Director, Quality

About This Role

Directing quality operations for a global leader in vertical flight, this role leads the site-level Quality Management System (QMS) and daily operational integrity. Reporting directly to the VP of Quality, you will serve as the operational anchor for aviation safety, manufacturing excellence, and regulatory compliance across FAA, EASA, TCCA, and AS9100 standards. This high-visibility leadership position involves directing a team of quality professionals across logistics, assembly, component repair, and final conformity, and suits a strategic change-maker who can embed a "First Time Right" mindset, harmonize site practices with global Airbus standards, and bridge the gap between engineering, regulatory bodies, and frontline operations.

Responsibilities

• Sustain regulatory and quality certifications: Maintain, uphold, and expand site compliance for FAA, EASA, and TCCA repair station and production certificates, certified personnel, and AS9100 QMS credentials
• Drive executive QMS governance: Administer the site Quality Management System, collaborating directly with the Executive Committee to embed strategic quality objectives into the business planning cycle
• Standardize operational inspections: Supervise and enforce rigorous inspection standards across supply chain, logistics, receiving, in-process assembly, quality gates, and final aircraft conformity for components, aerostructures, and rotorcraft
• Mitigate quality escapes and risk: Identify and eliminate operational and airworthiness risks to safeguard customer flight safety, business continuity, delivery schedules, and operating costs
• Lead and develop personnel: Directly manage, mentor, and evaluate a team of 3-5 exempt supervisors/engineers and 10-25 non-exempt inspectors, directing career progression, staffing, and technical competence
• Establish and track SQCDP KPIs: Implement robust enterprise metrics tracking Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and People (SQCDP) to systematically capture non-conformances, process capability, and customer complaints
• Manage financials and quality budget: Direct departmental budgeting, manage financial forecasts, analyze cost variances, and allocate capital for advanced measurement tools, calibration, and ergonomic work environments
• Execute Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA): Drive practical problem solving (PPS), Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA), and structured RCCA workflows to resolve manufacturing anomalies and prevent recurrence
• Harmonize global Airbus standards: Coordinate with international Airbus Helicopters facilities to standardize quality procedures, digital architectures, and enterprise systems (including SAP, MES, and non-conformance portals)
• Champion safety and "First Time Right" culture: Spearhead a proactive, psychological safety culture anchored by "First Time Right" execution and a robust "Speak Up / Listen Up" mindset across all shifts and departments
• Direct internal and external audits: Lead preparation, execution, and reporting for internal, regulatory (FAA/EASA/TCCA), and customer audits, ensuring all corrective action milestones are closed transparently
• Collaborate on design and New Product Introduction (NPI): Partner with design engineering and certification teams to support new product development, configuration integrity, obsolescence management, and manufacturing build cycles
• Reduce Cost of Non-Quality (CoNQ): Lead enterprise continuous improvement, Lean, and Kaizen initiatives to eliminate scrap, minimize rework, reduce the Cost of Non-Quality, and improve delivery reliability
• Optimize workload and production flow: Coordinate with operations and program management to balance inspection staffing and shift priorities against critical flightline and customer delivery schedules
• Oversee technical training and qualifications: Build and finance comprehensive onboarding and recurrent training programs covering aviation safety, specialized processes (NDI, composites, dynamic components), and regulatory requirements

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace/Aviation/Industrial Engineer/Engineering related field or equivalent experience (4 years)
• 10+ years of Aerospace/Aviation Industry, Military or Quality experience
• 3+ years in a Leadership role, Civilian and/or Military
• Able to support functions in multiple areas such as repair station, manufacturing, composites, electrical/avionics Backshop, warehousing/logistics, dynamic component repair, blades and tail boom
• Knowledge of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Regulations 14 CFR Parts 21, 43 and 145 in addition to the related sections for Transport Canada and EASA
• Knowledge of AS9100 Quality Requirements and Systems
• Knowledge of aircraft design, maintenance, and manufacturing processes and build cycles
• Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Access), Onbase, Orion eTechPub, Adobe Acrobat, SAP, Smartsheet, G Suite, OCE/ARAS/Bflow T.I.P.I.
• Must be a US Person under ITAR definition (U.S. Citizen, green card holder or person covered under our existing ITAR license)

Nice to have:

• Master’s Degree as described above
• 12 years of Aerospace/Aviation Industry, Military or Quality experience
• A&P License
• ASQ or CMQ certified

Benefits

• Incentive compensation which may include profit sharing schemes
• Retirement savings plan
• Ability to participate in an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”)
• Paid time off including personal time, holidays and a generous paid parental leave program
• Comprehensive insurance coverage including medical (traditional and high-deductible health plans), prescription, dental, vision, life, disability, Employee Assistance Plan (“EAP”) and other supplemental benefit coverages
• Upskilling and development opportunities through our global Leadership University, including unlimited access to 10,000+ e-learning courses focusing on ways to develop your employability, certifications, career path
• Opportunity to participate in accelerated development programmes and both national and international mobility

Important Details

• Travel: 15% Domestic and International
• Physical Requirements: Able to see and read computer screens and other electronic equipment with screens, able to read documents, reports and engineering drawings daily. Must have correctable near and far vision if applicable. Able to hear to participate in conversations in person and via teleconference or phone and to hear sounds on the production floor including safety warnings or alarms daily. Able to speak in conversations and meetings, deliver information and participate in communications daily. Able to operate most office and personal electronic equipment and some tools including production tools. Able to carry documents, tools, drawings, electronic equipment up to 30lbs/14kgs daily. Able to lift documents, tools, drawings, electronic equipment up to 30lbs/14kgs daily. Able to push and pull small office furniture and some equipment and tools daily. Able to sit for long periods of time in meetings, working on the computer several times a week. Able to squat or kneel to retrieve or replace items stored on low shelving daily. Able to stand for discussions in offices or on the production floor daily. Able to travel independently and at short notice 15% or less yearly. Able to walk through office and production areas including uneven surfaces daily.
• Personal Protective Equipment: Required PPE includes, but is not limited to, Safety Shoes, Safety Glasses, Hearing Protection, Respirators/Masks, and/or Protective Gloves as required by site and/or customer site. Steel-toed shoes are required for all shop floor visits, appropriate hearing/eye protection may also be required when visiting the shop floor.

About the Company

Airbus Helicopters is a global leader in vertical flight. Its Columbus, Mississippi facility is home to Helicopter manufacturing and assembly lines and serves as the Center of Excellence for the entire North America region, producing UH-72A Lakota Helicopters for the U.S. Army and H-125 aircraft for civil and commercial customers.