Manager, Quality

Sparton is an innovative defense contractor headquartered in DeLeon Springs, Florida, with a rich heritage dating back to 1900. Renowned for our exceptional manufacturing capabilities, we specialize in producing high-quality sonobuoys critical to the United States' undersea warfare arsenal, enhancing national security against current and future adversaries. But we are more than manufacturers; we are problem solvers. Our team of dedicated engineers and skilled professionals tackles some of the most challenging issues in defense technology. Our expertise includes advanced research systems, maritime solutions, sophisticated sensor technologies and payload delivery capabilities. Job Summary The Senior Quality Manager leads the Quality organization and is accountable for ensuring that all products leaving our facilities meet or exceed customer expectations. This role drives a culture of quality throughout operations, engineering, and supply chain to ensure issues are prevented rather than discovered. The Senior Quality Manager provides strategic and hands-on leadership to deliver reliable, compliant, high-performance products while improving processes, team capabilities, and overall operational effectiveness. This position also oversees the company's Quality Management System and ensures alignment with AS9100 and applicable regulatory requirements, embedding quality into every step of the business. Responsibilities and Tasks * Provide strong leadership to the Quality department, setting expectations, elevating performance, and developing a culture focused on accountability, problem-solving, and continuous improvement. * Ensure all products shipped meet customer, regulatory, and internal requirements through proactive quality planning, process controls, and verification activities. * Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of the AS9100-compliant Quality Management System, ensuring audit readiness, process discipline, and organizational engagement. * Drive reliability engineering activities, including reliability planning, testing protocols, life-testing, screening, and reliability growth analysis to ensure consistent product performance. * Oversee product and process testing and analysis, ensuring appropriate test methods, measurement systems, and acceptance criteria are defined, validated, and improved. * Lead structured failure analysis investigations, ensuring identification of true root causes and implementation of long-term corrective actions. * Own and lead FMEA activities (DFMEA, PFMEA) to identify failure modes, improve process robustness, and drive preventive actions. * Partner with Engineering and Operations to ensure build processes are robust, deviations are controlled, and nonconformances are rapidly contained, investigated, and eliminated. * Strengthen data-driven decision making through statistical analysis, capability studies, trend monitoring, and reliability metrics. * Lead continuous improvement initiatives to increase yield, reduce scrap and rework, and enhance product reliability and performance. * Manage Quality department staffing, training, and development to ensure team capability aligns with business needs. * Direct CAPA and MRB activities, ensuring timely disposition, investigation, and systemic resolution. * Drive harmonization of quality processes across all sites to improve efficiency and consistency. * Manage departmental budgets, resources, and priorities in alignment with operational demands. * Support change control, customer communication, audits, and compliance activities. * Perform other related duties as assigned by senior leadership. Education, Experience, Licenses and Certifications * Bachelor's degree in Business, Quality, Engineering, or a related field. * 10+ years of related experience, including at least 5 years in a management or leadership role. * Experience leading and maintaining a certified AS9100 Quality Management System. * Experience working with certification bodies. * ASQ or other regulatory quality certifications. * AS9100 Lead Auditor certification or equivalent auditing credential. * Experience leading and developing a technical team. * U.S. citizenship required. Skills and Abilities * Strong understanding of AS9100 requirements with demonstrated ability to lead a certified Quality Management System. * Expertise in reliability engineering, including reliability testing, screening, and statistical reliability analysis. * Strong analytical capability with experience in test method development, measurement system analysis, and statistical techniques. * Demonstrated ability to lead structured problem-solving such as 8D, root cause analysis, and fault tree analysis. * Experience leading DFMEA and PFMEA activities and implementing preventive design/process improvements. * Excellent communication skills with the ability to collaborate across engineering, operations, supply chain, and program teams. * Strong leadership skills for developing and coaching quality teams. * Supervisory Responsibilities * 20-25 Indirect reports * 8-10 Direct reports Travel and Physical Requirements * Up to 25% travel required. * The physical demands describe here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. The work environment characteristics described are representative of those an employee may encounter while performing the essential functions of this job. This job operates in a professional office environment and a manufacturing environment. The employee may be exposed to fumes or airborne particles, moving mechanical parts and vibration. The employee is occasionally exposed to a variety of extreme conditions in the plant. The noise level in the work environment may be loud. * While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, stand, talk, and communicate, use hands/finger, feel, and reach with arms. This position requires the ability to lift, bend or stoop as necessary up to 20lbs. Benefits Highlights Healthcare * Robust medical, dental, vision, & disability coverage. * Healthcare concierge to help you navigate your benefit selections. * Virtual health solutions for physical therapy, menopause, and diabetes. * Company paid Basic Life Insurance. Additional Life & AD&D Insurances are available. * On-site wellness clinic. Paid Benefits * Competitive compensation. * 401k program to plan for your future with company match 75% up to 8% plus 1% Employer contribution. * Company Paid Time Off (Vacation and Sick). * Paid parental leave. * Adoption assistance. * Fertility and family building assistance. Additional Benefits * Flexible work schedules available based on position: * 9/80 schedule providing every other Friday off * 5/8s * 4/10s * 3/12s * Lifestyle spending account. * Perks at work. * Generous employee referral program. * Tuition reimbursement. * Voluntary benefits available: longer term care, legal, identity theft, pet Insurance, and many more options These are highlights of Elbit America benefits. If there is a conflict with these highlights, company policy or benefits plan documents shall govern. Benefits are subject to change. Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled Accessibility Sparton DeLeon Springs, LLC is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you need special assistance or an accommodation while seeking employment, please email us at View email address on click.appcast.io Disclaimer: This job description does not list all the duties of the job. You may be asked by your supervisors or managers to perform other duties. The employer has the right to revise this job description at any time. The job description is not a contract for employment. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position. #LI-PC1