Overview

Director of QualityDepartment: Quality Division: Operations At Daniel Defense, Only the Best Build the Best Daniel Defense engineers and manufactures the world's finest weapon systems and accessories. Our mission to Honor God. Defend Freedom is accomplished by serving customers and providing top quality solutions to our military, law enforcement and civilians that are seeking premium firearms for home defense, hunting, and sport shooting.As Daniel Defense continues to scale, quality must function as a foundational operating system, enabling stable execution, disciplined processes, and predictable outcomes. We are seeking a Director of Quality to lead Quality Management System (QMS) strategy as a core pillar of the Daniel Defense Excellence (DDX) operating model across Manufacturing, Shipping, Receiving, and New Product Development.This role reports to the Chief Operating Officer (COO).Role OverviewAs Director of Quality, you are the senior architect and steward of Daniel Defense's Quality Management System (QMS) and a key contributor to the broader DDX operating system. Your mandate is to ensure quality is designed into processes and products, providing the stable, capable foundation upon which Continuous Improvement and transformation can succeed.You will lead QMS strategy and governance across the full product lifecycle, serve as final authority for product release, and partner closely with Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, and the Transformation function to ensure compliance, risk mitigation, and scalable execution. This role emphasizes process capability, system discipline, and prevention rather than reactive inspection or short-term cost-of-poor-quality reduction.Essential Functions:Key Impact AreasQMS Strategy, Governance, and DDX IntegrationOwn the strategy, architecture, and governance of the Quality Management System (QMS) as a core component of the DDX operating system.Establish QMS as the standard framework for process discipline, risk management, and execution consistency across Manufacturing, Shipping, Receiving, and New Product Development.Ensure alignment between QMS standards, DDX principles, and day-to-day operational execution.Define quality policies, standards, and controls that enable repeatable, capable processes and long-term scalability.Partner with Transformation leadership to ensure improvement initiatives are built on stable, capable processes.Process Capability and Built-In QualityLead the transition from detection-based quality to prevention-based, capability-driven execution.Partner with Operations and Engineering to define critical-to-quality (CTQ) characteristics and ensure processes are capable, controlled, and sustained.Ensure disciplined use of statistical methods, process monitoring, and control plans to manage variation.Govern process qualification, validation, and change management to protect process integrity.Use scrap, rework, and cost-of-poor-quality metrics as lagging indicators of system health, not primary success measures.New Product Development and Lifecycle Risk ManagementPartner with Engineering and New Product Development to embed quality and risk management early in design and launch processes.Ensure consistent application of risk-based tools (e.g., PFMEA, control planning, design reviews) aligned with DDX standards.Lead quality readiness for new product launches, ensuring supplier, process, and control capability prior to production release.Ensure disciplined lifecycle handoff from development to manufacturing with clear ownership and governance.Audit, Compliance, and Product Release AuthorityServe as final authority for product release and shipment, accountable for compliance with all regulatory and company standards.Lead internal and external audits with focus on QMS effectiveness and system maturity.Ensure corrective actions address root system causes and strengthen long-term capability.Maintain regulatory documentation and reporting required to support the quality func