Quality Manager, Maintenance Operations

About You and The Role

Do you thrive on honing in a process to perfection? Identifying gaps, seeking root causes, and delivering solutions? Are you analytical, inquisitive, resourceful, and keen to build something new? Do you enjoy work that is varied in nature? The Maintenance Quality Manager will build the operating system that ensures maintenance repairs are consistent, measurable, and effective across Zipline’s U.S. operations. Your goal is not simply to find defects, but to build a system that identifies quality gaps, supports root cause analysis, and confirms corrective actions are effective.

This is a hands-on, field-oriented role. You will combine observations from technicians and site visits with maintenance and reliability data, then work across Maintenance Operations, Engineering, Training, Safety, and Supply Chain to turn findings into durable improvements. Success requires strong systems thinking, practical judgment, and the ability to influence teams through evidence and trust.

What You'll Do

• Define the metrics and review mechanisms that make maintenance quality visible; use fleet-health, reliability, repeat-failure, and maintenance-record data to identify systemic issues and set priorities.
• Define inspection criteria, acceptance requirements, and return-to-service controls for preventive and corrective maintenance.
• Lead nonconformance and corrective-action work end to end, from containment and root-cause analysis through action ownership, effectiveness checks, and prevention of recurrence.
• Build and continuously improve a maintenance Quality Management System, including standards, governance, document control, audit processes, corrective actions, and performance reporting.
• Define metrics that reveal the effectiveness of aircraft repairs performed, particularly by repair type, and create relevant reporting for maintenance management & executive leadership.
• Close the feedback loop between the field and Engineering, Training, Technical Publications, and Supply Chain by turning quality findings into better procedures, training, tooling, parts, and designs.
• Reduce repeat repairs, downtime, and process variation.

What You'll Bring

• 3–7 years of experience in maintenance quality, operational quality, reliability, field service, or a related discipline supporting complex, field-deployed hardware.
• Field credibility and technical curiosity: you learn how work is actually performed, ask strong questions, and can understand complex mechanical, electrical, or electromechanical systems well enough to challenge assumptions.
• A track record of influencing cross-functional teams, driving change, and maintaining a high quality bar without creating unnecessary process or bureaucracy.
• Strong knowledge of root-cause analysis and structured problem-solving methods such as 5 Whys, fishbone analysis, 8D, or fault-tree analysis.
• Proficiency in SQL, and with data-analysis and visualization tools such as Python, Tableau, Looker, Power BI, or ThoughtSpot.
• The analytical ability to define useful measures, work with imperfect operational data, distinguish isolated defects from systemic problems, and determine whether a fix worked.
• Strong command of audits, nonconformance management, root-cause analysis, corrective action, change control, and effectiveness verification.
• Excellent program management and follow-through, including the ability to assign ownership, manage competing risks, escalate when needed, and close actions on time.
• Willingness to travel to maintenance sites and work directly with technicians and operational teams.

Desired qualifications

• Experience leveraging AI tools to advance data analysis & visualization, develop light-code user interfaces and tools, and synthesizing information.
• Working knowledge of quality standards such as ISO 9001, AS9100, or similar regulated quality frameworks.
• Experience leading continuous-improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methods.

What Else You Need To Know

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws or our own sensibilities.

We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!