Quality Assurance Manager
About the position
Role: Quality Assurance Manager
Reports to: President / CEO
Location: In office, Ventura, CA
As the Quality Assurance Manager, you will work in collaboration with the leadership team at Strand Products, an employee-owned manufacturing company, and play a vital role supporting our customers and internal systems.
You will be asked to lead the quality assurance initiatives for a company of 50 employee-owners and a top management team of seven, including a president/CEO, customer experience manager, engineering manager, operations manager, sales manager, and finance/human resources manager.
You will oversee the Quality Inspection Lead, Quality Inspector II, and Quality Assurance Receiving Inspector roles, as well as directing all quality inspections within the medical device and aerospace manufacturing industries.
You will be responsible for maintaining the highest standards for our company by producing all required documentation validating the AS9100/ISO9001 certification, including in our ISO 7 cleanroom while making suggestions for ways to improve and expand our capabilities in this area.
You will ensure the effective implementation of our QMS and to proactively improve our quality systems so that we are successful in achieving our shared goals. Together, we drive continuous improvement so that Strand Products is the most innovative and highest quality partner. Together, we help our customers advance social and scientific progress to make this world a better place.
You will be the bridge to providing valuable solutions for our customers by responding to quality concerns, leading root cause investigations, and implementing effective corrective actions.
You will play a key role in fostering a culture of accountability and excellence, where quality is built into every process and every product we deliver.
You are passionate about your work, professional in your communication, dedicated to quality,
committed to integrity in how you work and how you treat others.
We invite you to join us- you can become an employee-owner.
What You'll Do
Leadership & Development:
- Build a strong team through coaching, mentoring, specific training, and performance evaluations
- Manage a quality lead quality inspector, quality inspector, and document specialist
- Recommend and facilitate companywide QMS and QSP training
- Manage calibration, preventative maintenance, class 10K cleanroom monitoring, skills matrix, and training records
Quality Systems & Compliance:
- Administer company quality procedures, standards, and expectations
- Ensure compliance with AS9100/ISO9001 standards, product documentation, specifications, SOPs, and regulatory requirements
- Serve as company representative during customer audits and source inspection
- Manage internal and supplier non-conformance, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and verification of effectiveness
- Manage first article inspections and PPAPs, deviation requests and change notifications.
Process & Product Assurance:
- Develop, implement, and manage processes to ensure that products meet the required specifications for quality, function, and reliability prior to delivery
- Support statistical analysis, process validations, and engineering changes
- Coordinate daily with all departments to establish receiving, in-process and final inspection priorities
Continuous Improvement & Lean Integration:
- Responsible for soliciting and communicating potential improvements in processes that may reduce costs, increase quality, and/or improve delivery of products
- Support and foster an environment of continuous improvement by encouraging staff to challenge existing processes and implement solutions
- Support and implement new, customer-focused processes in accordance with lean principles and practices
Customer Focus & Strategic Contribution:
- Maintain a customer-centric approach to quality, prioritizing activities that nurture lifelong customer relationships
- Contribute to the development of growth strategies focused both on financial gain and customer satisfaction
Who You Are
- Passionate: About customer-centered communication and honing your craft. You're looking for a role where your job title is not considered the final definition of who you are, but the starting point.
- Empathic: Quality assurance requires a myriad of perspectives, methodologies and processes. Beyond all of that, you're a human and possess a high level of self-awareness, empathy, integrity and interpersonal skills.
- Collaborative: Able to own your part of the process, no matter how large or small. You are an ensemble player not needing the limelight.
- Detail Oriented: See yourself as a digital artisan, bringing a technician's skillset to each step. Exceptional excel and related analytical computer skills.
- Organized: Put bluntly, you meet deadlines and help others meet them too. You manage details and keep projects on track using checklists, check-in meetings or whatever is needed. You are the champion of file management and organization.
- Trustworthy: This position requires the use of information which is subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). All applicants must be U.S. persons within the meaning of ITAR. ITAR defines a U.S. person as a U.S. Citizen, U.S. Permanent Resident (i.e. 'Green Card Holder'), Political Asylee, or Refugee.
Experience You Bring
- Bachelor's Degree of Mechanical Engineering or related field
- 5+ years of experience in Quality Assurance in a medical device or aerospace manufacturing environment
- Experience in supervisory, management, or leadership role
- Experience administering an ISO9001 or AS9100 quality system
- Excellent analytical and computer skills, possibly including Minitab, Solidworks CAD Modeling, 3D printing, MRP or ERP systems, Excel, Outlook, Word, Teams, Google Suite, and Slack
What You'll Get
- We offer a comprehensive benefits package including ownership, a competitive salary with medical, dental, and vision insurance, long term disability and life insurance
- We are a 100% Employee-Owned Company (ESOP) offering an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP)
- Paid holidays and vacation
- Employee assistance such as counseling, legal issue support, financial guidance
- Tuition reimbursement
- Gym membership
Working Conditions
- Primarily office-based role in a collaborative environment
- Regular interaction with cross-functional teams, including finance, sales, engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and logistics
- Frequent meetings to review strategies and performance
- Occasional travel to customer and supplier locations is required