Quality Head- Aerospace/Avionics

Job description

**Role & responsibilities** The incumbent will provide strategic leadership for Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Supplier  Quality, Reliability Engineering, and Compliance functions, while ensuring adherence to applicable  national and international aerospace and defense standards. The role demands extensive experience  in high-reliability manufacturing environments, customer quality management, certification  processes, and continuous improvement methodologies. **Key Responsibilities** **Strategic Quality Leadership** - Formulate and execute the organizations Quality strategy in alignment with business  objectives and customer expectations. - Establish and sustain a culture of quality excellence, continuous improvement, and  operational discipline across the organization. - Serve as the principal authority on all quality-related matters and provide strategic guidance  to senior leadership. - Drive quality transformation initiatives to enhance product reliability, process capability, and  customer satisfaction. **Quality Management Systems (QMS)** - Lead the development, implementation, maintenance, and continual improvement of the  Quality Management System. - Ensure compliance with applicable standards, including but not limited to:  o AS9100 - ISO 9001 - Defense and Aerospace Quality Requirements - Customer-specific Quality Standards - Conduct periodic management reviews and ensure organizational readiness for internal,  customer, regulatory, and certification audits. - Establish governance mechanisms to monitor compliance and drive corrective actions where  necessary. **Product and Process Quality Assurance** - Ensure quality assurance throughout the product lifecycle, including design, development,  qualification, manufacturing, testing, integration, and field support. - Establish robust quality planning, inspection, validation, and verification processes.  • Lead initiatives to prevent defects, reduce variability, and improve process capability.  • Oversee non-conformance management, root cause analysis, corrective and preventive  actions (CAPA), and lessons learned implementation. **Supplier Quality Management** - Define and implement supplier quality strategies to ensure consistency and reliability  throughout the supply chain. - Oversee supplier qualification, audits, assessments, and performance evaluations.  • Collaborate with Procurement and Supply Chain teams to develop strategic supplier quality  improvement programs. - Ensure supplier compliance with contractual, regulatory, and quality requirements. - **Regulatory Compliance and Customer Interface** - Act as the primary quality interface with customers, regulatory agencies, certification  authorities, and defense organizations. - Lead customer quality reviews, inspections, acceptance activities, and audit engagements.  • Ensure compliance with all contractual, statutory, and regulatory obligations.  • Support major defense and aerospace programs through effective quality governance and  risk mitigation. **Reliability and Continuous Improvement** - Champion reliability engineering principles and quality improvement methodologies across  all programs. - Lead initiatives involving FMEA, SPC, APQP, First Article Inspection (FAI), process validation,  and reliability assessments. - Drive Lean, Six Sigma, and operational excellence initiatives aimed at improving productivity  and reducing the Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ). - Establish quality metrics and dashboards to monitor organizational performance and drive  data-based decision making. **Leadership and Organizational Development** - Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing quality organization. - Strengthen technical capabilities, succession planning, and leadership development within  the Quality function. - Foster collaboration across Engineering, Manufacturing, Programs, Supply Chain, and  Customer Support functions. - Promote a culture of accountability, integrity, and continuous learning **Technical Competencies** - AS9100, ISO 9001 and Aerospace Quality Standards - Quality Management Systems and Compliance - Reliability Engineering and Product Assurance - Supplier Quality Management - APQP, PPAP, FAI and Process Validation - FMEA, SPC, MSA and Statistical Quality Tools - CAPA and Root Cause Analysis - Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma - Configuration Management and Change Control - Risk Management and Quality Governance - Defense and Aerospace Regulatory Requirements **Preferred candidate profile** - Minimum 1825 years of progressive experience in Quality Management within Aerospace,  Defense, Avionics, Electronics Manufacturing, or other high-reliability industries.  • Proven experience in leading enterprise-wide quality functions in a complex manufacturing  environment. - Demonstrated experience in managing customer, regulatory, and certification audits.  • Strong exposure to defense manufacturing programs, aerospace systems integration, and  mission-critical products. - Experience working with organizations such as HAL, BEL, DRDO, DPSUs, aerospace OEMs, or  equivalent defense and aviation ecosystems will be highly desirable.