Supplier Quality Specialist - Propulsion (R6585)

Shield AI is actively seeking candidates with deep expertise in manufacturing and quality methodologies, paired with a relentless drive to enable supplier success and strengthen mission-critical operations.

The Supplier Quality Specialist - Propulsion will be responsible for supplier qualification, development, performance management, and quality assurance across the Propulsion commodity supply base. This includes conducting supplier audits, nonconformance resolution, root-cause investigations, and hands-on hardware dispositions.

Key responsibilities:

• Conduct supplier qualification, risk assessments, periodic performance reviews, supplier audits, source inspections, and approved-supplier status across the propulsion commodity supply base.
• 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 5 years of relevant experience.
• 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.
• 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.