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Senior Quality Manager – Government Programs
Location: Tempe, AZ
Employment Type: Full-Time, Direct Hire
Work Environment: Onsite (5 days/week with some flexibility)
About the Opportunity
We are seeking a Senior Quality Manager to lead the Quality function supporting government programs within a high-growth technology and communications environment. This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for ensuring product quality, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence across defense and government-focused hardware and software products.
This is a working leadership role—you will lead a high-performing team of Quality Engineers and Technicians while also applying your technical expertise to support complex quality decisions, government audits, and cross-functional initiatives.
What You’ll Do
Leadership & Strategy
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Lead, mentor, and develop a team of approximately 7 Quality Engineers and Technicians.
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Own the Quality Management System (QMS) for the Tempe site, ensuring compliance, certification readiness, and continuous improvement.
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Drive a culture of quality excellence across engineering, operations, and supply chain teams.
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Present key quality metrics, insights, and performance updates to senior leadership.
Quality Engineering & Compliance
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Serve as the senior point of contact for government and defense product quality, standards, and compliance.
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Oversee responses to DCMA and government customer quality reviews; support escalations and product acceptance decisions.
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Ensure adherence to AS9100, ISO 9001, and applicable government contractual quality requirements (FAR/DFARS).
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Support new and ongoing programs by implementing quality processes, systems, and resource planning.
Cross-Functional & Technical Collaboration
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Partner with Engineering to drive design-for-quality initiatives, failure analysis, and continuous improvement.
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Collaborate with the Reliability team to improve MTBF and overall product availability.
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Work with Supply Chain to enhance supplier quality and support qualification, audits, and corrective actions.
What You’ll Support
Products include a range of secure communication systems such as terminals, transmitters, radios, satellite-based hardware, and embedded systems used in government and defense applications.
What You Bring
Required Qualifications
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8+ years of quality, operations, or engineering experience within a hardware product development and manufacturing environment.
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3+ years of team leadership or people management experience.
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Strong experience supporting government or defense programs with quality oversight.
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Hands-on experience with AS9100 QMS and maintaining certification compliance.
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Knowledge of government/defense quality standards and requirements (DCMA, FAR/DFARS, GIDEP, Government Property).
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Strong ability to interpret engineering drawings, specs, and data.
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Experience with PLM and ERP systems (e.g., Agile, Oracle, SAP).
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Ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance if needed (US Citizen or Green Card holder).
Preferred Qualifications
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Experience with satellite/space, aerospace, telecommunications, or defense hardware.
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Familiarity with Lean/Six Sigma and industry quality tools (FMEA, 8D, 5-Whys, fault tree, etc.).
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Knowledge of IPC 610/620, J-STD-001, MIL-STD-883, MIL-PRF-38534, EEE-INST-002, or similar standards.
Work Environment & Travel
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Onsite in Tempe, AZ (5 days/week with some flexibility)
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5–10% travel, primarily for cross-site meetings or program reviews
Why This Role Matters
This is a highly visible position shaping the future of quality for a rapidly growing government business segment. You’ll lead a mature, cohesive team and play a key role in ensuring quality, compliance, and readiness as new programs and technologies scale.
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Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Gravity IT Resources is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic. All employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs.