Quality Engineering, Sr. Manager

Joby Aviation Joby Aviation · Robotics · Marina, CA · Quality Assurance

Joby Aviation is seeking a Senior Quality Engineering Manager to lead their Quality Engineering organization across manufacturing facilities. This role involves architecting and executing quality engineering strategies, preventative quality planning, continuous improvement, and ensuring compliance with FAA regulations. The manager will build and develop a high-performing team, own quality engineering processes, drive root-cause analysis, and ensure product manufacturability and conformance.

What you'd actually do

  1. Lead the Quality Engineering Organization: Manage and scale a multi-site team of Quality Engineering Managers and Engineers, ensuring compliance with internal Quality Management Systems (QMS) and FAA regulations.
  2. Strategic Architecture: Build scalable organizational structures, operating rhythms, and preventative quality systems to support increasing production volume and manufacturing maturity.
  3. Design & Manufacturing Integration: Collaborate cross-functionally with Manufacturing Engineering, Design, and Program Management to advise on design reviews, ensuring product manufacturability, inspectability, and conformance to requirements.
  4. Defect Prevention & APQP: Ensure the implementation of world-class quality engineering systems (e.g., AS9145) to support the entire product life cycle, focusing on the prevention and detection of defects at the earliest possible phase (NPI to production).
  5. Nonconformance & Root-Cause Engineering: Direct advanced failure investigations and oversee Material Review Board (MRB) actions, ensuring robust root-cause analysis and the implementation of systemic corrective actions to eliminate process escapes.

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor's degree in engineering, technology, aviation management, or a related field plus a minimum of 10 years' experience in Quality Engineering or a related technical field.
  • Minimum 5 years of leadership experience managing technical teams or leading large, multi-site operational organizations.
  • Deep understanding of manufacturing controls, design controls, APQP, and complex nonconformance management.
  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to maintain technical standards and collaborate under production timelines.

Nice to have

  • Master's degree preferred.
  • Six Sigma Black Belt or advanced Lean Manufacturing certification.
  • Advanced knowledge of core quality tools and root-cause analysis methodologies (e.g., 5 Whys, 8D, Fishbone, PFMEA, Control Plans).
  • Working knowledge of AS9100, ISO9001, and FAA 14 CFR Part 21 regulations.

What the JD emphasized

  • FAA regulations
  • manufacturing controls
  • nonconformance management
  • APQP
  • root-cause engineering
  • AS9145