{"id":2454849,"url":"https://alion.io/job/ursa-major-senior-director-quality","title":"Senior Director, Quality","company":{"id":58870,"name":"Ursa Major","domain":"ursamajor.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/ursa-major","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":84,"open_postings":11,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.636,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":44,"computed_at":"2026-10-29T05:49:05Z"}},"role":"Aerospace","role_family":"Aerospace","seniority":"head","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Berthoud, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":225000,"max":275000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":275000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":10,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"AS9100","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-13T15:24:12Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-13","last_verified_at":"2026-10-30T03:13:45Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":16,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":16},"description":"The future of aerospace and defense starts here. \n\nUrsa Major was founded to revolutionize how America and its allies access and apply high-performance propulsion, from hypersonics to solid rocket motors, satellite maneuvering and launch. We design and deliver propulsion and defense systems that solve the most urgent and critical national security demands. \nRole Overview\nThe Senior Director, Quality is the senior quality leader for Ursa Major. This leader is accountable for product quality, quality compliance, and the effectiveness of the Quality Management System across all sites and product lines, including solid rocket motors, hypersonic propulsion, in-space propulsion, and avionics. Reporting to the Chief Safety and Risk Officer, the Sr. Director serves as the company’s senior quality representative to DCMA, government customers, and prime contractors. They will build the program and customer-facing quality capability Ursa Major needs as it scales from development into rate production and operates as a public company.\nThis role leads the full quality organization, including quality control, inspection, metrology and calibration, quality systems, and product quality engineering, with full authority to shape its structure as the business grows. The ideal candidate knows what prime-level quality looks like and how to deliver it at startup speed, scaling rigor to risk rather than adding bureaucracy. This is a senior leadership role, but it is also a hands-on one: we expect this leader to roll up their sleeves, lead from the front, and work in the trenches alongside the team as we scale.\nKey Responsibilities\nQuality Leadership & Strategy\nOwn Ursa Major’s quality strategy, objectives, budget, and organization, structuring and developing the quality team to support growth across all product lines and sites.\nBuild a culture of quality where every function owns quality and builds it into design, sourcing, manufacturing, and delivery.\nMatch quality rigor to program maturity: move at the speed development programs require while meeting the full expectations of mature defense and prime customer programs.\nGovernment & Prime Customer Quality\nServe as Ursa Major’s senior quality representative to DCMA, government customers, prime contractors, and certification bodies, building trust-based relationships with DCMA quality assurance representatives and customer quality organizations.\nLead quality across Ursa Major’s business models: all-up-round deliveries directly to the U.S. government, SRM and propulsion deliveries as a supplier to defense primes, and in-space propulsion systems for satellite and spacecraft customers.\nBuild an organization capable of reviewing proposals and contracts for quality requirements, including FAR/DFARS quality clauses and customer-specific requirements, and ensure they flow down and implemented across design, purchasing, manufacturing, inspection, and delivery.\nOwn government source inspection, product acceptance, and customer audit readiness, including WAWF acceptance, government first article approval, and witnessed lot acceptance testing.\nPartner with material control to 3nsure effective control of government-furnished property and material under FAR 52.245-1, and support DCMA property management system reviews in partnership with Supply Chain and Contracts.\nLead the company’s response to customer corrective action requests, audit findings, and quality escapes.\nProgram Quality\nBuild Ursa Major’s program quality function, providing dedicated quality ownership for major programs and customers from contract award through delivery.\nOwn contractual quality deliverables and commitments, including first article inspection reports, acceptance data packages, certificates of conformance, as-built records, and customer witness and hold points, and represent quality in program reviews and customer meetings.\nQuality Systems & Product Quality\nOwn the AS9100 Quality Management System and scale it across sites and product lines, including certification and audits, management review, nonconformance and Material Review Board, corrective action, and Nadcap accreditation of special processes where customers require it.\nMaintain effective controls for configuration, traceability, quality records, foreign object prevention, and counterfeit parts prevention, including GIDEP reporting.\nPartner with Engineering and Mission Assurance on design reviews, qualification, first article, and production readiness, and support a disciplined production rate ramp across solid rocket motors, hydrazine satellite propulsion systems, and potential future liquid-engine all-up rounds.\nIn partnership with Safety, ensure quality controls fit energetics manufacturing, including propellant processing, cast-cure operations, and lot control and traceability of energetic materials.\nEnsure quality coverage for avionics and electronics, including electronics assembly workmanship and software and firmware quality, developing the team expertise needed as the avionics business grows.\nShape supplier quality through influence rather than ownership: partner with Procurement, which owns supplier engineering, to set supplier quality requirements and flowdowns, weigh in on the selection and approval of critical suppliers, and drive resolution of supplier escapes.\nAuthority & Public Company Governance\nHold authority to stop production, testing, acceptance, or shipment when product conformity, safety, or contractual compliance may be compromised, with an independent escalation path to the CEO and Business Unit President.\nLead cost of poor quality reduction and continuous improvement: partner with Finance to accurately capture scrap, rework, and warranty costs in line with public company financial controls and use that data to drive measurable improvements.\nOther duties as assigned.\nRequired Qualifications\nBachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical field.\n10+ years of progressive quality experience in aerospace, defense, or similarly regulated manufacturing, including 5+ years in senior quality leadership building, scaling, and leading quality organizations.\nDirect, hands-on experience working with DCMA, including quality surveillance, government source inspection, and corrective action requests.\nDirect experience serving U.S. government and prime contractor customers, including contract quality requirements, FAR/DFARS quality clauses, requirement flowdowns, and customer audits.\nDemonstrated experience leading and sustaining an AS9100-certified Quality Management System.\nExperience leading quality through the transition from development into production and rate ramp.\nTrack record of right-sizing quality rigor to risk, maintaining compliance and product integrity without slowing execution.\nProven ability to build and sustain a strong culture of quality, where ownership of quality extends well beyond the quality organization.\nPreferred Qualifications\nExperience with solid rocket motors, energetic materials, propellant processing, munitions, or tactical propulsion (strongly preferred).\nPublic company experience (strongly preferred), including board-level reporting or supporting public company internal controls; experience through an IPO is a plus.\nExperience in both a traditional prime and a startup or non-traditional defense environment.\nFamiliarity with avionics and electronics quality, such as electronics workmanship standards (IPC J-STD-001, IPC-A-610), ESD control, and software and firmware quality assurance.\nMaster’s degree in Engineering, Business, or a related field.\nASQ CMQ/OE, CQE, or CQA certification, or AS9100 lead auditor experience.\nWorking Conditions / Physical Demands\nWork performed in office, laboratory, and manufacturing environments, including hazardous and energetic operations areas that require personal protective equipment and adherence to explosives safety and site security protocols.\nAbility to sit or stand for extended periods and work on a computer for prolonged durations.\nOccasionally required to lift up to 25 pounds.\nAbility to travel up to 25% to Ursa Major sites, customers, suppliers, and government facilities.\nColorado law requires us to tell you the base compensation range of this role, which is $225,000 - $275,000, determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities. What we can’t quantify for you are the exciting challenges, supportive team, and amazing culture we enjoy. \nClassification: Full-time Exempt\nBenefits Include: (Please note, Interns are not eligible for benefits)\nUnlimited PTO - Vacation, Sick, Personal, and Bereavement\nPaid Parental and Adoptive Leave\nMedical, Dental and Vision Insurance\nTax Advantage Accounts (HSA/FSA)\nEmployer Paid Short and Long Term Disability, Basic Life, AD&D\nAdditional Benefit Options Including Voluntary Life and Emergency Medical Transport\nEAP Program\nRetirement Savings Plan - 401k with Company Match\nHow To Apply: \nInterested candidates are encouraged to apply by filling out the application below and clicking \"Submit Application\". This position will be posted for a minimum of 3 days and will remain open until filled or adjusted based on the volume of applicants.\nNOTE: Research suggests that women and BIPOC individuals may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who believes they have the skills and the drive necessary to succeed here to apply for this role.\nMust be a U.S. Person (this includes U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents).\nEligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security Clearance. \nWe’re an equal-opportunity employer. You will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.\nNo outside recruiters, please.","description_format":"text","description_chars":9838,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":10,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":true,"languages":[]},"benefits":["401k plan","Retirement plans","Unlimited PTO","Vision insurance"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Aerospace Manufacturing","Defense Manufacturing"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-13T15:46:30Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":62,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.69,"p_room":0.9,"age_days":15,"expected_fill_days":44,"reasons":["conf:0","stale_co","urgency","velocity","win:mid","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-29T05:49:05Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":275000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/ursa-major-senior-director-quality","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/ursa-major-senior-director-quality.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-30T03:20:00Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":4404,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-31T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":58870},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=58870"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fursa-major-senior-director-quality"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fursa-major-senior-director-quality"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fursa-major-senior-director-quality"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/ursa-major-senior-director-quality\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fursa-major-senior-director-quality"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":2454849}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"ursamajor.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":2454849},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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