Senior Director, Quality Engineering & Control

Senior Director Of Quality Engineering & Control (Defense Systems Sector)

Leidos Defense Systems (DSS) has delivered advanced engineering, manufacturing, and mission assurance for more than 45 years. Our technologies enable success across Aviation, Shipbuilding, Electronic Warfare, Space Payloads, Missile Systems, and more. We invest heavily in innovation, pushing boundaries for the most demanding customers worldwide. As we scale our Defense Systems Sector, quality is not just a compliance requirement it's a competitive differentiator. We're seeking a Senior Director of Quality Engineering & Control (QEC) to architect, transform, and elevate how quality is embedded into every program, product, and process.

Your Mission

As Sr. Director, QEC, you will be the enterprise leader for quality across DSS, accountable for designing and executing a sector-wide quality strategy that ensures zero-defect delivery, operational excellence, and continuous improvement across a multi-site, multi-domain enterprise. This role reports directly to senior Mission Assurance leadership and is empowered to shape culture, drive cross-functional alignment, and build a scalable quality framework that supports rapid growth and next-generation capabilities.

What You'll Lead

• Strategic Quality Leadership
• Define and own a long-term quality strategy aligned to corporate and sector objectives.
• Translate business requirements into robust quality architecture, systems, and standards.
• Sector Quality Management
• Direct quality assurance, quality engineering, supplier quality, calibration, and continuous improvement across multiple sites and programs.
• Lead deployment and maturation of an integrated Quality Management System (QMS) supporting AS9100, ISO 9001, AS6500, and CMMI certifications.
• Oversee independent audits, regulatory compliance, and corrective / preventive action closure.
• Cultural & People Leadership
• Build, mentor, and scale a high-performing quality leadership team across the sector.
• Embed a culture of prevention, accountability, and continuous improvement in manufacturing and engineering operations.
• Partner with senior executives as a trusted advisor on risk, compliance, and operational performance.
• Operational Impact & Transformation
• Establish and track key performance indicators (KPI) such as defect rates, cost of quality, supplier performance, and audit closure cycle times.
• Drive systemic root cause analysis, corrective action, and lessons learned across programs.
• Deploy Lean, Six Sigma, and digital quality tools to increase throughput, reduce escapes, and accelerate time to delivery.
• Supplier & Value-Chain Excellence
• Partner with global suppliers to raise qualification standards, improve first-time quality, and drive cost-effective compliance.
• Lead escalations, recovery actions, and strategic supplier development initiatives.

Basic Qualifications :

Why Join Leidos DSS

Come break things (in a good way). Then build them smarter. We're the tech company everyone calls when things get weird. We don't wear capes (they're a safety hazard), but we do solve high-stakes problems with code, caffeine, and a healthy disregard for "how it's always been done."