This opportunity is located within our Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company business, a global leader of mission-critical hardware and systems solutions including precision energetics systems and innovative explosive solutions. Click here ( to learn more.
JobDescription
Location: Simsbury, CT
Reports to: VP of Operations
Industry: Aerospace & Defense
Experience Level: Director (15+ years)
Shape the Future. Deliver Excellence. Achieve Zero Failure.
At Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense (EBAD), we've been innovating for nearly 200 years, delivering mission-critical technologies that protect lives and advance exploration. As we prepare to double in size over the next 3–5 years, we're investing in our people and culture to support this transformation.
We're seeking a dynamic Director of Quality to lead a complex, multi-site quality organization and drive performance at scale. Based at our headquarters in Simsbury, Connecticut, this role is critical to ensure the highest levels of product integrity, compliance, and customer trust across a rapidly growing business. This is not just about maintaining standards but about building a future-state vision for quality that enables growth, safeguards mission success, and strengthens EBAD's reputation as a trusted partner.
The Opportunity:
EBAD's customers depend on us to deliver our products with zero failure in mission-critical environments. The Director of Quality will be responsible for developing and executing a strategic Quality Management System (QMS) while leading quality operations across multiple sites. This leader will be tasked with driving measurable quality improvement, while also championing a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.
This is an exciting opportunity for a leader to make an immediate impact by providing direction, driving the strategy for the business, and developing a problem-solving culture.
Core Competencies for Success:
Quality & Compliance Leadership: Proven success leading complex, multi-site quality organizations in aerospace, defense, or other high-reliability industries, with expertise in zero-failure mission environments.
Continuous Improvement & Performance: Skilled in EBOS, Lean, and Kaizen practices with the ability to drive metrics-based improvement and systemic problem-solving.
Team Development & Leadership: Demonstrated ability to coach, mentor, and build strong teams while fostering engagement and accountability.
Collaboration & Influence: Strong cross-functional partnership with credibility to influence senior leadership, customers, and suppliers.
Resilience & Adaptability: Able to manage ambiguity, drive change, and motivate teams in a fast-scaling environment.
The Candidate We Are Looking For:
BS in an engineering discipline (MS preferred)
Minimum 10 years of experience in high-mix, low-volume operations and manufacturing environment
Proven success leading complex, multi-site quality organizations in aerospace, defense, or other mission-critical industries
Demonstrated expertise in leading audits and managing compliance across regulatory bodies, customers, and suppliers, with deep knowledge of standards such as AS9100, ISO9001, and DoD requirements
Proven ability to enhance customer quality by partnering closely with engineering, operations, and supply chain teams to consistently meet customer demand
Strong record of measurable quality improvements
Skilled in continuous improvement, performance metrics, and problem-solving through EBOS, Lean, and Kaizen practices
Track record of building and developing strong teams, fostering high engagement, and driving accountability
A Defining Leadership Opportunity:
Legacy: Join a privately held, 188-year-old business that takes a long-term approach, free from the short-term pressures of quarterly-driven reporting.
Impact: Lead a mission-critical function where zero failure is the standard and success is business-defining.
Partnership: Work directly with the BU President, senior leadership, and enterprise HR leaders in a highly influential role at the intersection of people and business strategy.
Culture of Excellence: Help shape a culture that values people, integrity, and mission-driven excellence, driven by a Kaizen mindset and a commitment to quality and continuous improvement.
Ready to Make a Difference?
If you're a proven quality engineering leader with the vision, discipline, and drive to achieve zero failure in a complex and growing business, this is your opportunity.
Compensation and Rewards:
We recognize that world-class leaders deliver world-class impact, and we reward accordingly. This role offers a competitive executive package that includes:
Base Salary: $175k – $225k plus annual bonus
Executive Relocation: Comprehensive support for a seamless transition
Additional Enhancements: Potential sign-on incentives and tailored rewards based on experience
We offer a competitive compensation package aligned with skills & experience, with flexibility to reward top talent and extraordinary qualifications.
Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, national origin, or veteran status.
Ensign-Bickford Industries, ( (EBI), founded in 1836, is a privately-owned high technology conglomerate that participates in businesses that are relevant to the future of the world and have multigenerational growth prospects. As One EBI, we innovate in science and technology for the safety, health, and well-being of society, creating exceptional long-term value.
Watch the video above to learn more about some of the incredible challenges we take on every day to deliver the best product for our customers, and ultimately the world.
Ensign-Bickford Industries (EBI) is a global science and technology organization with unparalleled leadership positions in attractive industries and markets. We are EBI, positioned to take on some of the world's most complex technological and scientific challenges in diagnostics, pet food science, and aerospace and defense.
Click here to learn about our Core Values (
We conduct business in a manner that reflects the highest human and ethical standards. With that commitment to mutually beneficial partnerships and a belief in the efficacy of genuine economic and social service, this cornerstone is the foundation of who we are as a company and our winning vision.
AFB International (
Cawood (
Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (
EnviroLogix (
Mission Statement To improve people’s lives By providing technologies that help put people and satellites in space, and protecting the armed service men and women around the world as they protect our freedoms at home, Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (EBAD) continuously seeks to improve the lives of people. Vision Statement Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (EBAD) seeks to be a leader in mission critical hardware and services. Strategy Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (EBAD) delivers mission critical hardware and system solutions, integrating complementary technologies and building partnerships to broaden our markets, add value and grow. Unparalleled Experience Solutions require innovation. In 1836, William Bickford's invention of a superior initiator for mining explosives, safety fuse, heralded not only a safer era for miners, but the formation of the Ensign-Bickford company. From this single but significant milestone, EBAD has developed global industry influence and extensive capabilities facilities in three locations; Graham, KY, Moorpark, CA and our headquarters in Simsbury, CT. Ideas, insights and engineering breakthroughs have made us manufacturers of the most reliable, precise aerospace and defense energetic solutions available. Our history of providing high-reliability solutions to these markets is unequaled, as is our commitment to meeting cost, delivery, reliability, environmental, and performance requirements. No other company can match the range of innovative energetic solutions that we've manufactured; this breadth of energetics application and technology is the foundation on which our success—and yours—rests.