Senior Manager, Supplier Quality (R6220)

About the role

Responsibilities

• Develop the supplier quality team responsible for supplier qualification, surveillance, performance management, and corrective-action activities across Shield AI’s global aerospace and defense supply base.
• Establish supplier-quality priorities, allocate resources, and translate functional objectives into staffing, workload, and execution plans that support product, program, and organizational needs.
• Develop Supplier Quality leaders and engineering personnel through coaching, performance management, succession planning, workforce development, and technical mentorship.
• Oversee supplier qualification, risk assessments, periodic performance reviews, supplier audits, source inspections, and approved-supplier status across complex aerospace hardware, commodities, and manufacturing processes.
• Ensure supplier requirements are effectively flowed down and that suppliers comply with applicable quality management system, engineering, customer, contractual, regulatory, and statutory requirements.
• Escalate significant supplier-quality risks and direct SCARs, supplier recovery efforts, and capability-improvement plans that could affect product quality, delivery, mission readiness, or program execution.
• Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Supply Chain, and Program teams to address supplier producibility, design-for-manufacturability, process capability, technical execution, and quality risks.
• Advance supplier-quality processes, business systems, data analytics, and continuous-improvement practices that strengthen supplier capability, product quality, delivery performance, and supply-base resilience.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, or another related technical discipline.
• At least 7 years of relevant experience, including 2–5 years of leadership or people-management experience with direct responsibility for Quality Engineering and/or Supplier Quality Engineering personnel.
• Strong working knowledge of AS9100 and/or ISO 9001 quality-management systems, as well as aerospace and defense supplier-quality requirements.
• Demonstrated proficiency in root-cause analysis and structured problem-solving methods, including 8D, 5 Whys, and fishbone analysis.
• Experience with supplier qualification, supplier development, PPAP, and First Article Inspection processes, including AS9102 requirements.
• Understanding of ITAR, EAR, DFARS, and other requirements applicable to aerospace and defense suppliers.
• Demonstrated people-leadership capability, including coaching, performance management, organizational development, and building high-performing technical teams.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration, executive communication, and supplier relationship-management skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook.
• Experience using ERP/MRP systems.
• Ability to travel to Shield AI manufacturing locations and supplier sites domestically and, as needed, internationally—up to approximately 20% of the time.
• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), Certified Quality Manager (CQM), or equivalent quality certification.
• Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification.
• Experience leading supplier-quality functions in a high-growth aerospace, defense, autonomy, robotics, or advanced-manufacturing environment.
• Experience supporting the production and qualification of complex electromechanical, electronic, precision-machined, composite, or avionics hardware.