Senior Manager, Supplier Quality

Job description

***Please Note:**To conform with the United States Government Space Technology Export Regulations, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., conditional resident, asylee or refugee (protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.* At **CesiumAstro**, we are developers and pioneers of out-of-the-box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross-functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands-on, interactive, and autonomous work, CesiumAstro is the place for you. We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward-thinking individuals to join our team. We are looking to add a **Senior Supplier Quality Manager** to our team. If you enjoy working in a startup environment and are passionate about developing leading-edge electronics for satellites, spacecraft, and aerospace systems, we would like to hear from you. In this position, you will lead multiple supplier quality engineering teams responsible for supplier qualification, development, performance, and quality assurance across the aerospace and defense supply base. This role establishes supplier quality priorities, manages resources and technical execution, develops quality leaders, and oversees supplier audits, quality requirements, nonconformance resolution, and corrective action activities. The Senior Manager evaluates supplier capability, quality performance, organizational risk, and resource requirements to ensure purchased hardware and materials meet engineering, customer, regulatory, and quality requirements. This position requires an experienced aerospace quality leader with deep knowledge of supplier quality engineering, AS9100 quality management systems, supplier development, and manufacturing quality. The Senior Manager partners cross-functionally with supply chain, engineering, manufacturing, operations, and program teams to resolve complex supplier quality issues, strengthen supplier capabilities, and reduce quality and delivery risk across the supply base. ### JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES - Manage multiple supplier quality engineering teams responsible for supplier qualification, development, surveillance, performance management, and corrective action across the supply base. - Establish supplier quality priorities, allocate resources, and translate functional objectives into staffing, workload, and execution plans supporting program and organizational requirements. - Develop quality leaders and engineering personnel through coaching, performance management, succession planning, workforce development, and technical growth. - Oversee supplier qualification, risk assessment, periodic performance reviews, site audits, source inspections, and approved supplier status across complex aerospace commodities and processes. - Ensure supplier requirements are appropriately flowed down and suppliers comply with applicable QMS, engineering, customer, contractual, regulatory, and statutory requirements. - Evaluate supplier manufacturing processes, process controls, First Article Inspection (FAI/AS9102), Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), inspection methods, and quality documentation to assess production readiness and capability. - Review supplier performance using defect rates, nonconformances, escapes, on-time delivery, rework and scrap costs, SCAR performance, and other quality indicators to identify systemic risks and improvement priorities. - Guide resolution of complex supplier nonconformances through containment, root cause analysis, corrective and preventive action, disposition, and verification of corrective action effectiveness. - Escalate significant supplier quality risks and guide Supplier Corrective Action Requests (SCARs), supplier recovery activities, and capability improvement plans affecting product quality or program execution. - Partner with engineering, manufacturing, operations, and supply chain to address supplier producibility, design for manufacturability (DFM), process capability, and quality risks. - Evaluate supplier capability, quality trends, process performance, and recurring issues to establish development priorities for critical and strategic suppliers. - Advance supplier quality processes, business systems, analytics, and continuous improvement practices that strengthen supplier capability, quality performance, and supply-base resilience. ### JOB REQUIREMENTS AND MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality, or a related technical field. - A minimum of 9 years of related experience with 2–5 years of leadership/management experience, including direct supervision of quality or supplier quality engineering staff. - Strong working knowledge of AS9100/ISO 9001 quality management systems and aerospace supplier quality requirements. - Proficiency in root cause analysis and structured problem-solving methodologies (8D, 5-Why, Fishbone). - Experience with supplier qualification, PPAP, and First Article Inspection (AS9102) processes. - Working knowledge of statistical process control (SPC) and quality inspection methods. - Understanding of ITAR/EAR and DFARS requirements applicable to aerospace and defense suppliers. - Demonstrated people leadership skills, including coaching, performance management, and team development. - Strong cross-functional collaboration and supplier relationship management skills. - Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook - Experience with ERP/MRP systems, such as Acumatica, SAP, or comparable platforms - Familiarity with Quality Management System (QMS) software - Experience with statistical analysis tools, such as Minitab - Familiarity with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software - Ability to travel to supplier and manufacturing sites, domestically and occasionally internationally, up to approximately 50% of the time. ### PREFERRED EXPERIENCE - ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) or Certified Quality Manager (CQM), or Six Sigma Green/Black Belt certification.