Senior Quality Engineer I

About the role

Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems for missions ranging from interplanetary exploration and in-space manufacturing to national security and defense. The Space Systems team has enabled more than 1,700 missions, delivering spacecraft, payloads, and components for partners including NASA, the Space Development Agency, and the U.S. Space Force.

Based out of Rocket Lab's Albuquerque, NM site (part of the SolAero Technologies acquisition), the Senior Quality Engineer I promotes a quality culture focused on continuous improvement and innovation across all aspects of the business. This role works closely with cross-functional teams to ensure product and process excellence throughout the product lifecycle while maintaining compliance with AS9100, customer, and internal requirements. The Quality Engineer leads quality initiatives, manages the Quality Management System (QMS), and represents the organization in all matters related to product quality.

Responsibilities

• Promote a quality culture focused on continuous improvement and innovation to ensure the organization achieves exceptional results.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams on customer design reviews, new product development, in-process product monitoring, contract reviews, and internal specification reviews.
• Monitor product performance throughout the product lifecycle, ensuring compliance with customer and internal specifications, and drive a culture of efficiency and change.
• Create, monitor, and continuously improve QMS procedures, policies, work instructions, manuals, and records to ensure compliance with AS9100, customer, and internal requirements.
• Represent the organization in customer service matters, including customer complaints, visits, audits, and inquiries related to product quality.
• Lead quality improvements, root cause analysis, corrective actions, internal audits, and non-conformance reviews as required.
• Support the Engineering Change process by participating in technical reviews to ensure changes align with customer requirements, internal standards, and manufacturing protocols.
• Verify and validate that in-process and completed products meet all performance and appearance requirements.
• Deploy the Quality Management System within the scope of work to support operational excellence.
• Facilitate Material Review Boards, Corrective Action Boards, and Return Material Authorization processes as needed.
• Create, monitor, and automate metrics for discrepancy reports, nonconformances, corrective actions, supplier quality, cost of poor quality (CoPQ), KPIs, RMAs, and other quality-related metrics.
• Take necessary action when Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) do not meet expectations.
• Conduct internal and supplier quality audits, identifying compliance or non-conformities per AS9100 standards.
• Manage incoming supplier quality activities, including supplier on-time delivery (OTD), defect tracking, and corrective actions for performance issues.
• Develop and implement sampling plans, inspection requirements, and procedures for incoming, in-process, and final product quality assurance.
• Participate in meetings such as staff meetings, design meetings, project reviews, customer meetings, technical reviews, operational meetings, and audits.
• Provide technical support and clarification to Quality and Manufacturing Inspection Technicians regarding documentation, product quality requirements, and non-conformance identification.
• Conduct training and certification of Inspectors as needed.
• Identify and document non-conformances, and participate in root cause and corrective action activities.
• Exercise authority to stop processes that threaten product quality, company reputation, or employee safety.
• Initiate corrective action and halt processes when major nonconformances are detected.
• Travel as required for off-site testing events, customer repair trips, or program meetings.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree
• 5+ years in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Chemical Engineering related field
• Experience implementing cross-functional projects in a technical environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience writing and optimizing SQL queries, and maintaining data integrity
• Experience automating the creation, assembly, and distribution of documents using tools such as Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office, or other documented automation software
• Experience designing and developing customer data reports using tools such as Microsoft Power BI, or other business intelligence software
• Familiarity with standard Quality Management System standards and principles
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, especially dealing with customers and interdepartmental personnel
• Demonstrated problem-solving skills/tools in a real working environment where data drives decision-making
• Strong statistics background a plus
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret professional technical procedures, drawings, and government regulations and standards
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, along with ability to write procedures as required
• Experience responding to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community
• Experience working with cross-functional teams to identify and solve problems

Work Environment

This position may require prolonged periods of sitting, standing, walking, computer work, and occasional exposure to moderate levels of noise, dust, and fumes in production areas.

Important Information

U.S. Export Control (ITAR): To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Rocket Lab employees must be a U.S. citizen, lawful U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable.

Reasonable Accommodation: Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for the application/interview process for a job in the United States should contact Giulia Johnson at g.biow@rocketlabusa.com. This dedicated resource is intended solely to assist job seekers with disabilities whose disability prevents them from being able to apply/interview. Only messages left for this purpose will be considered. A response to your request may take up to two business days.

New Zealand Offices: For security reasons, background checks will be undertaken prior to any employment offers. These checks include nationality checks as it is a requirement of this position that you be eligible to access equipment and data regulated by the United States' International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Under these Regulations, you may be ineligible for this role if you do not hold citizenship of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the European Union, or a country that is part of NATO, or if you hold ineligible dual citizenship or nationality.