Senior Director, Quality

The posting, as Ursa Major wrote it

The future of aerospace and defense starts here.

Ursa Major was founded to revolutionize how America and its allies access and apply high-performance propulsion, from hypersonics to solid rocket motors, satellite maneuvering and launch. We design and deliver propulsion and defense systems that solve the most urgent and critical national security demands.

Role Overview

The Senior Director, Quality is the senior quality leader for Ursa Major. This leader is accountable for product quality, quality compliance, and the effectiveness of the Quality Management System across all sites and product lines, including solid rocket motors, hypersonic propulsion, in-space propulsion, and avionics. Reporting to the Chief Safety and Risk Officer, the Sr. Director serves as the company’s senior quality representative to DCMA, government customers, and prime contractors. They will build the program and customer-facing quality capability Ursa Major needs as it scales from development into rate production and operates as a public company.

This role leads the full quality organization, including quality control, inspection, metrology and calibration, quality systems, and product quality engineering, with full authority to shape its structure as the business grows. The ideal candidate knows what prime-level quality looks like and how to deliver it at startup speed, scaling rigor to risk rather than adding bureaucracy. This is a senior leadership role, but it is also a hands-on one: we expect this leader to roll up their sleeves, lead from the front, and work in the trenches alongside the team as we scale.

Key Responsibilities

Quality Leadership & Strategy

• Own Ursa Major’s quality strategy, objectives, budget, and organization, structuring and developing the quality team to support growth across all product lines and sites.
• Build a culture of quality where every function owns quality and builds it into design, sourcing, manufacturing, and delivery.
• Match quality rigor to program maturity: move at the speed development programs require while meeting the full expectations of mature defense and prime customer programs.

Government & Prime Customer Quality

• Serve as Ursa Major’s senior quality representative to DCMA, government customers, prime contractors, and certification bodies, building trust-based relationships with DCMA quality assurance representatives and customer quality organizations.
• Lead quality across Ursa Major’s business models: all-up-round deliveries directly to the U.S. government, SRM and propulsion deliveries as a supplier to defense primes, and in-space propulsion systems for satellite and spacecraft customers.
• Build an organization capable of reviewing proposals and contracts for quality requirements, including FAR/DFARS quality clauses and customer-specific requirements, and ensure they flow down and implemented across design, purchasing, manufacturing, inspection, and delivery.
• Own government source inspection, produc

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o explosives safety and site security protocols.

• Ability to sit or stand for extended periods and work on a computer for prolonged durations.
• Occasionally required to lift up to 25 pounds.
• Ability to travel up to 25% to Ursa Major sites, customers, suppliers, and government facilities.

Colorado law requires us to tell you the base compensation range of this role, which is $225,000 - $275,000, determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities. What we can’t quantify for you are the exciting challenges, supportive team, and amazing culture we enjoy.

Classification: Full-time Exempt

Benefits Include: (Please note, Interns are not eligible for benefits)

• Unlimited PTO - Vacation, Sick, Personal, and Bereavement
• Paid Parental and Adoptive Leave
• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Tax Advantage Accounts (HSA/FSA)
• Employer Paid Short and Long Term Disability, Basic Life, AD&D
• Additional Benefit Options Including Voluntary Life and Emergency Medical Transport
• EAP Program
• Retirement Savings Plan - 401k with Company Match

How To Apply

Interested candidates are encouraged to apply by filling out the application below and clicking "Submit Application". This position will be posted for a minimum of 3 days and will remain open until filled or adjusted based on the volume of applicants.

NOTE: Research suggests that women and BIPOC individuals may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who believes they have the skills and the drive necessary to succeed here to apply for this role.

Must be a U.S. Person (this includes U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents).

Eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security Clearance.

We’re an equal-opportunity employer. You will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.

No outside recruiters, please.