Director of Quality

Lighthouse Lab Services is currently seeking a dynamic and people-centered Director of Quality to join and lead a Quality organization during a period of continued growth and transformation for an established and growing full‑service calibration laboratory. This role requires a leader who brings equal parts confidence and empathy—someone who can make decisive, strategic decisions while building trust, developing people, and fostering a culture of collaboration across the organization. As the organization continues to expand, the ideal candidate will thrive in a changing environment—remaining steady, grounded, and solutions‑oriented while guiding teams through complexity and continuous improvement. This leader will champion the integrity and advancement of the Quality Management Systems while reinforcing a culture that embraces change as an opportunity to improve, innovate, and strengthen the operations. As a high‑requirement organization serving customers with rigorous technical and regulatory expectations, this company requires a leader with strong technical depth and sound judgment. The Director of Quality must not only understand complex standards such as ISO/IEC 17025, but also demonstrate the ability to interpret and translate those requirements into practical application—guiding both internal teams and external customers with clarity, credibility, and confidence. Job Overview: The Director of Quality provides strategic leadership, direction, and accountability for Quality Management Systems (ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 17025), ensuring consistent, compliant, and effective quality outcomes across the organization. This role owns the Quality function and partners with Executive Leadership and cross‑functional teams to align quality objectives with business growth, operational performance, and customer requirements. Responsibilities: Quality system governance and integrity Compliance and audit leadership Quality department leadership and development Data quality strategy and oversight Strategic quality planning and execution Management review and executive reporting Budget ownership and resource planning Quality Management System & Compliance Ownership: Own and maintain ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 17025 Quality Management Systems across all functions, product lines, and services. Drive implementation, monitoring, and continuous improvement of the QMS to meet regulatory, customer, and organizational requirements. Safeguard the integrity of the QMS through organizational, operational, and technical changes. Ensure compliance with design and development controls, including product realization activities for the Condec product line (assembly, repair, and calibration). Ensure distributed and externally provided products are evaluated, approved, and controlled within the QMS in alignment with company capabilities and requirements. Establish and enforce supplier quality processes, including qualification, monitoring, and control of external providers. Own final approval authority for QMS departures, major document changes, and quality‑impacting decisions. Lead management review processes, ensuring meaningful analysis of quality performance and alignment with strategic objectives. Ensure quality documentation is controlled, accurate, and compliant. Ensure appropriate resources, training, and competencies are in place to maintain QMS effectiveness. Audit & Compliance Oversight: Establish and oversee internal audit programs, ensuring timely and effective corrective and preventive actions. Ensure readiness for customer, accreditation, and regulatory audits. Partner with Metrology and Quality Compliance leadership to ensure ISO/IEC 17025 technical audit readiness. Coordinate with Clean Room leadership to ensure NAVSEA OICR audit readiness. Oversee weld program in collaboration with Production leadership. Serve as primary quality representative for customers and regulatory agencies. Ensure inspection and supplier quality systems remain effective, compliant, and scalable. Data Quality & Integrity Oversight: Provide enterprise‑wide leadership for data governance, ensuring data accuracy, integrity, and reliability across calibration, inspection, metrology, and quality systems, including AI‑enabled initiatives. Establish the lab as a leader in data‑driven quality decision‑making. Define and implement data validation standards and error‑proofing mechanisms. Lead cross‑functional efforts to improve traceability, analytics capability, and data visibility. Partner with functional leaders to analyze trends, identify systemic issues, and drive corrective actions. Ensure all customer‑facing data is accurate, complete, and compliant with technical and regulatory requirements. Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement: Lead initiatives that improve process capability, reduce errors, and enhance customer satisfaction. Drive standardization of processes to support scalable growth. Utilize Lean methodologies, corrective action systems, and data analytics to improve performance. Monitor and communicate quality trends, metrics, and insights to leadership. Ensure quality is integrated across the full product and service lifecycle—from requirements through delivery and post‑delivery support. Leadership & Department Management: Lead, mentor, and develop the Quality team, including Quality Representatives and Quality Managers. Foster a collaborative, accountable, and growth‑oriented environment across departments. Establish clear goals, KPIs, and performance expectations aligned with strategic priorities. Ensure team capability through training, qualifications, and cross‑functional development. Lead organizational change initiatives related to quality systems, processes, and standards. Cross‑Functional Quality Collaboration: Serve as a strategic partner to leadership in aligning quality objectives with business growth and customer expectations. Collaborate with Operations, Metrology, Sales, Administration, and Program Management to ensure quality requirements are clearly understood and executed. Support contract reviews and RFQ evaluations to ensure requirements are defined, achievable, and aligned with company capabilities. Provide guidance on quality considerations for new capabilities, services, and customer requirements. Partner with leadership to identify and implement process improvement opportunities. External Representation and Relationship Building: Represent the lab in industry organizations such as VSRA and ASQ. Strengthen presence in the industry and support strategic customer relationships. Promote the lab's reputation for quality, technical excellence, and reliability. What We're Looking For: Bachelor’s degree in a business, engineering, or technical field - OR - 10+ years of relevant government and commercial industry experience, including significant experience with ISO 9001:2015 and ISO/IEC 17025 . Professional certifications in quality, metrology, auditing, or related fields preferred. Proven ability to lead people, programs, and cross‑functional initiatives in a complex environment. Strong analytical, organizational, and strategic thinking capabilities. Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate technical requirements into practical application. Demonstrated ability to lead through change while maintaining stability and focus. High proficiency with data analysis tools, QMS systems, and process improvement methodologies. Ability to prioritize, manage complexity, and drive organizational performance. Shift & Salary: Monday- Friday Day Shift Salary range of 125k-135k (DOE) Full benefits At Lighthouse Lab Services, we offer solutions to help start, grow, and run clinical laboratories. Our recruiting team has over 18 years of proven success placing job seekers in positions ranging from entry‑level Medical Technologists to seasoned Laboratory Directors. We recruit nationwide, for permanent and travel positions with clients ranging from small hospitals to large reference laboratories. It is the policy of Lighthouse Lab Services to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. Lighthouse Lab Services is committed to working and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals of all abilities, including persons with disabilities. If at any time during the application process, you need an accommodation, please contact View email address on click.appcast.io for assistance. #J-18808-Ljbffr Gilder Search Group