Crane Aerospace and Electronics has an exciting opportunity for a Vice President of Quality at our Elyria, OH or Lynnwood, WA location.
About Crane:
Crane Aerospace & Electronics supplies critical systems and components to the aerospace and defense spanets. You’ll find Crane Aerospace & Electronics in some of the toughest environments: from engines to landing gear; from satellites to medical implants and from missiles to unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
Our Crane Aerospace & Electronics Elyria facility has been a bedrock in the community-friendly town of Elyria, Ohio, for more than a century. Known for our excellence in pumping technology, our Elyria site produced the first-ever positive displacement pump for high performance piston engine aircraft and even supplied pumps for Charles Lindbergh in the 1930s. We have more than 150,000 fuel and lubrication pumps in service today and are proud to offer custom thermal management system solutions for a range of next-gen applications.
Job Summary:
The Vice President of Quality is responsible for overseeing quality assurance and control programs, ensuring compliance with stringent Aerospace & Defense (CAE) industry and government regulations and developing quality strategies to improve products and processes across all Crane Aerospace & Electronics businesses. The VP Quality is responsible for building a quality culture, managing audits, leading corrective actions, and partnering with other departments like engineering, operations, and supply chain to drive improvements in key metrics such as First Pass Yield and Cost of Poor Quality.
The VP Quality will act as the lead facilitator across all CAE sites of Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and Production Part Approval Process (PPAP). This person will drive breakthrough process improvements in Quality through requirements definition and full compliance flow-down into value streams including employee training and awareness to assure safety, airworthiness, conformity, and product reliability requirements are met. They will also drive and support actions to meet all CAE strategic priorities for Growth, Customer Service and Quality.
Essential Functions:
Develop and implement the AS9145 standard requirements for the Product Development Process (PDP) using Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) methodologies for all sites
Ensure that customer engineering design requirements are clearly fulfilled and that we can meet the manufacturability and quality requirements of the products supplied to the customer.
Develop and establish manufacturing processes to produce products that consistently meet all requirements during the actual production run at the quoted production rate of the manufacturing process.
Implement APQP core tools across all CAE sites for key products and key processes to significantly improve First Pass Yield, COPQ and reduce customer returns.
Leadership & Strategy:
Provide strategic direction for the quality function, aligning with organizational goals and objectives.
Lead and mentor a team of quality professionals, fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
Collaborate with engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain teams to ensure product and process quality.
Drive initiatives to improve product quality, reduce defects, and enhance customer satisfaction.
Develop and implement all five phases of APQP starting with product concept and extending throughout the product life cycle.
Phase 1 – Planning - capture customer inputs, benchspan data, lessons learned, regulatory requirements, technical specifications, and strategy into a product concept and a realization plan. This includes high-level technical, quality, and cost targets.
Phase 2 – Product Design and Development - translate the technical, quality, and cost requirements into a controlled, verified, and validated product design. Design validation is achieved using prototype, development, or production parts in test environments that can represent the customer’s installation and subject the product to extreme conditions required by contract or regulation.
Phase 3 – Process Design and Development - design and develop the production processes needed to produce product that consistently fulfill technical, quality, and cost requirements while operating at the customer demand rate.
Phase 4 – Product and Process Validation - validate that product fulfills the design requirements and the process has demonstrated the capability to constantly produce conforming products at the customer demand rate. Product validation is achieved using product produced from the final production process.
Phase 5 – On-going Production, Use, and Post-delivery Service - ensure customer requirements are continuously met using process control, lessons learned, and continuous improvement.
Identify PPAP elements including any customer specific requirements, develop a PPAP file, comply with PPAP submission requirements, provide required PPAP documentation, maintain the PPAP file including accessibility, notify customer of product/process changes, determine requirements for changes, provide a revision plan to address unfulfilled submission requirements
Develop a PPAP process including design records, Design Failure Mode, and Effect Analysis (DFMEA), process flow diagram, Process Failure Mode, and Effect Analysis (PFMEA), Control Plan, Measurement System Analysis (MSA), Process Capability Studies, Packaging, First Article Inspection Report (FAIR), and PPAP approval requirements.
Update Quality Management System to support AQPQ sustainability with APQP/PPAP deliverables imbedded in PDP Deliverable by Gate
Develop a cadence to manage AS9145 performance including integration with Strategy Deployment Initiatives, PDP Program and Gate reviews, and Site CI Roadmaps
Integrate PDP AS9145 reviews in Vertical Programs Review
Integrate sustaining AS9145 reviews included in Site MOR and ME-QE functional regular reviews and working meetings
Develop and improve KPIs including any Strategy Deployment TTI’s, PDP Program health, FMEA RPN reduction, Cpk Improvement, FPY Improvement and COPQ reduction
Develop stable processes capable to Cpk ≥1.33, with robust inspection and capable MSA, with a manufacturing system that is adequately defined and documented
Leverage AS9145 process to drive breakthrough improvement in Cost of Poor Quality
Establish collection and analysis systems of statistical data to predict trends that will affect improvement of product quality
Develop and conduct internal audits for AS9145
Collaborate with operations and supply chain leadership to ensure full integration of Quality Management System (QMS) into value streams
Include Supply Chain Management to support project, identify supplier related risks, define mitigation actions, including flow down of standard requirements
Led effort to define and train employees on AS9145, APQP, PPAP, root-cause analysis and problem-solving tools to identify effective corrective actions/process improvements
Any other task assigned by your manager
Minimum Qualifications:
Experience: 15+ years of directly related Quality work experience in defense, space electronics or high-end aerospace industry; Experience with developing and managing a department budget and projects; Change leadership experience
Knowledge: Expert knowledge of Quality Management Systems including AS9145 as well as Process Improvement and Control Techniques; Demonstrated knowledge of manufacturing best practices, process control (SPC, Six Sigma), logistics processes, engineering management (project management) and safety management
Skills/Abilities: Demonstrated strong analytical skills, problem solving and financial acumen; Outstanding leadership skills; Ability to analyze and interpret scientific/technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents; Ability to demonstrate a strong sense of urgency
Education/Certification: B.S. degree in electrical or mechanical engineering, or related field
Travel up to 70 may be required
Eligibility Requirement: This position may require access to Controlled Data or Information. Where the position requires such access only US Persons will be considered. As a US Department of Defense contractor, we are bound by International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
Preferred Qualifications:
Top Benefits:
As a team member at Crane Aerospace and Electronics, you’ll enjoy:
Benefits: Health care, dental, vision, life and disability insurance starting the first day of the month
Time Off: 15 days of paid time off that start accruing your first day at Crane and 12 paid holidays per year.
401k Retirement Plan: 401k plan with company match
Education Reimbursement: eligible after 90 days of employment
You can see a list of our benefits at https://www.craneae.com/company/careers or visit our website at www.CraneAE.com for more information on our company and great opportunities.
We are committed to operational excellence and world class processes. We employ Lean manufacturing techniques to optimize manufacturing efficiency and accuracy on all product lines. Our products are known for their technical strength, proven reliability and overall value.
In our efforts to maintain a safe and drug-free workplace, Crane Aerospace & Electronics requires that candidates complete a satisfactory background check. FAA sensitive positions require employees to participate in a random drug test pool.
This description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work being performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.
Crane Company. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, general identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.
