Senior Specialist Quality Engineer
L3Harris · Yorba Linda, CA
- Level
- Senior
- Team
- Quality
- Travel
- 25%
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 6+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A senior quality role at L3Harris (aerospace & defense) in Yorba Linda, CA. You will play a pivotal role in the Design & Development phases of electro-mechanical assemblies (primarily Radio Frequency (RF) Circuit Card Assemblies (CCA’s)), and the transition to outsourced production, ensuring successful implementation of Advanced.
- They ask for
- 6+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- Value stream mapping, Root cause, APQP, CAPA, ISO 9001, AS9100
- Day to day
- about 25% travel
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of November 2, 2026
Quality Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $100k–$153k.
Median of the low and high ends of 117 live postings that list pay, out of 227 quality engineer openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 226 other live quality postings in California.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (6+ vs 5+)
Typical $100k–$152k, from 114 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Root cause 75%
- FMEA 49%
- ✓ Supplier quality 44%
- Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 42%
- ✓ AS9100 41%
- ✓ ISO 9001 35%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for Value stream mapping, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Quality team at L3Harris
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Which standards drive the work here: ISO 13485, IATF 16949, AS9100?
- How much of the job is customer complaints versus prevention?
- The posting says about 25% travel. Between which sites?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: L3Harris in Yorba Linda
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Senior Specialist Quality Engineer at L3Harris in other locations
L3Harris lists this title in 4 places. Pick the plant you can get to.
Full description from L3HarrisAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Essential Functions
- ◆Quality Engineering Functions: Perform quality engineering functions for specific phases of projects and programs, developing plans, flow charts, inspection methods, procedures, and standards to ensure all products, data, or services meet specified quality requirements.
- ◆APQP Tools: Generate and deploy APQP tools to ensure manufacturability of internally produced designs.
- ◆Product Development Support: Support product development reviews within the supply base.
- ◆Coach on Quality Tools: Train and coach other functions inside the company on the value and utilization of quality tools, standards, and practices.
- ◆Problem Prevention and Correction: Utilize a sense of urgency to act to prevent or correct problems with products and post-delivery defects.
- ◆Supplier Quality Audits: Perform supplier quality audits, source inspections, and First Article Inspections in partnership with Supply Chain Management.
- ◆Customer Quality
Requirements
Interpret and flow down customer quality
requirements
to programs, engineering, manufacturing, and inspection via Program Quality
Requirements
(PQR).
- ✓Customer Interface: Interface effectively with customers to discuss and negotiate quality
requirements
and specifications.
- ✓Metrics and Process Improvement: Implement, interpret, and utilize metrics to drive process improvement projects. Analyze metrics and indicators to determine opportunities for improvement, focusing on early detection and prevention of nonconformance.
- ✓Cost Account Management: Effectively work as a cost account manager for the quality engineering elements of the program work breakdown structure.
- ✓Risk Management: Understand and apply risk management principles as an essential part of the quality engineering work scope.
- ✓Engineering and Manufacturing Review: Review engineering and manufacturing information on designs, specifications, and bills of materials to ensure products meet customer requirements.
- ✓CAPA Leadership: Lead teams and perform investigations to drive Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA) for nonconformance and actively participate in material review. Act as the Quality Subject Matter Expert (SME) on program and design teams.
Qualifications
- ✓Education: Bachelor’s degree in engineering and a minimum of 6 years of Quality Engineering experience.
- ✓Graduate degree and a minimum of 4 years of Quality Engineering experience.
- ✓10 years of Quality Engineering, Electrical, and Manufacturing Engineering experience in lieu of a degree.
- ✓Drawing Interpretation: 6 years or more experience in reading and interpreting electrical and mechanical drawings of complex nature.
- ✓Problem-Solving Tools: 6 years or more experience with problem-solving tools such as 8D, APQP, Value Stream Mapping, and CAPA.
- ✓Team Collaboration: 6 years or more experience working and communicating effectively in a team environment.
- ✓Dynamic Environment: 6 years or more experience working in a dynamic environment with multiple and changing priorities.
- ✓Citizenship: Must be a United States Citizen.
- ✓Travel: Ability to travel up to 25%.
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
L3Harris is dedicated to recruiting and developing high-performing talent who are passionate about what they do. Our employees are unified in a shared dedication to our customers’ mission and quest for professional growth. L3Harris provides an inclusive, engaging environment designed to empower employees and promote work-life success. Fundamental to our culture is an unwavering focus on values, dedication to our communities, and commitment to excellence in everything we do.
L3Harris is the Trusted Disruptor in defense tech. With customers’ mission-critical needs always in mind, our employees deliver end-to-end technology solutions connecting the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains in the interest of national security.
Job Title: Senior Specialist, Supplier/Program Quality Engineering
Job Number: 45522
Job Location: Yorba Linda, California
Job Schedule: 4/10: Employees work 10 hour days, 4 days a week
Job Description
As a Senior Specialist in Quality Engineering, you will play a pivotal role in the Design & Development phases of electro-mechanical assemblies (primarily Radio Frequency (RF) Circuit Card Assemblies (CCA’s)), and the transition to outsourced production, ensuring successful implementation of Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and Design for Manufacturability (DFM) tasks. Your contributions will be essential to the success of our team, extended program team, and the business.
In this role, you will engage in data-driven improvement and sustainment initiatives by designing, writing, implementing, evaluating, and revising quality assurance procedures, statistical sampling techniques, quality plans, inspection and testing techniques, and specifications. You will work independently and collaboratively to provide thorough and practical solutions to a wide range of electrical, software, and technical challenges.
Successful candidates will have experience utilizing APQP techniques along with various other quality engineering tools. You will drive impactful improvements in supplier performance/development, lead the issuance of Supplier Corrective Actions, and support supplier root cause investigations to identify effective corrective actions that address material and service defects, non-conformances, and compliance gaps. Your role will involve close interaction with Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Program Management, and Engineering personnel to ensure high-quality deliveries from our supply base.
Preferred Additional Skills
- +Design & Development: Advanced Product Quality Planning and Design for Manufacturability.
- +Industry Experience: Aerospace or Defense Manufacturing experience.
- +Quality Standards: Working familiarity with AS9100, ISO9001, AS9145, AS9102, J-STD Workmanship, ANSI J-Standards (Class 3), IPC Workmanship Standards (Class 3), Jira, and TipQA quality software.
- +Certification: ASQ® Certif