L3Harris is dedicated to recruiting and developing high-performing talent who are passionate about what they do. Our employees are unified in a shared dedication to our customers' mission and quest for professional growth. L3Harris provides an inclusive, engaging environment designed to empower employees and promote work-life success. Fundamental to our culture is an unwavering focus on values, dedication to our communities, and commitment to excellence in everything we do.
If your skills, experience, and qualifications match those in this job overview, do not delay your application.
L3Harris is the Trusted Disruptor in defense tech. With customers' mission-critical needs always in mind, our employees deliver end-to-end technology solutions connecting the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains in the interest of national security.
Job Title: Director, Quality Engineering & AI Integration
Job Code: 35615
Job Location: Huntsville, AL, Camden, AR, Orange, VA, Canoga Park, CA Mason, OH or Amityville, NY
Job Schedule: Varies By Location
Job Description:
As the Director of Quality Engineering for L3Harris' Missile Solutions Segment, you will serve as the Chief Quality Engineer, across all 16 sites in the Missile Solutions sites. This senior leadership role is responsible for driving technical quality excellence, process standardization, risk-based engineering approaches, and the development and deployment of application-specific AI tools to enhance quality engineering capabilities, efficiency, and predictive performance.
You will oversee a distributed team while spearheading innovative AI initiatives—such as AI-driven defect detection, predictive quality analytics, automated root cause analysis, inspection data processing, and process optimization—to support high-reliability missile propulsion, precision strike, hypersonics, seekers, fuzes, sensors, and related systems. This position is instrumental in accelerating production ramp-ups, achieving zero-defect goals, and advancing mission assurance for critical DoD programs in a multi-site, high-growth environment.
Essential Functions:
- Provide strategic and technical leadership for Quality Engineering across all 16 Missile Solutions sites, ensuring standardized, best-in-class practices and tools.
- Lead recruitment, development, mentoring, and performance management of a multi-site Quality Engineering team in a distributed, matrixed organization.
- Develop and execute enterprise-wide quality engineering strategies, policies, and processes in alignment with AS9100, DoD/customer requirements, and business objectives.
- Oversee core quality engineering functions: design assurance, PFMEA/APQP/PPAP, SPC, GD&T, MSA, risk-based quality planning, and verification/validation across product lifecycles.
- Drive enterprise standardization of quality engineering methods, metrics, and continuous improvement (Lean, Six Sigma) to boost first-time yield, reduce defects, and lower cost of poor quality.
- Collaborate closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Program Management, Supply Chain, and Test teams to embed quality engineering in design, development, production, and sustainment.
- Lead advanced problem-solving and corrective/preventive actions (e.g., 8D, fishbone, Pareto) for technical issues, ensuring systemic prevention across sites.
- Establish and report enterprise-level quality engineering KPIs, dashboards, and performance insights to senior leadership for mission assurance and risk management.
- Develop and deploy application-specific AI tools to empower the Quality Engineering team, including AI for predictive defect identification, real-time process monitoring, automated inspection analysis (e.g., computer vision for NDT/ultrasonic data), anomaly detection in manufacturing data, predictive quality forecasting, and intelligent root cause analysis—while ensuring compliance with defense regulations and data security standards.
- Champion adoption of AI-enhanced quality practices to support production scaling, reduce manual effort, and enable proactive quality interventions in high-stakes missile programs.
- Manage internal/external audits, customer/government quality engagements, and full compliance with ITAR, FAR/DFARS, export controls, and other requirements.
- Up to 25% business travel for site support, audits, program reviews, team leadership, and AI tool implementation across the 18 locations.
- Ability to obtain US Secret Security Clearance.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's Degree and minimum 15 years of prior quality experience. Graduate Degree and a minimum of 13 years of prior related quality experience. In lieu of a degree, minimum of 19 years of prior related quality experience.
- 10+ years of progressive experience in quality engineering, technical quality, or related roles within aerospace, defense, propulsion, or high-reliability manufacturing industries.
- 10+ years of hands-on expertise in quality engineering disciplines such as design assurance, proces