Senior Supplier Quality Engineer

Role:

Northwood is seeking a Senior Supplier Development Engineer to be the first quality-focused hire. This role is ideal for someone eager to build supplier quality processes from the ground up and shape how we scale high-reliability manufacturing for satellite ground stations. You will play a critical role in establishing our quality systems, developing our supply base, and partnering with engineering and operations to ensure our products are designed and built for long-term performance. This is a rare opportunity to influence the foundation of quality and supplier operations at a company on the frontier of satellite connectivity.

Responsibilities:

• Design and implement the company’s first supplier quality assurance system, documentation, and workflows

• Lead the identification, evaluation, and qualification of new suppliers for key components (RF, PCBA, mechanical, electromechanical) and conduct supplier audits, performance reviews, and corrective action processes

• Collaborate with product design and manufacturing teams on DFM, NPI, and pilot builds

• Support in defining supplier KPIs (quality, delivery, cost, responsiveness) and establish reporting mechanisms

• Drive resolution of supplier quality issues through root cause analysis and corrective/preventive action (NCR/CAPA)

• Support the development of incoming inspection plans and testing protocols

• Act as a hands-on technical liaison between internal engineering teams and external manufacturing partners

• Own capacity expansion readiness and production ramp-up at suppliers

• Develop and implement supplier technical requirements and quality flow downs to meet hardware manufacturing needs

• Provide feedback to suppliers as appropriate on manufacturing methods, with a specific focus on eliminating costs, reducing cycle times, and increasing yields

• Drive supplier root cause failure analysis and corrective actions associated with any quality gaps, escapes, or containments

• Lead cost engineering activities to converge the bottoms-up cost curve to product cost, maximizing the total cost of ownership

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Electronics, Mechanical, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field.

• 5+ years of experience in Supplier Quality, Manufacturing Quality, Supplier Development, or a related discipline, with significant hands-on experience leading and managing supplier quality activities for electrical and electronic (EE) components and assemblies.

• Strong knowledge of PCB fabrication and PCBA/SMT manufacturing processes, including stencil design, solder-paste printing, SPI, pick-and-place, reflow profiling, AOI, X-ray inspection, rework/repair, and electrical and functional testing.

• Working knowledge of applicable IPC standards, including IPC-A-600, IPC-A-610, J-STD-001, IPC-6012, and IPC-2221/2222.

• Experience conducting supplier quality-system and manufacturing process audits and evaluating whether supplier controls can consistently meet engineering requirements.

• Experience leading supplier problem-solving activities using containment, 8D, 5-Why, Fishbone analysis, root-cause analysis, corrective action, and effectiveness verification.

• Experience managing NCR/MRB activities, deviations/concessions, supplier corrective actions, and supplier product or process changes.

• Hands-on experience leading APQP/PPAP activities, including defining required deliverables and driving the development, completion, and approval of process flow diagrams, PFMEAs, control plans, work instructions, MSA studies, SPC plans, capability/ capacity studies, and validation results.

• Experience with AS9100 quality-management-system requirements and AS9102 First Article Inspection.

• Ability to travel up to 25% domestically and internationally.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with RF components, electrical components, cable and wire-harness assemblies, and electromechanical products.

• Experience in the aerospace, space, satellite, telecommunications, automotive, or defense industries.

• Experience supporting low-volume, high-complexity, high-reliability products from early-stage development through production ramp-up.

• Experience working in a startup or rapidly growing company and developing new supplier quality processes, procedures, and supplier management systems.

• Experience building scalable supplier qualification, performance-management, change-control, and corrective-action processes.

• Familiarity with ERP, PLM, MES, and digital quality-management systems.

• Lean Six Sigma, ASQ CQE, CQA, or another relevant quality certification.

• Experience using data analysis and reporting tools to monitor supplier performance and identify quality trends.