Director of Quality

Hadrian - Manufacturing the Future

Hadrian is building autonomous factories that help aerospace and defense companies manufacture rockets, satellites, jets, and ships up to 10x faster and up to 2x cheaper. By combining advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing, we are reinventing how America produces its most critical parts.

We’re accelerating our mission with the launch of Factory 3 in Mesa, Arizona, a 290,000-square-foot facility creating 350 new jobs. We are expanding rapidly to support thousands of future hires, launching Hadrian Maritime to expand into naval production, and introducing a Factory-as-a-Service model that delivers complete systems instead of individual parts.

Hadrian is backed by leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, and Andreessen Horowitz, our fast-growing team is united around reindustrializing American manufacturing for the 21st century and beyond.

Hadrian is seeking a Director of Quality to build and scale the company’s central Quality Management System across a rapidly expanding network of factories, capabilities, and regulatory environments. This is a critical leadership role responsible for defining how quality operates across the company and ensuring quality is embedded into every part of the system.

This person will design and deploy a modular quality system that supports multiple factory types, product categories, and certifications while maintaining consistency, speed, and high confidence in product quality. As Hadrian expands into aerospace, defense, naval programs, and new manufacturing domains such as additive manufacturing, non-destructive testing, and electronics, this leader will be responsible for interpreting and applying complex regulatory and customer requirements in a way that aligns with intent, risk, and operational reality.

The Director of Quality will also build and scale a high-performing central quality organization, partnering closely with factory leadership, engineering, customer operations, and product teams to create scalable systems, strong feedback loops, and clear decision-making across the business.

• Design and build a modular Quality Management System that supports multiple factories, product types, and regulatory scopes

• Define global quality standards and determine where factory- or program-specific systems are required

• Deploy QMS packages that enable new factories to launch at a high level of maturity

• Partner with Factory Development Engineering to implement quality systems in new and existing facilities

• Own Hadrian’s approach to operating across aerospace, defense, and naval regulatory environments

• Translate regulatory and customer requirements into clear, practical systems and workflows

• Ensure consistent interpretation of requirements across factories while applying them based on intent and risk

• Build a multi-layer audit system across factories and use audit outputs to improve process design, training, and system definition

• Own cross-factory quality performance, including the escalation and classification of non-conformances, escapes, and findings

• Build quality data systems that enable aggregation, trend analysis, and prioritization of improvements

• Drive feedback loops that inform engineering, operations, and capability roadmaps

• Own system-level customer quality interactions, including audits, requirement alignment, escapes, findings, and corrective actions

• Make or delegate final decisions on complex or ambiguous quality issues

• Hire, develop, and lead a high-performing central quality organization, including systems and audit leaders
  

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical field

• 8+ years of experience in quality, manufacturing engineering, or related leadership roles

• Experience operating in regulated manufacturing environments such as aerospace, defense, industrial, or similar

• Demonstrated ability to build, scale, or significantly improve systems, processes, or organizations in complex environments

• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams, including hiring, coaching, and scaling organizational capability

• Demonstrated ability to make strong decisions in ambiguous, high-risk situations, particularly those involving customer-facing outcomes

• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills in complex environments

• Excellent communication and cross-functional leadership skills across engineering, operations, and commercial teams
  

• Experience building or scaling Quality Management Systems across multiple sites, factories, or business units

• Experience working across multiple regulatory regimes such as FAA, AS9100, defense, naval programs, or similar environments

• Experience supporting new or evolving manufacturing capabilities such as additive manufacturing, electronics, or special processes

• Strong track record of balancing compliance requirements with practical, scalable implementation

• Experience building systems for quality data, analytics, and feedback loops that drive operational or engineering improvements

• Experience in high-growth or startup manufacturing environments

• Background spanning both technical and operational roles, including quality, manufacturing engineering, or operations leadership

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans for employees

• 401k

• Relocation support may be provided for certain situations, based on business need.

• Flexible vacation policy

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Hadrian Is An Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the Company’s policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. The Company does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race inclusive of traits historically associated with race (including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, such as braids, locks and twists), color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, national origin (including, in California, possession of a drivers license), ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, height or weight, medical condition, family care status, military or veteran status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, exercise of reproductive rights, any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws, or any combination of the above characteristics. When necessary, the Company also makes reasonable accommodations for disabled candidates and employees, including for candidates or employees who are disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.