Quality Inspection Manager

Quality Inspection Manager

We are seeking a Quality Inspection Manager to lead our inspection organization across receiving, in-process, and final inspection activities for mechanical, dimensional, avionics, and electrical hardware. This role will be responsible for building and maintaining effective inspection operations, developing inspectors and quality specialists, and ensuring product quality through strong inspection methods, documentation, and process discipline.

This individual will work closely with engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and quality leadership to ensure inspection strategies align with design intent, production needs, and regulatory requirements. The role requires a hands-on manager who can lead people, establish practical systems, and drive consistent execution in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

Team Leadership and Inspection Operations

• Lead, develop, and support a team of quality inspectors and specialists across multiple inspection disciplines, technical disciplines, and product resource areas.
• Set daily and longer-term priorities for inspection activities, balancing receiving, in-process, final, and first article inspection needs.
• Provide coaching, performance feedback, training, and day-to-day direction to inspection personnel.
• Partner with manufacturing, planning, and quality leadership to align inspection coverage with production priorities and critical hardware flow.
• Establish clear ownership, escalation paths, and communication routines for inspection-related issues and constraints.

Inspection and Process Development

• Support development and implementation of inspection processes, standards, and documentation aligned with product requirements and quality system expectations.
• Ensure inspection methods align with engineering intent, manufacturability, and rate-ready production needs.
• Drive standardization of inspection practices across mechanical, dimensional, and avionics/electrical work areas where appropriate.
• Support introduction and effective use of inspection tools, fixtures, gages, and software systems.
• Oversee receiving, in-process, and final inspection of machined parts, mechanical assemblies, avionics hardware, harnessing, cable assemblies, and electro-mechanical components.
• Ensure inspections are performed to engineering drawings, GD&T, specifications, IPC requirements, internal workmanship standards, and acceptance criteria as applicable.
• Support dimensional inspection capability including coordination with CMM programming and traditional metrology resources.
• Ensure inspection activities properly verify traceability, certifications, configuration, workmanship, and documentation completeness.
• Partner with engineering and manufacturing to resolve inspection questions quickly and accurately.
• Ensure quality findings, nonconformances, and escapes are clearly documented in the appropriate systems.
• Work cross-functionally with manufacturing and engineering to support timely resolution of inspection-related issues without compromising quality standards.
• Support root cause investigations and corrective and preventive actions related to inspection findings, workmanship issues, and recurring defects.
• Ensure lessons learned from inspection and nonconformance activity are translated into better inspection methods, documentation, training, and process controls.

Supplier Quality and Receiving Inspection Support

• Support incoming inspection standards and supplier feedback processes to improve quality of received materials and components.
• Partner with supplier quality and procurement teams on vendor performance issues, inspections, and acceptance concerns.
• Ensure receiving inspection processes adequately address high-risk parts, traceability needs, and compliance requirements.

Compliance, Audits, and Continuous Improvement

• Support adherence to Quality Management System policies and other regulatory requirements, including AS9100-related practices.
• Support internal and external audits, including customer, regulatory, or source inspections; prepare required documentation and support inspection readiness.
• Establish and track inspection metrics to improve quality, flow, and responsiveness.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on inspection efficiency, defect reduction, data quality, and operational discipline.
• Support development of training materials and certification approaches for inspector and technician competency.

Requirements and skills

• 5+ years of experience in quality inspection, manufacturing quality, or a related role within aerospace, defense, or high-precision manufacturing.
• Experience leading inspectors, quality specialists, or technical teams in a production environment.
• Experience with nonconformance reporting, corrective actions, and inspection documentation.
• Ability to collaborate with a wide variety of stakeholders in a startup environment to develop efficient and effective inspection processes.
• Ability to instill risk based critical thinking into the culture of the inspection organization.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Familiarity with AS9100 or ISO 9001 quality systems.
• Experience supporting both mechanical and avionics/electrical inspection operations.
• Familiarity with IPC-A-610 and IPC/WHMA-A-620 standards.
• Experience supporting first article inspections in accordance with AS9102 requirements.
• Experience with CMM programming, dimensional inspection planning, or coordination of advanced metrology resources.
• Knowledge of supplier quality processes, source inspection, and audit support.
• Experience supporting Measurement System Analysis and inspection method validation.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across engineering, manufacturing, and quality organizations.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings, GD&T, wiring diagrams, and technical specifications.

Leadership Qualities

Bias to Action and Creative Problem Solving. Desire and experience questioning assumptions in ways that lead to breakthrough ideas that are ultimately implemented. Successfully bring in applicable processes, concepts, or methods from other industries to achieve efficiency gains while maintaining quality and compliance.

High Commitment, High Initiative. A successful candidate will have a genuine passion for Castelion's mission and consistently look for ways to contribute to the company's technical goals and prevent hardware blockers. Ability to work in a fast-paced, autonomously driven, and demanding atmosphere. Strong sense of accountability and integrity.

Clear Communicator. Proactively communicates blockers, risks, and priorities. Capable of tactfully managing relationships with stakeholders to achieve company-desired outcomes without compromising relationships. Emails, IMs, and verbal interactions are logical, clear, and detailed enough to eliminate ambiguity.

People Leader and Team Builder. Able to develop inspectors and quality specialists at different experience levels, set clear expectations, maintain accountability, and build a strong inspection organization that supports both development and production.