Quality Assurance Manager

Job Purpose

Are you meticulous, dedicated, and ready for a challenge? We're on the lookout for a Quality Assurance Manager at our Chertsey site! You'll be working closely with our QA Manager in Portland to ensure top-notch quality and surveillance across our organisation.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to develop, implement, and maintain a robust quality management system. This system will ensure our products and services meet the high standards of quality, reliability, and safety essential for our demanding and complex sector.

You'll take charge of all QA activities in Chertsey and occasionally cover for the QA Manager in Portland. This will help maintain consistency and adherence to our quality standards across the business.

In this role, you'll also develop, collate, and report on QA statistics to enhance the efficient delivery of Drumgrange's products and services. Additionally, you'll focus on ensuring that all software development activities adhere to the TickITplus methodology across DG sites. Therefore, experience in conducting QA audits in this area is a must.

If you're up for the challenge and ready to make a difference, we’d love to hear from you!

Why Drumgrange?

When you join Drumgrange, you will be joining one of the last independent, family-run engineering companies in the UK defence industry.

For a company our size, we have a wide portfolio of projects. From working out how to integrate land sensors onto their respective platforms to going out to sea to carry out trials, you can expect to work on a variety of interesting projects with meaningful, real-world impact with stakes that go beyond delivering value to the shareholders.

As a Drumgrange employee, you get a rare opportunity to be involved all the way through the engineering lifecycle, from the bid stage, research, design, development, through to product/capability integration and end-of-life support. With only a few levels between junior roles and senior management, hard work hardly goes unnoticed, and there are plenty of opportunities to create a change. So if you are looking to hit the ground running, have a passion for engineering excellence, and are interested in building a rewarding career that gives you a sense of purpose, you will be a great fit at Drumgrange.

What you'll do

·    Develop and implement quality assurance policies, procedures, and standards in alignment with industry regulations and company objectives.
·    Oversee the entire quality assurance process, including inspections, audits, and oversite of QC testing of products and processes with proven experience of QA of software development, test and verification.
·    Define clear and measurable quality goals aligned with the overall business objectives and customer expectations.
·    Identify and select specific KPIs that align with the quality goals such as defect density, Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time to Resolve (MTTR), customer satisfaction, and response time.
·    Analyse trends in the collected data to identify patterns or changes that could affect product quality.
·    Perform root cause analysis to understand the underlying reasons for NC’s and implement corrective actions.
·    Conduct regular audits and inspections to identify potential quality issues and implement corrective actions.
·    Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Engineering, Production, and Supply Chain, to ensure quality standards are integrated into all stages of product development and manufacturing.
·    Monitor and analyse quality performance metrics, generating reports and recommendations for continuous improvement.
·    Manage customer feedback and complaints, ensuring timely resolution and implementation of preventive measures.
·    Stay updated with industry standards, regulations, and best practices, ensuring the company's quality assurance processes remain current and compliant.
·    Prepare and present quality reports to senior management, highlighting key findings and improvement strategies. 

What you'll need

·    Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively with diverse teams and explain procedures and routines clearly and succinctly.
·    Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities to support robust Root Cause Analysis audits.
·    Exceptional attention to detail and organisational skills.
·    Familiarity with industry standards such as ISO 9001, AS9100, and other relevant regulations. 
·    Experience in the collation of Quality Metrics.
·    ISO 9001 Lead Auditor (CQI &IRCA) Certification.
·    Knowledge or training in TickIT Plus.
·    CQI and IRCA certified auditors.
·    Understanding of software development lifecycle (SDLC) and best practices.
·    Ability to attain DV UK security clearance.
·    Experience of working with and developing/improving Test Plans. 
·    Experience with Agile and Scrum methodologies.
·    Experience in writing clear and concise reports.
·    Proven experience as a Quality Assurance Manager or a similar role within the defence or aerospace industry with experience of QA in Software Development.
·    Experience in software quality management to ISO 9001 and TickITPlus methodologies.
·    Good computer and literacy skills.
·    Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively with diverse teams.

What you'll get

·        Full engineering lifecycle with optional career path: Choose the direction of your career
·        Paid overtime or time off in lieu: Gain up to 24 additional paid days off per year or boost your salary with an authorised single-time overtime
·        Flexible working: We operate around the core working hours of 09:30 – 12:00 & 14:00 – 16:00
·        Role-specific allowances: Subject to individual projects and roles.
·        Holiday entitlement: 24 days per annum, plus public holidays. These are pro rata for part-time roles. A Christmas closedown occurs for most roles from 24^th December – 2nd January, utilising your holiday entitlement.
·        Pension scheme: Competitive employer contribution scheme
·        Private medical care: Access a network of 50+ private clinics and hospitals nationwide
·        Training and upskilling: We are committed to your continuous personal and professional development meaning that you have the opportunity to gain additional skills and qualifications
·        Monthly Payment Schemes: Save money on a new bicycle and cycling accessories and get fit too!
·        Company tech: Salary loans to purchase laptops, mobiles, and home office equipment
·        Relocation package: Available to selected candidates needing to relocate within easy travel distance of one of our offices - In line with HMRC guidelines - spend less time travelling and more time living

We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and particularly from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our industry, including women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and LGBTQ+ individuals. Please be aware that many of our roles will be subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors including your nationality, any previous nationalities held, and your place of birth may limit the roles you can perform in our organisation.

We also support our Armed Forces communities, reservists and cadets and are proud advocates. Any companies wishing to contribute and benefit from a relationship with these organisations please reach out to us or visit https://www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk/show-your-support/sign-the-covenant/