Director, Quality & Manufacturing Engineering

Company: Vertiq

Job Title: Director, Quality & Manufacturing Engineering

Reports To: This position will report to the CEO.

Company Overview: Vertiq is a Philadelphia-based startup that makes advanced propulsion systems for commercial and defense aerial vehicles. Vertiq spun out of the University of Pennsylvania’s robotics lab with the goal of perfecting the components that make vehicles move. We are looking for talented people to join us in revolutionizing the mobile robotics industry. You can find us at vertiq.co.

Job Overview: Vertiq is seeking a Director of Quality & Manufacturing Engineering to lead, develop, and scale its Quality and Manufacturing Engineering organization. This is a leadership role responsible for building and managing a team of quality engineers, manufacturing engineers, and inspection personnel. The role owns end-to-end product quality across production, suppliers, and field performance, while ensuring manufacturing processes are robust, repeatable, and scalable as production volume increases. The ideal candidate brings deep hardware manufacturing experience, a strong process orientation, and a proven ability to drive continuous improvement across both suppliers and the factory floor.

Responsibilities and Duties:

Team Leadership & Organization Building

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of quality engineers, manufacturing engineers, and inspection personnel
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and accountability within the quality and manufacturing engineering function
• Develop team capabilities in root cause analysis, supplier quality, production support, and process improvement
• Foster a culture of ownership, urgency, and continuous improvement on the factory floor
• Hire and scale the team as production volume increases

Manufacturing & Production Quality

• Own product quality across motors, motor controllers, and integrated electromechanical assembly lines
• Ensure strong execution of incoming inspection, in-process quality control, and final test and calibration
• Drive reduction in defects, rework, and field failures through disciplined problem solving and corrective action systems
• Work closely with production leadership to ensure smooth day-to-day manufacturing execution
• Ensure quality systems support, rather than hinder, production throughput and scaling

Supplier & Incoming Quality

• Oversee supplier quality strategy and execution across machined parts, stators, bearings, PCBAs, and subassemblies
• Ensure supplier performance tracking, audits, and corrective action processes are consistently executed
• Partner with procurement and engineering to qualify new suppliers as production scales globally
• Drive accountability with contract manufacturers and key suppliers

Manufacturing Engineering

• Continuously improve existing assembly, calibration, and test processes to increase quality and throughput
• Implement new manufacturing processes and automation initiatives to improve product quality, increase throughput, and reduce manual touchpoints on the factory floor 
• Partner with engineering teams during product development to ensure manufacturability and scalability
• Oversee manufacturing readiness for new product introduction and production ramp

Continuous Improvement & Data-Driven Quality

• Define and track quality KPIs (yield, scrap, rework, RMA, failure modes)
• Lead structured problem-solving processes (RCA, 8D, fishbone, etc.) across the organization
• Drive Lean and Six Sigma-based improvements where appropriate
• Ensure systemic issues are escalated, resolved, and prevented from recurring

Quality Systems & Compliance (ISO 9001 / AS9100)

• Own execution of Vertiq’s Quality Management System and lead readiness for ISO 9001 and AS9100 certification
• Ensure documentation, traceability, and process discipline appropriate for aerospace and defense customers
• Lead internal and external audits and ensure ongoing compliance
• Embed quality systems into daily operations in a practical, production-friendly way

Customer & Field Quality

• Oversee investigation of returned products and field failures
• Ensure timely root cause analysis and corrective action closure
• Interface with customers on quality-related issues when required
• Ensure lessons learned from field performance are fed back into manufacturing and design

Qualifications: 

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, or related field
• 10 years of experience in hardware manufacturing or quality engineering
• 5 years of experience managing or leading quality or manufacturing engineering teams
• Experience with electromechanical systems, ideally BLDC motors and power electronics
• Strong hands-on experience in production environments
• Proven ability to lead root cause analysis and drive corrective actions across teams
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes (PCBA, machining, assembly, test, calibration)

Preferred

• Experience in aerospace, defense, robotics, or UAV industries
• Experience with ISO 9001 and/or AS9100 environments (and leading teams through certification)
• Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or Black Belt)
• Experience scaling manufacturing from prototype to high volume production
• Experience managing supplier and contract manufacturing relationships
• ERP system experience (production, inventory, and quality tracking systems) communication skills