Senior Quality Assurance Engineer

Reports to: Director of Quality Assurance

About HPF: Houston Precision Fasteners produces high strength, fatigue rated, close tolerance Aerospace fasteners using materials such as carbon steel, alloy steel, nickel alloy, titanium, waspaloy, A-286, monel and multiphase.  Our fasteners have supported mission aircrafts such as; Joint Strike Fighters, F/A 18 Super Hornet, and Falcon 9; just to name a few.  We are dedicated to providing a superior product to our customers.

Job purpose: The Sr. Quality Assurance Engineer will be responsible for daily quality engineering functions of the Quality/ Quality Assurance department ensuring that the quality assurance compliance is met in conjunction with others in Quality Assurance & Quality Control functions

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

·         Maintain and improve compliance with AS9100, regulatory and customer-specific aerospace requirements

·         Conduct contract reviews to identify and communicate all customer, regulatory, and quality requirements.

·         Review customer engineering drawings, specifications, solid models / drawings and quality requirement flow-downs to ensure requirements are accurately captured on internal manufacturing work instructions and/or supplier Purchase Order flow downs

·         Perform customer requirement decompositions, documenting any gaps in the Quality System and assisting in closing said gaps

·         Lead/Support a robust internal audit program to guarantee ongoing compliance with AS9100D standards and aerospace customer specifications.

·         Maintain, organize, and review QMS documentation, production routers, and manufacturing records to ensure continuous, foolproof audit readiness.

·         Support risk assessments, nonconformance investigations, and corrective/preventive actions (CAPA).

·         Support/Lead

·         Perform First Article Inspections in accordance with AS9102 requirements, including ballooning drawings, recording requirements and capturing evidence of compliance at the end of the manufacturing operations.

·         Participate in New Product Introduction meetings with internal personnel and customers (as required), identifying potential quality system risks

·         Help resolve technical and/or quality issues and communicate them back to Planning and/or Sales personnel

·         Lead Lean initiatives to improve process and drive cost-of-quality improvements

·         Help drive process improvements and cost savings, utilizing a continuous improvement mentality

·         Consolidate Master Cert: Verify material, process, and inspection certifications to ensure complete product traceability and customer compliance.

·         Present to Top Management results of data analysis, corrective actions and improvement opportunities

·         Interact with Planning, Engineering, Quality Control and Sales Personnel on a daily or as needed basis to ensure the company can meet customer requirements

·         Performs other duties as assigned.

Education & Experience:

Required:

·         Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, Manufacturing, Aerospace, or Materials Engineering. Minimum of 5 years of QA/QE experience directly within a highly regulated manufacturing industry, such as Aerospace (AS9100) or Medical Devices (ISO 13485). Direct experience in aerospace manufacturing and the fastener industry is highly preferred.

·         Demonstrated experience working in a certified Quality Management System

·         Proven track record of leading or significantly supporting third-party registration, surveillance, or recertification audits under strict regulatory standards (e.g., AS9100, ISO 13485, FDA, or NADCAP). Formal AS9100 Internal or Lead Auditor certification is a distinct advantage.

·         The ability to work in a team environment and work effectively with a diverse group of people from different cultures and backgrounds.

·         Excellent listening skills necessary

·         Proficient in all Microsoft products (Excel, Word and PowerPoint)

·         Experience in working with First Article Inspection ballooning software

·         Demonstrated experience in performing Statistical Process Control (SPC), including creating / updating control charts

Preferred:

·         Deep understanding of quality core tools, engineering blueprints, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T), and standard precision measuring equipment.

·         Mastery of Root Cause Analysis (RCA), CAPA, and failure mode identification in metallurgical or machined components.

·         Prior experience of working for or with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) or a first-tier company to OEMs

·         Visual Basic Programming for creating macros in Microsoft products

·         ASQ Certified Quality Engineer

Employee Acknowledgement:

The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by HPF employees.  It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of associates assigned to this job.

Due to the nature of defense contracts, US Citizenship is a requirement.

As part of our Drug and Alcohol Policy, upon acceptance of any offer of employment, employment will be conditional of passing a required drug. 

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

We are a fast growing manufacturer of precision aerospace products. We have won numerous awards for our contributions to the defense and space industries including supplier of the year to NASA in 2013. We pride ourselves on doing things our competitors cannot and are striving to be the most technologically advanced, highest rated supplier to our customers across all product lines. In 2024, HPF was acquired by the Poggipolini company based in Italy.