Blue Origin

Director Quality Program Management

Blue Origin$145K — $175K *
Aerospace & Defense
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • B.S. degree required; MBA preferred
  • 10+ years in quality, manufacturing, test, or operations
  • Experience with quality management systems (AS9100 or ISO9000)
  • Quality Assurance experience in design/development, production, maintenance
  • Strong leadership, planning, and project management skills

Responsibilities

  • Manage and develop QPM team across various Blue Origin programs
  • Engage business units, serving as the senior quality interface to leaders
  • Drive cultural improvement around quality standards and data accountability
  • Transition quality management from reactive to predictive risk identification
  • Ensure strong customer quality representation and proactive compliance management
  • Collaborate with Supplier Quality for supply chain improvements
  • Champion quality culture improvements and recognize quality excellence

Benefits

  • Engagement in cutting-edge space exploration projects
  • Professional development and growth opportunities
  • Cross-functional collaboration with diverse teams
  • Opportunity to shape a safety and quality culture
  • Leadership in pioneering quality management practices
Full Job Description
Application close date:
11/30/2026

This role is part of Blue Origin Operations, which is comprised of Integrated Supply Chain, Test Operations, Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance. This includes Manufacturing and Supply Chain support across all Blue Origin facilities.

This role is part of the Blue Origin Operations, which is comprised of Integrated Supply Chain, Test Operations, Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance. This includes Manufacturing and Supply Chain support across all Blue Origin facilities.

The Director of Quality Program Management (QPM) is a leader who believes in strong partnerships and provides strategic leadership and enterprise-wide oversight of the QPM organization, ensuring that quality is embedded as a foundational discipline across all Blue Origin programs, business units, and manufacturing sites. This leader establishes standards between engineering, operations, supply chain, and executive leadership - translating quality data into strategic action and driving a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and mission assurance across all Blue Origin programs. In this role, you will lead the Quality Program Management team of individual contributors. You will set the vision, drive continuous improvement, and partner with your cross-functional leaders across Blue Origin. You will have a passion for solving sophisticated problems and providing operable solutions; responsibly take initiative under minimal direction; and be adaptable as you will work on a variety of applications and systems. We are looking for an individual that can implement innovative quality management system solutions, supporting accelerated manufacturing production, innovative technology and research activities, as well as efficient, predictable production capable solutions that will support space manufacturing & launch. This position will fall under the Sr. Director of Quality Assurance and directly impact the history of space exploration. It will require dedication and detailed attention towards excelling safe and reusable space flight.

This role is part of the Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance team, which focuses on monitoring and assessing processes that guide Blue Origin design, manufacture, and operations, ensuring system safety engineering, environmental health and safety, product integrity, and continuous improvement processes serve the Blue Origin Mission and Vision.

Responsibilities:
  • Directly manage and develop a team of QPMs embedded across New Glenn, Engines, Lunar Permanence, and emerging programs; define and manage a QPM competency model and career architecture - establishing clear expectations, skills, and growth criteria within the quality organization, creating a transparent and motivating career path within the function; champion a high-performance culture grounded in technical rigor and ownership; ensure QPMs are fluent in data-driven quality methods and are using AI/analytics as a core part of their program engagement model
  • Drive Business Unit engagement and maintain strategic partnerships by serving as the senior quality interface to Business Unit leaders, Program Directors, Customers, and Chief Engineers; driving early and active quality involvement in the gated review process; champion the use of structured quality planning tools (APQP, FMEA); owning quality input into the integrated master schedules, including defined quality hold points and integrated corrective action effectivities; represent the Quality function in executive program and milestone reviews
  • Drive Standards of Quality as a cultural improvement, partnering with site quality leadership and technical business partners on 'level of entry' data quality standards, including NC disposition and corrective action effectiveness; establish and improve automated data quality performance criteria and hold accountable to improvement and maturity measures
  • Champion transition from reactive quality management to predictive risk identification, leveraging data analytics and artificial intelligence to identify early predictors of adverse trends; define and own a suite of leading quality indicators that give program teams early warnings of quality risk; lead change management efforts associated with new quality systems, processes, and tools
  • Partner with BUs, QMS leader and site quality leaders to ensure strong quality representation in interactions with government and commercial customers (ULA, NASA, DoD, Space Force) and certification bodies; ensure customer quality requirements are flowed down effectively and that QPMs are managing compliance proactively
  • Collaborate with Supplier Quality on supply chain improvement strategy, correction to procurement processes, critical production partners, quality scorecards, and escape/quality concern resolution
  • Partner with SQMA leadership to develop and drive Quality Culture improvements across programs and manufacturing / operations; champion design quality, technical rigor for risk-based prevention; leads/mentors teams through robust RCCA when required
  • Partner with site quality and mission assurance leaders to establish and drive a culture of robust program corrective action boards focused on strengthening RCCA rigor and effectiveness
  • Recognize and celebrate quality excellence across the organization to reinforce desired behaviors and make quality a source of organizational pride


Qualifications:
  • Minimum of a B.S. degree required.
  • 10+ years' experience in quality, manufacturing, test, or operations field
  • Past experience leading or working in quality management systems; familiarity with AS9100 or ISO9000 and/or related quality systems and programs
  • Quality Assurance/Manufacturing experience in design/development, production, and maintenance environments
  • Strong experience in leadership, planning, and project management


Desired:
  • 15+ years total work experience
  • MBA Preferred
  • Experience in aerospace, space launch, military or commercial aviation
  • Blend of small/midsized firm and large firm experience, ability to maximum success using limited resources.
  • Knowledge of design for inspection or testability
  • Knowledge of metrology equipment
  • Experience with matrix led organizations

About Blue Origin

Blue Origin is an aerospace company that develops rockets and spacecraft for commercial and government customers. The company's products include the New Shepard suborbital vehicle and the New Glenn orbital rocket. Blue Origin was founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos and is headquartered in Kent, Washington.
Learn more about Blue Origin
Size
3,000 employees
Industry
Founded
2000

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