Senior Quality Engineer

*Due to the classified nature of our work, U.S. citizenship is required. *

Location: Sunnyvale, CA

Who are we looking for?

Pacific Defense is seeking a seasoned and highly collaborative Senior Quality Engineer to provide technical leadership and end-to-end ownership of quality across our Sunnyvale operations. This role is ideal for a hands-on quality leader who can establish scalable processes, influence cross-functional teams, and serve as a trusted quality authority for programs, suppliers, customers, and government stakeholders.

Our high-performance systems support applications including signals intelligence, secure and covert digital communications, threat detection, RF jamming, and radio direction finding. These systems incorporate advanced hardware such as FPGAs, SoCs, and GPUs, along with sophisticated software and firmware that enable intuitive command and control, data collection, and processing.

The Senior Quality Engineer will own quality planning and execution throughout the product lifecycle, from design and supplier selection through production, test, product acceptance, and post-delivery support. This individual will drive the continued development and implementation of the Pacific Defense Quality Management System (QMS), lead supplier and internal quality initiatives, and ensure products consistently meet contractual, regulatory, and customer requirements.

As a senior individual contributor and quality leader, the selected candidate will set priorities, establish standards, mentor team members, lead complex problem-solving efforts, and provide clear quality performance reporting and recommendations to company leadership. The role requires strong judgment, the ability to operate independently, and the credibility to influence decisions across Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Program Management, and Operations.

What You'll Get to Do:

• Own and lead quality strategy, planning, and execution for assigned programs, products, and the supply base.
• Serve as the primary quality authority and senior quality representative on integrated product teams (IPTs), design reviews, production readiness reviews, and customer or government engagements.
• Ensure quality requirements are defined, flowed down, verified, and maintained throughout development, design, test, transition to production, product acceptance, and post-delivery support.
• Lead the implementation, maturation, and continuous improvement of the Pacific Defense Quality Management System (QMS), including procedures, work instructions, controls, audits, and quality records.
• Act as the business owner for Supplier Quality Management and Incoming Quality Control (IQC) processes.
• Establish supplier quality expectations, qualification criteria, audit plans, performance measures, and escalation processes.
• Lead supplier quality audits, source inspections, supplier development activities, and risk-based supplier surveillance.
• Develop and maintain supplier scorecards and key performance indicators (KPIs), and routinely present supplier quality performance, risks, and improvement plans to cross-functional and executive stakeholders.
• Lead investigations involving nonconforming material, escapes, defects, and supplier nonconformances; ensure effective containment, root cause analysis, corrective action, and verification of effectiveness.
• Own or chair Material Review Board and Failure Review Board activities, as applicable, and ensure timely, risk-informed disposition of nonconforming product.
• Provide technical leadership for Non-Conforming Material Reports (NCMRs), Supplier Corrective Action Requests (SCARs), Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA), and Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA).
• Lead cross-functional problem-solving and continuous improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, statistical methods, and other structured improvement tools.
• Develop predictive and proactive quality metrics to identify trends, mitigate risk, improve first-pass yield, reduce cost of poor quality, and strengthen program performance.
• Partner with Engineering and Configuration Management to ensure hardware, software, firmware, drawings, specifications, and quality records maintain appropriate configuration control and traceability.
• Provide quality leadership during internal, customer, regulatory, and certification audits; drive timely closure of findings and corrective actions.
• Interpret contractual, industry, and government quality requirements and translate them into practical, compliant processes for program and operations teams.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to quality personnel, inspectors, technicians, engineers, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Communicate quality status, risks, decisions, and recommended actions clearly to program teams and senior management.

You'll Bring These Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality, Operations, or a related technical discipline.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in Quality Engineering, Supplier Quality, Manufacturing Quality, or Operations within a complex hardware and software product environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading quality initiatives, cross-functional teams, audits, corrective actions, and continuous improvement efforts with minimal supervision.
• Extensive working knowledge of supplier quality management, supplier qualification, incoming inspection, supplier audits, and supplier performance management.
• Strong working knowledge of ISO 9001 and/or AS9100 Quality Management Systems, including practical experience implementing, maintaining, or improving QMS processes.
• Experience supporting product development, design assurance, production transition, manufacturing, test, product acceptance, and post-delivery support.
• Working knowledge of industry and U.S. Government quality requirements, standards, and customer flow-down requirements.
• Demonstrated expertise with RCCA, CAPA, NCMR, SCAR, containment, risk management, and verification of corrective-action effectiveness.
• Experience with hardware, software, and firmware configuration management and product traceability requirements.
• Ability to analyze quality data, identify trends, develop meaningful metrics, and translate findings into actionable business recommendations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to influence technical teams, suppliers, customers, and senior leaders.
• Ability to balance strategic quality leadership with hands-on support in a fast-paced, small-company environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

These Qualifications Would Be Nice to Have:

• DoD, aerospace, defense electronics, RF systems, or other highly regulated industry experience.
• Experience serving as a regular member or chair of Material Review Boards or Failure Review Boards (MRB/FRB).
• Experience leading internal, supplier, customer, or certification audits.
• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer, Certified Quality Manager, Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt, or Lean certification.
• Experience developing and managing risk and opportunity processes, including assessment, mitigation, and capture.
• Experience with statistical and quality analytics tools such as Minitab or Tableau.
• Experience with factory, product lifecycle, and ERP/MRP systems such as Arena or similar platforms.
• Hands-on experience partnering with manufacturing technicians, inspectors, and engineering teams in a production environment.
• Prior experience mentoring quality professionals or building quality processes within a growing organization.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality, Operations, or a relevant technical discipline required.
• Master’s degree in Engineering, Quality, Business, or a relevant discipline preferred.

Pacific Defense provides competitive salaries and an immediately vested 401(k) match. We provide 100% coverage options for employee medical, dental, vision, and life insurance premiums, and 75% coverage for dependents, as well as a flexible spending account for incidental healthcare expenses. We offer paid time off and federal holidays so employees can spend time with family, pursue outside interests, or get some extra rest.

Pacific Defense is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected factor.