Director of Quality Operations & Strategic Initiatives

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Director of Quality Operations & Strategic Initiatives is a senior leader within the Quality organization responsible for driving critical cross-functional execution, organizational maturity, compliance readiness, and recovery of high-risk operational or program-quality issues.  

This role serves as a trusted extension of the VP of Quality and is deployed where the organization needs immediate clarity, structure, accountability, and sustained execution.  

The position is intentionally broad and is designed for a high-capability utility leader who can step into ambiguity, stabilize underperforming areas, improve leader and team effectiveness, resolve cross-functional breakdowns, and build the systems and operating rhythms required for scale.  

WHAT YOU’LL DO 

• Strengthen the execution model of the Quality organization.  

• Improve organizational capability and leadership effectiveness.  

• Lead high-priority strategic initiatives on behalf of the Quality executive.  

• Intervene in at-risk teams, programs, suppliers, or leadership situations where quality performance is off track.  

• Ensure strong compliance execution across operational and program environments.  

• Create repeatable systems, governance, and accountability mechanisms that allow the organization to scale effectively.  

• Lead development and deployment of the Quality organization’s operating model.  

• Establish management systems, execution disciplines, standard work, escalation pathways, and decision frameworks.  

• Improve how Quality functions operate across business lines, sites, and central teams.  

• Standardize mechanisms for prioritization, resource deployment, issue management, metric review, and cross-functional action closure.  

• Own special projects and strategic initiatives assigned by the VP of Quality.  

• Translate executive intent into actionable workstreams, milestones, owners, metrics, and governance.  

• Stand up new systems, tools, frameworks, or operating mechanisms to solve persistent organizational issues.  

• Assess organization structure, talent alignment, role clarity, capability gaps, and leadership effectiveness across the Quality organization.  

• Develop role charters, organizational interfaces, RACI models, escalation models, and management system expectations.  

• Coach leaders on execution discipline, communication, accountability, and performance management.  

• Lead or coordinate high-priority compliance readiness and recovery efforts across the organization.  

• Support preparation for customer, regulatory, third-party, and internal audits or assessments.  

• Identify gaps between documented processes and actual execution, then drive corrective action and closure.  

• Provide senior-level intervention on critical programs experiencing quality, supplier, launch, or readiness risk.  

• Support program teams in structuring quality plans, risk controls, escalation paths, and action closure mechanisms.  

• Drive resolution of high-severity quality issues affecting cost, schedule, production readiness, field performance, or customer trust.  

• Act as the VP’s designated leader to assess, stabilize, and recover underperforming teams, programs, suppliers, or leadership situations.  

• Rapidly diagnose root causes of organizational dysfunction, weak ownership, poor communication, or ineffective leadership.  

• Create focused recovery plans with clear milestones, owners, timelines, metrics, and decision points.  

• Improve working relationships and execution interfaces between Quality and Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Program Management, Operations, Reliability/System Safety, and Production teams.  

• Resolve recurring interface failures that create defects, delays, churn, or accountability gaps.  

• Implement clear rules of engagement and escalation mechanisms across functions.  

• Build and maintain executive-quality operating reviews, KPI frameworks, and intervention dashboards.  

• Track organizational, program, compliance, and quality performance indicators tied to real execution health.  

• Drive disciplined follow-up from reviews to action closure.  

• Convert repeat failure modes into standard work, templates, frameworks, and governance mechanisms.  

• Improve consistency in how the organization manages risk, escalations, CAPA, issue reviews, supplier performance, and readiness assessments.  

• Represent the Quality executive in meetings, reviews, deep dives, and recovery actions as required.  

• Provide honest, fact-based assessments of people, process, program, and organizational health.  

• Maintain confidentiality, sound judgment, and strong executive presence in all interactions.  

 

Success Metrics / What Good Looks Like  

• Struggling teams regain structure, accountability, and execution discipline.  

• High-risk programs stabilize and show improved quality and readiness performance.  

• Compliance issues are identified early and corrected sustainably.  

• Cross-functional friction is reduced and handoffs become more reliable.  

• Executive reviews become fact-based, actionable, and decision-oriented.  

• Special initiatives translate into durable systems, not temporary fixes.  

 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS  

Bachelor's degree in engineering or equivalent technical experience with 5 – 10 years of industry experience that includes Quality management within the defense, aerospace or other end system hardware.  

• Proven experience leading Product Quality Engineering in complex product development environments  

• Strong background in DFMEA, Control Plans, DOE, Six Sigma, DFSS, statistical methods, and reliability engineering  

• Proven track record of developing and implementing global Quality strategies.  

• Experience leading large-scale organizational change and driving cultural transformation.  

• Deep knowledge of Quality Management Systems and standards such as ISO9001, AS9100, etc.  

• Experience in interfacing with agencies and managing regulatory compliance.  

• Experience in a variety of Quality domains, including design, production, supply chain, etc.  

• Experience in large-scale risk assessment and management at a corporate level.  

• Strong knowledge in one or more technical or production industry areas as it relates to design for Quality, root cause corrective action, measurement analysis, etc.  

• Working knowledge of product development methodologies such as Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) elements such as Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA), and Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T).  
• Must be able to obtain and hold a U.S. security clearance  

Why This Role Matters  

Fast-scaling organizations rarely fail from lack of strategy alone. They fail from unclear ownership, weak execution discipline, cross-functional friction, poor follow-through, and delayed intervention. The Head of Quality Operations & Strategic Initiatives provides the leadership capacity to identify these breakdowns early, step into difficult situations, restore control, and build the systems needed for long-term performance.