Production Quality Engineer

Our client is a long-established American manufacturer of high-pressure gas and pneumatic systems for demanding defense and industrial applications. They have a strong reputation for engineering excellence, a long history supporting U.S. defense programs, and a growing production footprint across two sites in the western U.S. Position Summary The Production Quality Engineer provides hands-on Quality Assurance support to manufacturing operations at an assigned facility. You'll work with Operations, Engineering, Program Management, and Quality to turn customer and contractual requirements into capable, controlled production processes. You'll use risk-based thinking, data analysis, and structured problem solving to prevent defects, improve first-pass yield, resolve nonconformances, and make sure products consistently meet customer, regulatory, and QMS requirements. The role reports to the site Quality Assurance Manager. Responsibilities Support the Quality Assurance Manager in implementing, maintaining, and improving the Quality Management System and site quality processes Serve as the primary Quality Engineering partner to Manufacturing, Engineering, Program Management, and Inspection for assigned products and production areas Review contracts, drawings, specifications, test procedures, routers, and work instructions to identify quality, inspection, test, traceability, and workmanship requirements Support new and changed designs moving into production through risk reviews, manufacturing readiness assessments, Quality Assurance Plans, inspection plans, and process validation Develop and improve control plans, acceptance criteria, sampling plans, inspection methods, and objective evidence requirements Plan, coordinate, review, and approve First Article Inspections per AS9102 and customer requirements Provide technical support for incoming, in-process, and final inspection, plus customer and Government source inspection Lead containment, root cause corrective and preventive action (RCCA/PA), and effectiveness verification for internal nonconformances and customer escapes Administer Corrective Action Requests from problem definition through closure Support Material Review Board activities and coordinate disposition of nonconforming material Analyze quality data and trends (defects, rework, scrap, first-pass yield, customer issues) and drive risk-based improvement priorities Lead process improvement using Lean, PDCA, mistake-proofing, and statistical methods Support process capability studies, MSA, gage selection, and validation of inspection and test methods Develop and deliver training that builds quality awareness and defect prevention Participate in internal, customer, and regulatory audits and support timely closure of findings Interface with customers as assigned on program and product quality status Maintain accurate quality records in ERP and electronic QMS systems Minimum Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, or a related technical field (an associate degree plus 4+ additional years of relevant quality or manufacturing experience may be considered) 2+ years in quality engineering, manufacturing engineering, or manufacturing quality within aerospace, defense, or precision manufacturing Experience working within an AS9100 or ISO 9001 Quality Management System #J-18808-Ljbffr