Senior Manager, Quality – Development Programs (R5315)

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

Job Description:

The Senior Manager of Quality is responsible for establishing and leading all quality activities for a complex aerospace development program from prototype through production readiness. This role serves as the primary quality leader embedded within the program team and partners closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Flight Test, and Program Management to ensure products are designed, developed, tested, and transitioned to production with quality, reliability, and mission success as foundational objectives.

The Senior Manager of Quality will build and lead a multidisciplinary quality team while implementing scalable quality systems, risk management processes, problem-solving disciplines, and development quality practices appropriate for a rapidly growing aerospace and defense technology organization.

This position requires balancing speed of development with disciplined engineering rigor to support aggressive program schedules while ensuring compliance with customer, regulatory, and company requirements.

What you'll do:

Development Quality Leadership

• Serve as the quality leader for XBAT development.
• Establish quality strategy, objectives, and metrics aligned with program milestones.
• Integrate quality requirements into the product development lifecycle.
• Ensure quality considerations are incorporated during system architecture, design reviews, verification, validation, and qualification activities.
• Partner with Engineering leadership to identify and mitigate technical and programmatic risks.
• Drive a culture of proactive quality and continuous improvement throughout the program.

Design & Configuration Quality

• Ensure quality requirements are appropriately captured in product definitions, specifications, and design documentation.
• Participate in design reviews, change control boards, and configuration management activities.
• Ensure full configuration and traceability for all material installed into prototype aircraft.
• Evaluate engineering changes for quality and production readiness impacts.
• Support requirements verification and validation planning.
• Drive design-for-manufacturing, design-for-quality, and design-for-reliability initiatives.

Risk Management & Reliability

• Lead quality participation in program risk management activities.
• Establish and maintain FRACAS processes for development and flight test phases of the program.
• Facilitate root cause and corrective action investigations for design, manufacturing, supplier, and field failures.
• Support reliability growth planning and execution.
• Monitor defect trends, failure modes, and reliability metrics to identify systemic risks.

Verification, Validation & Test Quality

• Develop quality oversight strategies for laboratory, ground, and flight test activities.
• Ensure test results, anomalies, and nonconformances are appropriately documented and dispositioned.
• Support qualification and certification efforts.
• Establish processes for managing test escapes, failures, and corrective actions.

Nonconformance & Corrective Action Management

• Lead Material Review Board activities for development hardware.
• Establish scalable processes for nonconformance management.
• Drive root cause analysis using structured problem-solving methodologies.
• Ensure timely and effective corrective and preventive actions.
• Track effectiveness of corrective actions through closure.

Production Readiness & Industrialization

• Partner with Manufacturing and Supply Chain teams to transition products from prototype to production.
• Define quality requirements for production readiness reviews.
• Support development of inspection plans, acceptance criteria, and control strategies.
• Ensure lessons learned from development are incorporated into production processes.
• Lead quality planning activities supporting low-rate initial production and rate increases.

Quality Management System

• Develop and implement quality processes supporting aerospace development programs.
• Ensure compliance with AS9100, customer requirements, and internal procedures.
• Drive continuous improvement of development quality processes.
• Support internal and external audits as required.
• Establish scalable systems that support future production growth.

Leadership & Team Development

• Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing quality organization.
• Recruit and develop quality engineers, inspectors, and technicians.
• Establish clear objectives, priorities, and performance expectations.
• Promote a culture of accountability, technical excellence, and collaboration.
• Develop organizational capabilities to support future company growth.

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in aerospace, defense, aviation, space, or other highly regulated industries.
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing technical quality organizations.
• Experience supporting complex product development programs from concept through production transition.
• Strong knowledge of quality systems, engineering development processes, and aerospace manufacturing.
• Experience leading root cause investigations and corrective action programs.
• Experience with risk management, reliability engineering, and failure analysis.
• Working knowledge of AS9100 quality management systems.
• Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional teams and senior leadership.

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience supporting UAV, aerospace, defense, aviation, autonomous systems, or advanced technology programs.
• Experience leading quality organizations during rapid company growth.
• Background in systems engineering, reliability engineering, or development engineering.
• Experience with flight test programs and qualification testing.
• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE), or equivalent certification.
• Familiarity with government defense programs and customer quality requirements.

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Full-time regular employee offer package:

Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity

Temporary employee offer package:

Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)

Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.

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Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.