Quality Engineer

Work with cutting-edge AI technology that helps make the world a safer and more secure place. DroneShield (ASX:DRO) develops market-leading counter-drone solutions used by military organisations, government agencies, airports, critical infrastructure operators, and law enforcement operating in some of the most challenging and high-stakes environments in the world. Employees work at the forefront of innovation, solving complex technical problems and delivering mission-critical capabilities where performance, reliability, and speed matter. 

As an ASX200-listed company and the world's only publicly listed pure-play counter-drone business, DroneShield is experiencing rapid growth. Revenue increased from A$57 million in 2024 to more than A$217 million in 2025, supported by record profitability, a global sales pipeline exceeding A$2.5 billion, and annual R&D investment of over A$50 million. 

Since 2017, DroneShield has grown from 11 employees to more than 550 globally, with operations across Australia, the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, supporting customers in over 70 countries. DroneShield's Alexandria facility is a key manufacturing hub, supporting production, assembly, testing, and quality assurance of mission-critical counter-drone systems.  

About the role

DroneShield is seeking a highly experienced Quality Engineer to join the team in Sydney, NSW. 

The Quality Engineer partners with Design Engineering, NPI, Manufacturing Engineering and Production to ensure quality, manufacturability, reliability and compliance requirements are built into products and processes from concept through to production and sustainment to meet customer, regulatory and business requirements. 

The role is responsible for driving proactive quality planning, non-conformance management, manufacturing readiness and Lean continuous improvement initiatives in accordance with ISO 9001, AQAP 2110, APQP and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) principles. 

Responsibilities, Duties and Expectations  

Product Development & NPI:

• Act as the Quality representative within product development and NPI teams, participate in design reviews and provide independent quality input.
• Ensure customer, regulatory and quality requirements are translated into product and process requirements.
• Ensure quality requirements are identified and incorporated into designs, specifications and test plans.
• Facilitate design and process risk assessments, including DFMEA and PFMEA. Support First Article Inspection (FAI) and production readiness activities.
• Support verification, validation and qualification activities.
• Develop Product Quality Plans, Control Plans and inspection requirements.
• Promote Design for X (Manufacturability, Support, Cost, etc) principles. 

Manufacturing & Production Quality: 

• Support the transition of products from development into production through Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) assessments. 
• Participate in Production Readiness Reviews (PRRs). 
• Define and validate process controls, inspection methods, measurement requirements and objective acceptance criteria. 
• Monitor production quality, yield, scrap, rework, returns and customer complaints. 
• Analyse defect, yield, test, rework, scrap and reliability data to identify trends, isolate contributing factors and prioritise corrective action. 

Non-Conformance Management:

• Own and coordinate the Non-Conformance Management process. 
• Review, disposition and track internal, supplier and customer non-conformances. 
• Facilitate Quality Clinic activities and support disposition decisions. 
• Lead structured technical investigations into product, process, supplier and field failures.  
• Ensure corrective actions address verified root causes and confirm effectiveness through objective evidence, follow-up data and recurrence monitoring. 
• Monitor trends in non-conformances, defects, rework and escapes andreport non-conformance performance metrics to management.
• Drive systemic improvements to prevent recurrence of quality issues. 

Lean Continuous Improvement: 

• Champion Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement principles across Engineering and Production. 
• Facilitate process improvement initiatives to reduce waste, variation, rework and defects. 
• Support Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen activities and process optimisation projects. 
• Promote a prevention-based quality culture focused on Right First Time outcomes. 

Supplier Quality:

• Support supplier approval, qualification and performance management activities.
• Participate in supplier audits and assessments. 
• Manage supplier corrective action requests and issue resolution. 
• Ensure quality requirements are effectively flowed down through procurement documentation. 

Customer Returns (RMA) Management:

• Manage the Returned Material Authorisation (RMA) process from receipt through to closure. 
• Coordinate investigation of returned products and customer complaints. 
• Determine and document failure causes and corrective actions. 
• Work with Engineering, Production and Supply Chain teams to resolve product issues. 
• Monitor RMA trends and identify recurring failures. 
• Drive actions to reduce customer returns and improve product reliability. 
• Maintain accurate records and reporting of RMA activities. 
• Provide quality-related feedback from field failures into product development and manufacturing improvement activities. 

Compliance & Continuous Improvement: 

• Support compliance with ISO 9001, AQAP 2110, customer and regulatory requirements. 
• Assist with internal, customer and third-party audits. 
• Maintain objective evidence and quality records. 
• Lead continuous improvement activities focused on product quality, process capability and operational performance. 

Qualifications, Experience and Skills  

• Degree in Engineering, Science or related technical discipline. 
• Experience in Quality Engineering within manufacturing, aerospace, defence, electronics or similar industries. 
• Working Knowledge of: ISO 9001, APQP, FMEA, Root Cause Analysis, Corrective Action Management 
• AQAP 2110 experience (desirable)
• AS9145 APQP/PPAP experience (desirable)
• Lead Auditor qualification (desirable) 
• Lean Certification or equivalent (desirable)  

Success Measures  

• New products transition into production with minimal quality-related issues. 
• Manufacturing Readiness targets achieved on schedule. 
• Reduction in non-conformance rates, rework and scrap. 
• Improved process capability and production yield. 
• Timely closure and effectiveness of corrective actions. 
• RMA investigations completed and closed within agreed timeframes. 
• Successful audit outcomes and customer satisfaction. 
• Delivery of measurable Lean and continuous improvement benefits. 
• Increased organisational focus on defect prevention and operational excellence. 

This role acts as the quality lead across the product lifecycle, ensuring products are designed right, industrialised right and built right, while supporting business objectives for quality, delivery, cost and manufacturing readiness. 

Note for recruitment agencies: We do not accept unsolicited candidates from external recruiters unless specifically instructed.

Data Privacy

DroneShield Group Pty Ltd collects and processes personal information for recruitment and hiring purposes. Where applicable, personal information is processed on the basis of DroneShield's legitimate interests in assessing and selecting candidates for employment. For further information regarding how we collect, use, disclose, store and retain personal information, including your privacy rights, please refer to our Privacy Policy:  https://www.droneshield.com/privacy-policy