Urban Sky · 2 months ago
Head of Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance
Denver, CO
Full-time
Onsite
Lead/Staff, Director/Executive
$100K/yr - $155K/yr
5+ years expUrban Sky is a venture-backed aerospace startup that pioneers utilization of the stratosphere and reimagines the way humans view and analyze the earth. The Head of Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance will lead the development of processes and strategies to enhance the safety and quality of Urban Sky’s stratospheric systems, collaborating with various teams to ensure compliance and reliability across the organization.
GeospatialMapping ServicesNavigationRemote SensingSmart Cities
No H1B
U.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
Develop and Implement Quality Management Systems: Design, implement, and maintain quality management systems aligning with industry standards to ensure product quality and compliance. Ideally the candidate would have exposure to and an understanding of ISO 9001, AS9100, etc., though not a requirement. Utilizing and leading the implementation of tools such as DFMEAs, PFMEAs, and Control Plans to ensure system safety, quality, and reliability of Urban Sky’s products from ideation through manufacturing and mission execution
Safety and Quality Metrics: Monitor safety compliance and quality performance and implement systems necessary to track these metrics
Problem-Solving and Root Cause Analysis: Identify quality issues, investigate their technical and systemic root causes, and lead the implementation of corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) to resolve them
Management of Training Protocols: Develop training for staff on quality standards, best practices, and quality tools to ensure a culture of quality across all departments
Supplier Quality Management: Collaborate with suppliers to ensure that raw materials, components, and services meet the required quality standards
Continuous Improvement: Drive initiatives for continuous improvement in product quality, processes, and operational efficiencies, often using methodologies like Lean, Six Sigma, or Kaizen
Compliance and Regulatory Requirements: Ensure that the organization complies with safety regulations, quality standards, and document compliance through reports and certifications
Reporting and Documentation: Maintain records of safety critical decisions, risk management, quality inspections, audit results, corrective actions, and other documentation related to mission safety and quality control and report this information to upper management
Safety & Mission Assurance: Lead safety reviews prior to stratospheric flights, lead the evaluation of mission successes and failures, and ensure lessons learned from ground and flight tests are incorporated into future missions
Develop and Lead Mission Assurance Strategy: Define and implement a mission assurance program aligned with both internal performance requirements and external regulatory/contractual obligations (e.g., DoD, FAA, NASA)
Flight Readiness Reviews (FRRs): Coordinate and lead mission readiness evaluations
Safety Program Development: Develop and maintain a flight safety management system, including ground operations, airspace integration, and recovery procedures
Hazard Analysis: Perform and maintain System Safety Hazard Analyses (SSHA), Preliminary Hazard Analyses (PHA), and Operating Hazard Analyses (OHA) specific to balloon launch and recovery operations
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality Management, or equivalent experience
5-10+ years of experience in safety, quality, quality control, or quality assurance roles, with increasing responsibilities including management
Ability to lead communication regarding safety and quality cross-functionally, including coordination between company leadership, product management, engineering, flight operations, and manufacturing
Ability to lead quality and safety-related projects, coordinate cross-functional resources, track progress, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment
Ability to analyze data and generate reports on quality performance
Must be US Citizen or Permanent Resident
Must be located near Denver, CO and must work at the company's Denver office
Preferred
Experience leading Safety & Mission Assurance activities for high-consequence systems or missions (e.g., flight readiness reviews, test/mishap evaluation)
Demonstrated ability to apply lessons learned from flight tests and operational feedback into engineering and procedural improvements
Proficiency with tools such as Minitab for statistical analysis of quality data
Experience with quality management systems following standards outlined in ISO 9001, AS9100, or similar
Capable of maintaining meticulous documentation of inspections, test results, risk assessments, safety reviews, and quality system records
Benefits
Stock Options
Medical, Vision and Dental
Unlimited Vacation Days
Cell Phone Bill Stipend
Maternity/Paternity Leave
Company
Urban Sky
Urban Sky offers a revolution in remote sensing through the new stratospheric microballoon.
51-200 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$66.21MKey Investors
Altos VenturesNational Science FoundationJet Propulsion Laboratory
2025-02-06Series B· $30M
2023-10-16Series A· $30M
2023-07-31Non Equity Assistance
Leadership Team
Andrew Antonio
Co-Founder & CEO
Jared Leidich
Co-Founder and CTO
Recent News
Google Patent
2025-04-02
Google Patent
2025-02-08
2025-02-08
Company data provided by crunchbase