Senior Product Quality Engineer

Archer is an aerospace company based in San Jose, California building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a mission to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. We are designing, manufacturing, and operating an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers while producing minimal noise.

Our sights are set high and our problems are hard, and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter, drives better insights, and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences, and supports and celebrates all of our team members.

Job Summary

We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled Candidate specializing in Composite Structure and Airframe components to join our Quality Engineering team. The ideal candidate will play a key role in ensuring the highest standards of product quality throughout the product lifecycle of the aircraft. This includes overseeing design validation, manufacturing processes, developing inspection plans, and regulatory compliance, ensuring the delivery of a safe, reliable, and high-quality aircraft.

What you’ll do

• Ensure the airframe, airframe components, assemblies, and systems meet design, quality, safety, regulatory, and industry-specific requirements
• Work closely with design engineers, manufacturing engineers, and other departments to ensure smooth product transitions from design to production. Provide technical guidance on quality-related issues
• Support the development and roll out of Advanced Product Quality Planning techniques such as PFMEAs, control plans and SPC
• Lead the establishment of inspection plans
• Conduct or support First Article Inspection in compliance with SAE AS9102 
• Conduct or support Material Review Board dispositions
• Identify, lead, and support continuous improvement initiatives for airframe manufacturing processes, including root cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions (CAPA).
• Develop reports summarizing quality performance, findings, and recommendations for corrective actions
• Develop metrics and KPIs to assess and act on the health of the manufacturing systems to drive continuous improvement
• Identify potential risks and work with cross-functional teams to mitigate risks and develop contingency plans
• Develop and support the training of team members and other stakeholders on quality standards, practices, and tools
• Assist in the planning and process for company inspection in support of FAA and Company conformity inspection and certification process

What you need

• Bachelor's degree (or higher) in Engineering (Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical or Industrial) with at least 5+ years experience 
• Experience creating and approving first article inspections with working knowledge of the tools required for inspection
• Experience with MES systems and creating inspection plans electronically
• Experience with APQP - creating PPAPs, DFM, MSAs, FMEAs and SPC.   
• Experience working in a manufacturing environment in aerospace or other highly regulated environments
• Experience with design reviews including assessing the ability to verify dimensional requirements GD&T ASME Y14.5 (Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing)
• Knowledge of Quality Standards such as AS9100, AS9102, AS9103, AS9145, and AS6500.

Bonus qualifications

• Experience with SAP
• Experience creating real time dashboards using Sigma or Microsoft BI
• Experience with conformity inspection and working with the FAA and Designees
• Six Sigma Black/Green Belt or ASQ Certified Quality Engineer
• Experience with developing/validating automated inspection equipment in a manufacturing environment including working with SQL languages
• Experience with aircraft or composite assembly processes
• Assist in the planning and process for company inspection in support of FAA conformity inspection and certification process