The Quality Manager leads and advances the Quality Management System across our Kilgore, TX multi-campus manufacturing sites. This role ensures compliance with ISO 9000 standards and customer/regulatory requirements while driving operational quality performance as the organization scales high mix/low volume production. The position operates with high visibility to senior leadership and directly influences customer satisfaction, operational execution, and production scalability.
This role requires both strategic leadership and hands-on execution, including customer-facing responsibilities, audit ownership, and structured Root Cause Corrective Action (RCCA) deployment.
YOU WILL BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR:Quality Systems & Compliance- Maintain and improve the Quality Management System aligned with ISO 9000 standards
- Own full audit lifecycle (internal, customer, regulatory), including readiness, execution, and closure of findings
Operational Quality & RCCA- Lead RCCA/CAPA activities to address internal and external quality issues
- Partner with operations across machining, welding, composites, assembly, integration, and testing
- Drive use of PFMEA, Control Plans, 8D, and SPC to improve process capability
Customer & Supplier Quality- Serve as the primary quality representative to customers, including leading audits, business reviews, and high-visibility issue resolution
- Manage customer complaints with timely, data-driven responses
- Drive supplier corrective actions and monitor supplier performance
Data & Continuous Improvement- Define and drive KPIs such as PPM, COPQ, yield, and audit performance to enable data-driven decision making
- Establish reporting cadence and dashboards to provide visibility to leadership and operations
- Use trend analysis to prioritize corrective actions and continuous improvement initiatives
- Support production scale-up through process standardization and variation reduction
Team Leadership- Lead and develop a distributed team of Quality Engineers and Inspectors
- Build capability in structured problem solving and quality methodologies
- Promote accountability and continuous improvement culture
Scope- Oversight for 3 campuses in Kilgore
- Direct leadership of Quality Engineers and Inspectors across sites
- Aerospace, Defense, and Communications manufacturing environment
- Approximately 20% domestic travel required
YOU ARE THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THIS JOB IF YOU HAVE:Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality, or related field (or equivalent experience)
- 5-10+ years of quality experience in aerospace, defense, or regulated manufacturing
- Prior leadership experience with direct reports
- Strong knowledge of ISO 9000 (AS9100 preferred)
- Experience leading customer and regulatory audits
- Demonstrated success with RCCA/CAPA and structured problem solving
- Ability to operate in both strategic and hands-on capacities
Preferred Qualifications- Multi-site manufacturing experience
- Background in fabrication, composites, assembly, and test environments
- Proficiency with quality and analytics tools (Excel, Minitab, Power BI)
- Strong customer-facing communication skills
What Success Looks Like- Positive audit outcomes with sustained certification compliance
- Reduction in defects, rework, and customer complaints
- Improved process consistency during production scale-up
- Engaged and capable quality team
- Data-driven decision making embedded in operations
First Year Focus- Assess QMS effectiveness and audit readiness
- Standardize quality processes across locations
- Strengthen RCCA rigor and supplier quality performance
- Implement actionable KPIs and reporting cadence
- Drive measurable reductions in quality escapes
- Build scalable quality infrastructure aligned with growth
