing and maintaining ISO 9001-compliant Quality Management Systems

Language Skills

• English (fluent, required)
• German (a plus)

Work Model

On-site presence is required; home office is possible on an occasional basis, but not on a regular basis.

This position requires eligibility under U.S. export regulations (ITAR). Candidates must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, or otherwise authorized to access export-controlled information.