Senior Principal Quality Engineer

***Active DoD Security Clearance Preferred***

***US Citizenship Required***

***NO VISA SUPPORT or C2C***

Primary Function

Long Wave Inc. is seeking a Senior Principal Quality Engineer – Program Quality Assurance (PRQA) to support program execution, contractual quality compliance, and Quality Management System (QMS) activities within an aerospace and defense environment.

Essential Responsibilities

Program Quality Assurance & Contractual Compliance

• Serve as lead PRQA for assigned programs, providing quality oversight throughout program development, production, testing, integration, and acceptance.
• Review and analyze contracts, Statements of Work (SOW), Supplier Quality Assurance Requirements (SQAR), purchase orders, specifications, and other customer requirements to identify quality obligations, compliance gaps, and risks.
• Develop and maintain program quality plans, contractual quality requirements matrices, compliance documentation, and associated program quality records.
• Identify contractual quality concerns and coordinate recommended clarifications, exceptions, or resolutions with Contracts, Program Management, and other responsible organizations.
• Coordinate with program and functional teams to ensure quality requirements are incorporated into program planning, schedules, technical activities, and deliverables.
• Review technical documentation, design changes, inspection and test requirements, and contractual deliverables for applicable quality compliance.
• Support program design reviews, technical reviews, production readiness activities, verification, testing, and customer acceptance.
• Coordinate applicable First Article Inspection (FAI), source inspection, product verification, and acceptance requirements with responsible functional organizations.
• Support supplier quality oversight, contractual quality flowdowns, nonconformance resolution, and corrective action activities in coordination with Supply Chain Management and Hardware Quality Assurance.
• Review and coordinate Quality Assurance inputs and approvals for contractual deliverables, including applicable SDRLs/CDRLs.
• Identify, document, communicate, and track program quality risks, nonconformances, corrective actions, and compliance concerns through resolution.
• Support nonconformance reporting, Material Review Board (MRB) activities, root cause analysis, and corrective and preventive action (CAPA) processes.
• Interface with customer and government quality representatives to support program reviews, inspections, audits, and quality issue resolution.
• Develop and report program quality metrics, compliance status, risks, trends, and corrective action performance.
• Serve as QA Control Account Manager (CAM) for assigned program, supporting budget and resource planning, ETC/EAC forecasting, cost and schedule performance monitoring, variance analysis, and applicable EVMS reporting requirements.

Senior Technical Quality Leadership

• Serve as a senior technical resource for complex aerospace and defense quality engineering, customer quality requirements, and compliance matters across the organization.
• Provide technical guidance and recommendations to Quality Assurance, Engineering, Program Management, Operations, Supply Chain Management, and other functional organizations.
• Lead or support complex cross-functional quality investigations, risk assessments, and improvement initiatives.
• Evaluate existing quality processes, systems, and controls; recommend and implement improvements to strengthen compliance, effectiveness, and operational performance.
• Provide technical mentoring, coaching, and knowledge transfer to quality personnel and other functional stakeholders.
• Advise Quality leadership on complex quality concerns, technical risks, and opportunities for improvement.

QMS Compliance & Continuous Improvement

• Support implementation, sustainment, and continual improvement of the AS9100/ISO 9001 Quality Management System.
• Support QMS process improvements, digital quality management applications, and associated workflows, including TipQA/TipSFE, as assigned.
• Participate in internal, customer, and certification audits, including objective evidence reviews, corrective actions, and follow-up activities.
• Support integration of program-specific contractual quality requirements into established QMS processes and controls.
• Perform other assigned QA and QMS support activities based on department priorities.

Work Conditions

• Remote or on-site work arrangement based on business needs and position requirements.
• Occasional travel may be required in support of program, customer, supplier, QMS, audit, or inspection activities.
• Remote employees must be able to perform assigned duties and access authorized company systems in accordance with company and contractual requirements.

Minimum Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality Assurance, Manufacturing, Mathematics, or a related technical discipline with a minimum of 12 years of relevant experience; graduate degree with a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience; or 16 years of directly related experience in lieu of a degree.
• Mastery-level knowledge of quality engineering, program quality assurance, contractual quality requirements, and related disciplines.
• Extensive experience in aerospace, defense, or similarly regulated industries performing quality engineering, program quality assurance, or related quality functions.
• Demonstrated experience reviewing, interpreting, and implementing complex contractual, customer, technical, and regulatory quality requirements.
• Advanced knowledge of AS9100 and/or ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems and applicable aerospace/defense quality practices.
• Experience developing or implementing program quality plans, contractual requirements matrices, compliance verification activities, and associated quality documentation.
• Demonstrated ability to independently assess complex quality issues, identify compliance risks, recommend solutions, and coordinate resolution across functional organizations.
• Experience with nonconformance management, root cause analysis, corrective action, and quality risk management.
• Ability to provide technical leadership, influence stakeholders, and communicate complex quality matters with management, customers, and cross-functional teams.
• Strong analytical, organizational, written, and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience serving as a lead Program Quality Engineer or Program Quality Assurance representative supporting aerospace/defense programs.
• Experience supporting major defense contractors, Department of Defense programs, or government contractual quality requirements.
• Experience performing detailed contractual quality requirements analysis, developing compliance matrices, and establishing program-specific quality controls.
• Experience with AS9102 First Article Inspection, customer/government source inspection, product acceptance, and supplier quality requirements.
• Knowledge of AS9145/APQP/PPAP, configuration management, engineering change control, and technical data requirements.
• Experience supporting complex quality investigations, RCCA/CAPA activities, and cross-functional process improvement initiatives.
• Experience implementing, sustaining, or improving AS9100-certified Quality Management Systems.
• Experience implementing or supporting electronic QMS applications, including TipQA, TipSFE, or similar systems.
• Experience with CAM, program budgeting, ETC/EAC forecasting, or Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS) in a DoD program environment.
• ASQ or other relevant professional Quality certification, including CQE, CQA, CRE, CMQ/OE, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated experience providing technical mentoring and guidance to quality engineering personnel.
• Active or previously held Secret security clearance.

Position Benefits:

As a full-time employee of Long Wave, you are eligible for our benefits package including:

• Competitive Salary
• Medical, Dental & Vision coverage
• 401k
• Educational Assistance
• Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Programs & Work/Life Solutions
• Paid Time Off
• This position’s standard work schedule is a 9/80. The 9/80 schedule allows employees who work a nine-hour day Monday through Thursday to take every other Friday off.

EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability