Design Quality Engineer

Job Description
What's it like realizing your potential at an innovative company that takes on some of the world's most important challenges? Rewarding. As part of our Controls & Avionics Solutions (CAS) Quality Organization, you'll join a diverse group of driven professionals who design the products and systems that support enhanced military capabilities, protect national security, and keep critical information and infrastructure secure. With us, you'll be able to make an impact while you hone your skills and grow in your career.
BAE Systems in Endicott, NY is looking for a Design Quality Engineer to join our team. The successful candidate will serve as an assurance partner with engineering by influencing and providing technical guidance on design quality assurance and design for manufacturability. Through early engagement in the design and development phase, the successful candidate will influence the adoption of engineering best practices to identify and eliminate defects early in the product lifecycle. This person will ensure product designs meet customer, quality, and reliability requirements and align to factory and supplier capabilities. This position will be responsible for supporting the designs and digital hardware architectures for all products and may also provide some development support for hardware engineering teams.
Key Responsibilities

• Quality Planning & Execution: Contribute to design-quality project bid estimates and tailor plans to contract requirements; develop and execute comprehensive quality-assurance plans for hardware, software, and system designs.
• Requirements Validation: Ensure internal and external product requirements are understood, validated, properly traced to design, implementation, and testing, and support qualification testing (including test-set-up, monitoring, and review of test reports).
• Test Solution Design & Validation: Design and validate test strategies/solutions that qualify products and meet factory-acceptance-test intent.
• Design Reviews: Participate in and influence design-review outcomes; provide constructive feedback on engineering models, test plans, and other development artifacts.
• Change Control: Ensure proper implementation and verification of design changes.
• APQP / DFMEA / Key Characteristic Identification: Support Advance Product Quality Planning activities, lead Design Failure Mode and Effects Analyses, and identify Key Characteristics.
• Design Optimization (DFM/DFM/DFM): Apply design-for-manufacturability guidelines, process and factory-capability considerations, and coding standards (software) to optimize designs.
• Risk & Opportunity & Supply-Chain Support: Provide input to technical risk-management, opportunity identification, and part-supplier selection to meet design, manufacturability, and quality requirements.
• Design Process Compliance & Continuous Improvement: Ensure adherence to design processes, collect and analyse quality metrics, and cross-pollinate best practices across programs to foster a culture of continuous improvement.
• Mentorship: Mentor team members in design-quality assurance, processes, and regulatory requirements; promote knowledge sharing.
• Program Quality Planning & Execution: Develop, implement, and maintain comprehensive program-level quality plans (estimates, schedules, resources, budgets) and coordinate quality expertise across functions.
• Lifecycle Management & Phase-Gate Support: Support lifecycle management, phase-gate reviews, and program "return-to-green" activities; ensure product quality throughout transition to production.
• Customer Advocacy & Liaison: Serve as primary customer-quality liaison; oversee product sell-off, host customer source inspections/audits, approve and submit PPAPs, and manage customer-related quality issues.
• Quality Requirement Management: Integrate quality into the program lifecycle; ensure requirements flow down to design, suppliers, and factories and validate them through PPV/FAI reviews.
• Issue Management & Resolution: Lead non-conformance management, chair Material Review Boards, and drive robust Root-Cause-Corrective-Action (RCCA) processes.
• Supplier / Subcontract Support: Develop supplier-quality plans, review subcontractor statements of work, and ensure supplier capabilities align with design intent.
• Compliance & Audit Support: Ensure compliance with BAE programmatic processes; organize and support ISO 9001/AS9100/IATF 16949 audits and CMMI assessments.
• Performance Monitoring & Improvement: Track key quality metrics, report performance, and partner with functions to drive overall program and business improvements.

Required Education, Experience, & Skills

• Education and Experience: Bachelor of Science degree and 2-4+ years of related experience
• Quality Tools: Experience with APQP, DFMEA, 8D, Lean Six Sigma, RCCA, and risk-management techniques.
• Technical Proficiency:
  • Hardware: Finite Element Analysis, GD&T, environmental/ESS testing, IPC standards.
  • Software: SDLC, Agile/SAFe, version control (Git/JIRA), SW-FMEA, CMMI/ASPICE.
  • Systems: Systems-engineer V-model, ICDs, system-level integration testing.
• Communication & Influence: Strong written and verbal skills; ability to mentor and influence without formal authority.
• Problem Solving: Proven ability to analyze data, identify root causes, and implement corrective actions.

Preferred Education, Experience, & Skills

• Experience in defense/aerospace hardware, software, and systems development.
• Familiarity with military/aerospace standards (AS9100, ISO 9001, CMMI, ASPICE).
• Demonstrated program-level leadership, customer liaison, and audit management.
• Track record of driving continuous-improvement initiatives across multidisciplinary engineering domains.

Pay Information
Full-Time Salary Range: $107359 - $182510
Please note: This range is based on our market pay structures. However, individual salaries are determined by a variety of factors including, but not limited to: business considerations, local market conditions, and internal equity, as well as candidate qualifications, such as skills, education, and experience.
Employee Benefits: At BAE Systems, we support our employees in all aspects of their life, including their health and financial well-being. Regular employees scheduled to work 20+ hours per week are offered: health, dental, and vision insurance; health savings accounts; a 401(k) savings plan; disability coverage; and life and accident insurance. We also have an employee assistance program, a legal plan, and other perks including discounts on things like home, auto, and pet insurance. Our leave programs include paid time off, paid holidays, as well as other types of leave, including paid parental, military, bereavement, and any applicable federal and state sick leave. Employees may participate in the company recognition program to receive monetary or non-monetary recognition awards. Other incentives may be available based on position level and/or job specifics.
About BAE Systems Electronic Systems
BAE Systems, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, an international defense, aerospace and security company which delivers a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, security, information technology solutions and customer support services. Improving the future and protecting lives is an ambitious mission, but it's what we do at BAE Systems. Working here means using your passion and ingenuity where it counts - defending national security with breakthrough technology, superior products, and intelligence solutions. As you develop the latest technology and defend national security, you will continually hone your skills on a team-making a big impact on a global scale. At BAE Systems, you'll find a rewarding career that truly makes a difference. Electronic Systems (ES) is the global innovator behind BAE Systems' game-changing defense and commercial electronics. Exploiting every electron, we push the limits of what is possible, giving our customers the edge and our employees opportunities to change the world. Our products and capabilities can be found everywhere - from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of space. At our core are more than 14,000 highly talented Electronic Systems employees with the brightest minds in the industry, we make an impact - for our customers and the communities we serve.
This position will be posted for at least 5 calendar days. The posting will remain active until the position is filled, or a qualified pool of candidates is identified.