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Lightspeed Staff Quality Engineer
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Description
- The Staff Quality Engineer serves as the VP Quality senior technical quality expert responsible for driving multi-site RCCA culture supporting engineering and manufacturing quality
- Reporting directly to the Vice President of Quality, this role leads enterprise-wide technical investigations, drives engineering-based Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA), and partners across Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Product, and Mission Operations to improve product reliability and operational performance
- This position applies deep engineering expertise to identify fundamental technical failure mechanisms, validate corrective actions through engineering analysis and testing, and eliminate systemic product and process risks
- The Staff Quality Engineer operates across multiple manufacturing sites and product lines, working with cross functional teams on design opportunities, manufacturing processes, and operational readiness while establishing best practices for technical problem solving across the enterprise
- Apply structured engineering methodologies to determine true physical, process, software, or systems root causes—not simply procedural gaps
- Utilize advanced analytical tools including Fault Tree Analysis, Fishbone, 5 Why, Statistical Analysis, Tolerance Stack Analysis, and FMEA
- Validate corrective actions using engineering data, experimentation, testing, and verification
- Drive permanent corrective actions that eliminate recurrence across products and manufacturing sites
- Provide technical quality leadership across multiple manufacturing locations
- Standardize RCCA methodologies and engineering investigations across the enterprise
- Coach site Quality Engineers on advanced engineering problem solving
- Lead enterprise technical reviews for recurring issues and customer escapes
- Support rapid problem escalation and recovery during production interruptions
- Lead enterprise RCCA for manufacturing defects, supplier escapes, customer returns, field failures, and reliability issues
- Ensure investigations identify technical root causes rather than symptoms
- Improve manufacturing capability through engineering analysis
- Reduce defects through process optimization rather than increased inspection
- Support New Product Introduction (NPI) Quality activities across multi product line
- Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Program Management, Product Management, Mission Operations, and Executive Leadership
- Present technical findings and recommendations to cross functional teams
- What Success Looks Like
- Establish an enterprise technical RCCA methodology across all manufacturing sites
- Reduce quality escapes through permanent corrective actions
- Improve manufacturing FPY
- Mentor Quality Engineers in advanced engineering problem solving
- Extensive experience leading engineering-based RCCA
- Demonstrated success solving complex engineering problems
- 7+ years of engineering aerospace, defense, automotive, or advanced manufacturing
- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering
- Experience supporting multi-site manufacturing operations
- Excellent communication and executive presentation skills
- Design and development engineering management experience