Position Summary

The Manufacturing Quality Engineer is a key member of the Quality organization with quality ownership of an assigned manufacturing process area. This role is responsible for understanding the products, processes, controls, requirements, and quality performance within that area and driving improvements in product conformity and manufacturing performance.

Working closely with Production, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, and Design Engineering, the Manufacturing Quality Engineer proactively identifies and reduces defects, variation, scrap, rework, and process risk. The role leads root cause and corrective action activities, supports MRB, monitors quality trends, and ensures effective process controls are established and maintained.

The Manufacturing Quality Engineer serves as the primary Quality Engineering resource for the assigned area, taking ownership of its overall quality health and driving continuous improvement in process capability, repeatability, and compliance with AS9100, customer, regulatory, and company requirements.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead investigations of internal, customer, and supplier quality issues, including nonconformances, escapes, complaints, and product audit findings.

• Lead corrective and preventive actions using structured problem-solving methods such as 8D, 5 Why, Fishbone, DMAIC, and Root Cause Analysis.

• Coordinate cross-functional teams to identify root causes, implement corrective actions, verify effectiveness, and prevent recurrence.

• Support Material Review Board (MRB) activities, including evaluation, disposition, documentation, and closure of nonconforming material.

• Analyze quality and manufacturing data, including scrap, rework, yield, defects, and process trends, to identify improvement opportunities.

• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering and Operations to improve process capability, reduce variation, and improve product quality and throughput.

• Develop and maintain process controls, inspection plans, control plans, PFMEAs, work instructions, and related quality documentation.

• Support process validation, qualification, and production readiness activities.

• Review engineering drawings, specifications, GD&T, and customer requirements to ensure manufacturing compliance.

• Apply Statistical Process Control (SPC) and statistical methods, including Cpk and Ppk, to monitor and improve manufacturing processes.

• Lead and support continuous improvement initiatives focused on defect reduction, waste elimination, productivity, and cost of quality.

• Track corrective action performance, quality metrics, and key performance indicators and communicate results to management.

• Provide technical quality support and guidance to manufacturing personnel and cross-functional teams.

• Maintain compliance with applicable customer, regulatory, and company quality system requirements.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Quality Engineering, or a related technical discipline.

• 3–7 years of engineering experience in aerospace manufacturing, precision machining, assembly, or another regulated manufacturing environment.

• Experience leading root cause investigations and corrective actions and implementing sustainable solutions.

• Strong understanding of aerospace quality systems and manufacturing processes.

• Ability to interpret engineering drawings, specifications, GD&T, and customer requirements.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with cross-functional manufacturing and engineering teams.

• Strong project management, communication, analytical, and organizational skills.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and manufacturing or ERP systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with aerospace fasteners, machined components, assemblies, or flight-critical hardware.

• Knowledge and experience with manufacturing processes such as:

  • CNC turning and milling, including lathes, mills, and FMS

  • Multi-spindle screw machines, including Acme and Davenport

  • Gundrilling

  • Grinding

  • Thread manufacturing

  • Heat treatment

  • Multi-component assembly

• Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma Green Belt/Black Belt certification.

• Experience with MRB and nonconformance management.

• Experience with SPC, PFMEA, Control Plans, APQP, PPAP, and process validation.

• Experience with quality data analysis and continuous improvement tools.

Key Competencies

• Root Cause Analysis and Corrective Action

• Manufacturing Process Improvement

• Statistical Process Control and Data Analysis

• Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma

• Cross-Functional Leadership

• Technical Communication

• Problem Solving and Decision Making

• Continuous Improvement