Senior Aerospace Quality Engineer

Most days mix quality system work, supplier quality, and certification activity — auditing internal processes and suppliers, investigating nonconformances and CAPA, supporting FAA or DCMA audits, contributing to first article inspections and source inspections, and partnering with engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain. You're often working at aerospace OEMs, MRO operations, or tier-1 suppliers, and AS9100 quality systems structure much of the daily framework.

What tends to be harder than people expect is the regulatory consequence of quality lapses. Production discrepancies can ground fleets, and audit findings can disrupt deliveries. Senior quality work requires holding the line against schedule and cost pressure while maintaining engineering credibility. CQE certification marks advancement.

People who tend to thrive here are rigorous, comfortable with both engineering and audit work, willing to push back on production pressure, and quietly committed to safe flight hardware. If you want pure design work, quality lives in compliance and risk. If you like the senior responsibility of ensuring aerospace products meet the bar, the role offers durable demand and meaningful safety impact.