Job Summary: The Senior Director of Quality provides strategic leadership for all Quality, Continuous Improvement, and Lean initiatives across the Electronic Systems Division. This role partners with site leadership, business units, and functional teams to shape long-range quality strategies that strengthen operational performance, enhance product reliability, and align with divisional business objectives.
A key responsibility is driving the deployment of Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and the Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) as core elements of the division's new product introduction framework. The Senior Director ensures a disciplined, strategic approach to quality planning, risk mitigation, and product lifecycle management.
This role leads multi-site quality operations across the division, ensuring consistent performance, standardized processes, and alignment with divisional and enterprise-wide quality expectations. The Senior Director drives cross-site harmonization within Elbit Systems of America to maintain a cohesive and scalable Quality Management System. This includes establishing, deploying, and governing standard work, common procedures, and unified methodologies for measuring and improving customer satisfaction.
Through strong leadership in continuous improvement and Lean principles, the Senior Director cultivates a culture of operational excellence that supports the division's strategic goals. Additionally, the Senior Director is responsible for establishing, maintaining, and continuously improving the division's Management System, ensuring compliance with applicable standards and achieving/maintaining all required third-party certifications.
Responsibilities and Tasks: - Management System: Establish, implement, and maintain a Management System that meets the standards of ISO 9001, AS 9100 and CMMI:
- Working with the Vice President of Quality establishes Quality Policy.
- Working with the Vice President of Quality establishes Quality Objectives.
- Define and implement the site Management Review process.
- Establish other implementing processes, ensuring that they meet the requirements of CMMI, Level 3 where appropriate.
- Provide resources and expertise in process documentation, measurement, and improvement.
- Report on the effectiveness of the Management System to senior leadership.
- Maintain registration to ISO 9001 and AS 9100.
- Assist other managers with identifying and mapping the interactions of key business processes.
- Define and implement processes for continual improvement.
- Provide information to site leadership on the effectiveness of the Management System.
- Continuous Improvement: Establish, implement, & maintain a systematic approach to process management and improvement. Promote continual improvement in all key business and site processes.
- Act as Executive Champion for the following improvement activities:
- Lean Six Sigma
- Management System Development
- Root Cause and Corrective Action
- Internal Auditing Program
- Support the Executive Champions of other improvement activities, including:
- High Performance Work Organization (HPWO)
- Program Management Center of Excellence (PMCOE)
- Engineering Process Improvement (OPG)
- Provide the necessary support to other improvement projects and activities.
- Customer Satisfaction: Establish and maintain measures of customer satisfaction.
- Provide measurement and analysis of customer feedback and other customer satisfaction indicators to the ESA Business Units and site leadership for Management Reviews at the site and ESA levels.
- Align metrics with Elbit Systems Group and with other ESA sites.
- Ensure customer expectations are communicated throughout the organization.
- Identify process improvement opportunities based on customer information.
- Lean Philosophies: Drive lean philosophies through the organization
- Employ Value Stream Mapping to understand processes and eliminate waste.
- Use 5S to provide standardization to the organization.
- Assist operations in developing a visual factory.
- Provide Leadership and Support for Kaizen Events.
- Implement statistical techniques to assure data analysis
Education, Experience, License, or Certification:- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Quality Management, or related field required; Master's degree preferred.
- Extensive experience leading multi-site or enterprise-level Quality, Operational Excellence, or Engineering functions, with demonstrated accountability for divisional or business-unit outcomes.
- Deep knowledge of quality management frameworks, including ISO 9001, AS9100 series, and associated aerospace/defense regulatory requirements, with the ability to govern compliance strategies across multiple facilities.
- Advanced expertise in modern Quality and Operational Excellence principles (e.g., Lean, Advanced Product Quality Planning, PPAP, statistical and analytical methodologies) with the ability to guide enterprise adoption.
- Demonstrated proficiency in leading high-impact, data-driven decision making and applying advanced analytical tools (SPC, DOE, quality analytics systems) at a strategic level.
- Recognized credibility in the Quality or Engineering profession, supported by advanced professional certifications (e.g., ASQ CMQ/OE, Master Black Belt, or comparable enterprise-level leadership credentials).
- Experience interacting with executive-level customers, regulatory bodies, and industry organizations, with proven ability to shape organizational and industry quality standards.
- Demonstrated success developing and mentoring senior managers and technical leaders to elevate organizational capability and drive strategy execution.
- Training Pre-requisites (Within One Year of Taking Position):
- ESD
- Safety Training, as dictated by Safety Department
- Other: QM&PI Syllabus - Basic
- Specialized Processes:
- Train the Trainer
- Process Based Leadership Philosophy
- Internal Audit
- FRACAS
- Material Search
- LN/OneERP (or other ERP System)
- Business Objects (or other Report Writer and Analysis Tool)
Skills and Abilities: - Ability to communicate complex quality and operational concepts with clarity and to influence senior leaders, customers, and cross-functional stakeholders toward aligned decisions.
- Skill in guiding high-stakes discussions, enabling cross-functional alignment, and fostering consensus among senior leadership teams.
- Ability to build and sustain executive-level relationships with suppliers and influence supplier quality strategies and performance.
- Skill in shaping customer expectations and strengthening long-term customer partnerships through strategic quality leadership.
- Ability to represent the organization in external quality forums and contribute to the evolution of industry standards and best practices; Participates in an External Quality Organization.
- Skill in guiding large-scale Lean and Continuous Improvement transformation efforts that drive divisional or enterprise performance.
- Ability to define and steward methodologies for quality management, quality analytics, and advanced problem-solving tools across the organization; Extensive experience with QC and QM Tools.
- Skill in building high-performing leadership teams and fostering a culture of partnership, accountability, and shared ownership of quality outcomes.
- Ability to architect and uphold an integrated, scalable QMS framework that aligns with enterprise standards and supports certifications.
- Skill in applying advanced analytical frameworks-including statistical process control and experimental design-at a strategic level to guide decision-making.
- Ability to oversee organizational alignment with ISO 9001, AS9100-series standards, and related regulatory frameworks at a multi-site or divisional scale. (ISO 9001, AS 9100, AS 9102, AS 9103)
- Skill in embedding CMMI-aligned practices into organizational processes to elevate engineering and operational maturity.
Travel/Physical Requirements:- Approx. 30% travel required
Here Are Some of the Great Benefits We Offer:- Most locations offer a 9/80 schedule, providing every other Friday off
- Competitive compensation & 401(k) program to plan for your future
- Robust medical, dental, vision, & disability coverage with qualified wellness discounts
- Basic Life Insurance and Additional Life & AD&D Insurances are available
- Flexible Vacation & PTO
- Paid Parental Leave
- Generous Employee Referral Program
- Voluntary Benefits Available: Longer Term Care, Legal, Identity Theft, Pet Insurance, and more
- Voluntary Tricare Supplement available for military retirees
This job description does not list all the duties of the job. You may be asked by your supervisors or managers to perform other duties. The employer has the right to revise this job description at any time. The job description is not an employment contract. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.
