Quality Control Engineer I

Job Title: Quality Control Engineer I

Location: Bedford, MA

Division: Operations

Department: Quality

About Us: 

Quantum Computing Inc. (QCi) (Nasdaq: QUBT) is an innovative, integrated photonics company that provides accessible and affordable quantum machines to the world today. QCi products are designed to operate at room temperature and low power at an affordable cost. The Company’s portfolio of core technology and products offer unique capabilities in the areas of high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, cyber security as well as remote sensing applications.

Scope of the Job:

The Quality Control Engineer I is a hands-on quality professional who will spend significant time on the manufacturing floor evaluating current practices, defining inspection criteria, designing test plans, and simplifying or developing standard operating procedures (SOPs). This role helps ensure products and processes meet internal specifications, customer requirements, and ISO 9001 standards while supporting on-time delivery, production quality, process efficiency, and continuous improvement across the Bedford and Wilmington facilities.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Partner directly with manufacturing teams on the floor to observe processes, identify quality or workflow gaps, and recommend practical improvements. 

• Design and maintain quality control plans, test plans, inspection methods, and acceptance criteria for manufacturing operations. 

• Create, update, and simplify standard operating procedures, work instructions, and quality documentation using Microsoft Word, Visio, and related tools. 

• Perform process audits and support internal audits, ISO 9001 compliance, certification activities, industry regulations, and customer-specific requirements. 

• Monitor production quality and analyze quality and delivery metrics, including parts per million (PPM), on-time delivery (OTD), escapes, and cost of poor quality (COPQ). 

• Lead or support corrective and preventive action activities, including supplier corrective action requests (SCARs), 8D problem solving, root cause corrective action (RCCA), containment, and root cause investigations. 

• Support investigations involving optical performance failures, modulation transfer function (MTF), transmission, surface defects, coating inconsistencies, alignment or tolerance stack-up issues, and cleanliness or contamination concerns. 

• Assess process risk and reliability related to optical coating processes, cleanroom manufacturing, laser diode fabrication, and precision alignment. 

• Participate in reliability testing, environmental validation reviews, and change management reviews for products, processes, and suppliers. 

• Apply Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, 6S, and process capability methods such as Cp/Cpk to improve quality, throughput, on-time delivery, and cost without compromising optical performance or reliability. 

• Implement supplier improvement plans and collaborate across Quality, Operations, Engineering, and Manufacturing. 

• Provide support at both the Bedford and Wilmington facilities as business needs require. 

Required Qualifications 

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or a related engineering discipline. 

• 3-5 years of experience in quality or supplier quality within a manufacturing environment. 

• Hands-on experience developing or maintaining quality control plans, test plans, inspection criteria, SOPs, work instructions, or manufacturing quality documentation. 

• Experience supporting ongoing quality monitoring, corrective actions, containment, root cause analysis, and process improvement. 

• Working knowledge of ISO 9001 requirements and experience operating in an ISO-regulated quality system. 

• Familiarity with process risk, reliability, optical coating processes, cleanroom manufacturing, precision components, optical systems, or closely related high-precision manufacturing processes. 

• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, and technical requirements; exposure to geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) is valued. 

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, documentation, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills. 

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word, and the ability to create or update process flows and documentation in Visio or similar software. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• 1-3 years of experience in photonics, optics, laser systems, optical coatings, laser diode fabrication, or another high-precision manufacturing environment. 

• Experience in a cleanroom environment and with cleanliness or contamination controls. 

• Experience with quality metrics such as PPM, OTD, escapes, and COPQ. 

• Practical experience with SCARs, 8D, RCCA, corrective and preventive action (CAPA), and root cause analysis. 

• Knowledge of Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, 6S, Cp/Cpk, and continuous improvement methods. 

• Experience conducting internal audits or interest in completing internal ISO 9001 auditor training. 

• Interest in becoming an internal trainer for Lean manufacturing, 6S, ISO auditing practices, and applicable military inspection standards. 

Work Environment 

This is a hands-on role that works across office, manufacturing-floor, and cleanroom environments. The employee will support the Bedford facility and the nearby Wilmington facility. Laser safety and site-specific training will be provided. Other duties and special assignments may be required based on business needs.

Quantum Computing Inc. (QCi) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Incumbent(s) in this position may be required to perform other duties and special assignments not specifically stated above. Statements outlined in this section are designated as essential job functions in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.