Supplier Quality Engineer

• CHAOS Industries is redefining modern defense with a multi-product portfolio that gives the ultimate advantage—domain dominance. The company's products are powered by Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™), empowering warfighters, commercial air operators
• border protection teams to act faster, adapt rapidly
• stay ahead of evolving threats.
• CHAOS Industries was founded in 2022 and has raised a total of $1 billion in funding from leading investors, including 8VC, Accel
• Valor Equity Partners. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle
• London. For more information, please visit www.chaosinc.com .
• Role Overview:
• As CHAOS Industries scales production of advanced defense systems, the performance of our suppliers becomes inseparable from the performance of our products. We are seeking a Supplier Quality Engineer to ensure our suppliers consistently meet the quality, delivery
• compliance requirements necessary to support production at scale.
• Working closely with Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Subcontracts
• Program Management, you will lead supplier qualification, onboarding, audits, corrective actions
• continuous improvement initiatives across our supplier network. This role requires significant travel to supplier facilities to assess manufacturing capability, quality-system maturity, process controls
• operational readiness.
• This is a hands-on, in-the-field role. You will spend significant time at supplier facilities—auditing processes, driving corrective actions
• verifying readiness firsthand—to keep quality and delivery on track across a rapidly growing and increasingly complex supply base

Responsibilities

• Lead supplier qualification and onboarding activities, including capability assessments, manufacturing readiness evaluations, process reviews, and quality-system audits.
• Conduct supplier audits and assessments to evaluate compliance with AS9100, ISO 9001, customer requirements, and applicable regulatory standards.
• Partner with Supply Chain and Subcontracts to evaluate, approve, and manage suppliers throughout the supplier lifecycle.
• Perform supplier surveillance activities and monitor supplier performance related to quality, delivery, responsiveness, and corrective-action effectiveness.
• Lead supplier corrective-action processes, including root-cause investigations, containment actions, corrective-action plans, and verification of implementation.
• Drive closure of supplier nonconformances, quality escapes, and recurring quality issues through structured problem-solving methodologies.
• Review manufacturing processes, inspection methods, quality controls, and production systems at supplier facilities to identify risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Support source inspections, first article inspections, process validations, and production readiness reviews as required.
• Develop supplier scorecards, performance metrics, and reporting mechanisms to monitor supplier quality performance.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Manufacturing, and Program Management to resolve supplier-related quality issues and maintain production continuity.
• Manage supplier quality documentation, audit records, qualification packages, corrective-action reports, and supplier-performance records.
• Travel extensively to supplier facilities throughout the United States and internationally as required.
• Minimum Requirements:
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, or a related technical discipline and 5+ years of supplier quality, manufacturing quality, or quality engineering experience
• or a Master’s degree and 3+ years
• or, in lieu of a degree, 9+ years of directly related experience.
• Experience conducting supplier audits, capability assessments, and quality-system evaluations.
• Strong working knowledge of AS9100 and ISO 9001 quality-management-system requirements.
• Experience managing supplier corrective actions, root-cause investigations, and continuous-improvement initiatives.
• Experience reviewing manufacturing processes, inspection methods, production controls, and quality systems in a supplier environment.
• Familiarity with quality methodologies including RCCA, 8D, PFMEA, Control Plans, SPC, and process validation.
• Experience working directly with suppliers, subcontractors, and cross-functional internal stakeholders.
• Experience supporting supplier onboarding, supplier qualification, and supplier-performance management activities.
• Ability and willingness to travel extensively to supplier facilities.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• U.S. citizenship is required: this role accesses export-controlled information and requires a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Secret security clearance—current, or the ability to obtain and maintain one.
• Preferred Requirements:
• Experience in aerospace, defense, manufacturing, or national-security environments.
• AS9100 Lead Auditor, ISO 9001 Lead Auditor, CQE, CQA, or similar quality certification.
• Experience with supplier quality management, supplier development, and supplier-performance improvement programs.
• Experience supporting subcontract management activities and quality-requirements flowdown.
• Familiarity with supplier nonconformance and corrective-action management in a digital quality system (e.g., First Resonance ION, Jira-based QMS, or similar).
• Experience supporting AS9102 First Article Inspection, source inspection, PPAP, or production readiness reviews.
• Experience assessing both build-to-print and design-responsible suppliers, including DFM maturity and design-plus-process capability.
• Familiarity with FAR, DFARS, and defense-industry supplier requirements.
• Active U.S. Department of Defense Secret or Top Secret security clearance.
• Why CHAOS?
• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for by the company
• Additional benefits : 401k (+ 50% company match up to 6% of pay), FSA, HSA, life insurance, and more
• Our Perks: Free daily lunch, ‘No meeting Fridays’, unlimited PTO, casual dress code
• Compensation Components: Competitive base salaries, generous pre-IPO stock option grants, relocation assistance, and (coming soon!) annual bonuses
• Team Growth: 350 employees and counting across 5 global offices
• The stated compensation range reflects only the targeted base compensation range and excludes additional earnings such as bonus, equity
• benefits. If your compensation requirements fall outside of the range, we still encourage you to apply. The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations.
• Recruiting Agencies: CHAOS Industries does not accept unsolicited resumes or outreach. Unsolicited submissions will not be reviewed or compensated.
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