Senior Quality Engineer in Santa Fe Springs, California at Advanced Ground Systems Engineering LLC

JOB SUMMARY

The Senior Quality Engineer provides technical leadership and strategic oversight to ensure sustained product conformity and compliance with ISO and applicable customer and regulatory requirements across all phases. This role supports a high mix, low volume aerospace environment focused on complex, custom assemblies and serves as a subject matter expert in quality risk management, advanced problem solving, and customer quality engagement.

The Senior Quality Engineer acts as the technical authority for assigned processes and product families and provides technical mentorship within the Quality organization. This position partners closely with Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, and leadership to proactively identify, assess, and mitigate quality risks, strengthen process robustness, and improve long term quality performance.

This role may include direct and ongoing engagement with customers and suppliers, and may require offsite presence to support audits and critical quality investigations.

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide risk-based quality input to leadership on deviation acceptance, containment strategy, and customer communication.
• Review, approve, and provide technical oversight for inspection plans, FAIs, and conformance strategies for complex or critical products.
• Owns quality performance for assigned processes and product families, ensuring sustained compliance and effectiveness.
• Serves as primary quality interface for advanced customer and supplier escalations, including audits, systemic complaints, and long term corrective actions.
• Leads continuous improvement initiatives aimed at reducing variation, improving process capability, and enhancing overall product and customer quality.
• Owns MRB decision-making for any escalated nonconformances. Collaborates with Quality Engineering/Management as needed to ensure consistent application of risk-based disposition decisions across products and programs.
• Lead and facilitate RCCA investigations for internal quality issues and customer complaints using structured problem-solving tools (8D, 5-Why, Ishikawa), validate corrective action effectiveness, and drive “look across” to prevent recurrence across products and programs.
• Manage customer quality inquiries from initiation through closure, ensuring clear communication and alignment on expectations and timing.
• Investigate and resolve customer complaints promptly, ensuring containment and corrective actions meet customer expectations.
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to the Quality organization and cross functional teams, to strengthen quality competencies and drive consistent application of quality tools.
• Monitor, analyze, and report advanced quality metrics and trends, and present findings to leadership.
• Develop and maintain internal quality standards, inspection plans, and work instructions.
• Conduct internal audits to ISO 9001 and support external audits, as needed.
• Provide guidance/training on GD&T, inspection methods, and quality tools.
• Additional projects and tasks, as assigned by the Quality Assurance Manager.
• Supplier Quality support, if needed based on site needs:
• Plan, lead, and participate in supplier audits (domestic and international), including assessment of compliance to ISO 9001 and customer requirements.
• Own or oversee supplier corrective action requests (SCARs) for high-risk or repeat issues and verify effectiveness.
• Partner with Supply Chain to assess supplier quality risk, performance trends, and development priorities.

JOB REQUIREMENTS AND MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality, or related technical discipline
• (Advanced degree preferred. Significant working experience may be substituted for education at AGSE’s discretion).
• 10+ years of relevant industry experience within a quality assurance organization.
• 7 years minimum specifically in a Quality Engineering role within aerospace and/or manufacturing.
• Demonstrated leadership of complex quality investigations, customer issues, and supplier quality initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience serving as senior quality interface for customers, including audit support, corrective action response, and issue escalation.
• Advanced knowledge of ISO 9001.
• Proficiency in RCCA methodologies, APQP (as applicable to internal processes) and SPC.
• Working knowledge of common inspection tools and advanced technologies (CMMs, PCMMs, Romer/FARO arms).
• Proficiency in all Microsoft Office applications.
• Onsite role; remote work may be occasionally granted or required at the discretion of the Quality Assurance Manager.
• Certifications: CQE, Six Sigma (Green/Black Belt), or ISO 9001/AS9100 Lead Auditor preferred.
• ERP/MRP proficiency (Epicor system preferred).
• Technical and practical understanding of complex precision machined components preferred.
• Technical and practical understanding of complex mechanical and hydraulic assemblies preferred.
• Understanding of basic metallurgy and welding fundamentals preferred.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally, as required, to support supplier audits and quality investigations.