Lead, Quality Engineer- Automation 1
L3Harris · Camden, AR
- Level
- Manager
- Team
- Quality
- Base pay
- $102k–$189k
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 9+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- 25 days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A management quality role at L3Harris (aerospace & defense) in Camden, AR.
- They ask for
- 9+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- Lean, Six Sigma, SPC, FMEA, APQP, Control plans
- Base pay
- $102k–$189k
- Day to day
- some off-shift / weekend coverage
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of November 2, 2026
Quality Engineer roles in the US: typical posted base $95k–$135k. This one lists $102k–$189k.
Median of the low and high ends of 631 live postings that list pay, out of 1596 quality engineer openings in the US, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
Arkansas plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 13 other live quality postings in Arkansas.
- Experience asked
- More than usual (9+ vs 6+)
Similar roles usually ask 6+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- Root cause 64%
- ✓ FMEA 57%
- ✓ Lean 29%
- ✓ Six Sigma 29%
- ✓ SPC 29%
- Assembly lines 29%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for PLC, Robotics, Automation, New product launch, 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?
- How does off-shift and weekend coverage work?
- 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 Camden
17 other open roles at this site.
- Manufacturing Technician B · Manufacturing · Technician
- Manufacturing Technician C · Manufacturing · Technician
- Senior Specialist, Quality Engineer · Quality · Senior
- Engineering Technician (NDT) · Manufacturing
- Manager, Materials Process Engineer · Process · Manager
- Specialist, Manufacturing Engineer · Manufacturing
Full description from L3HarrisAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Essential Functions
- ◆Support quality activities for automation-related capacity expansion, industrialization, production ramp-up, and manufacturing transitions across the Propulsion Systems sector.
- ◆Partner with Manufacturing, Engineering, Operations, and Quality teams to ensure automated processes are capable, controlled, and ready for production.
- ◆Analyze process capability, stability, and failure modes using data-driven methods to improve process performance and robustness.
- ◆Develop and implement process controls, error-proofing, and improvement actions for automated manufacturing processes.
- ◆Apply and sustain SPC and other quality tools to maintain process performance and reduce variation.
- ◆Support APQP activities, PFMEA development, control plans, verification/validation, and production readiness efforts for new or modified automated processes.
- ◆Identify gaps in process capability, control, and reliability, and coordinate actions to address them.
- ◆Support quality documentation, configuration control, and First Article Inspection (FAI) execution for new or modified automated processes and equipment.
- ◆Partner with operators, engineers, and supervisors to improve process understanding, discipline, and ownership.
- ◆Provide automation process quality expertise to continuous improvement and cross-functional project teams.
- ◆Ensure compliance with AS9100, internal quality management system requirements, and customer-specific quality requirements.
- ◆Up to 25% business travel required
- ◆Ability to obtain a US Security Clearance.
Qualifications
- ✓Bachelor’s Degree and minimum 9 years of prior relevant Quality Engineering experience. Graduate Degree and a minimum of 7 years of prior related experience. In lieu of a degree, minimum of 13 years of prior related experience.
- ✓4+ years of experience in automated manufacturing environments.
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: Lead, Quality Engineering – Automation
Job Location: Camden, AR or Huntsville, AL, or Orange, VA
Job Schedule: 4/10: Employees work 10 hours per day, 4 days a week
Job Description
The Missile Solutions Segment of L3Harris Technologies is seeking an experienced Automation Quality Engineer to support industrial expansion readiness and strategic growth initiatives across the Propulsion Systems sector. This role will focus on automation-related quality engineering in support of capacity expansion, production ramp-up, manufacturing transitions, and advanced manufacturing implementation.
This position serves as a key interface between Quality, Manufacturing, Engineering, Operations, and site teams to ensure automated manufacturing processes are capable, controlled, and ready to support new and expanded operations. The role emphasizes improving process performance, reducing variation, and strengthening process controls to ensure quality is built into automated production systems.
The ideal candidate brings experience developing automated manufacturing environments, applying data-driven process improvement methods, and partnering across functions to improve process capability and readiness. This role requires strong quality engineering knowledge, manufacturing process understanding, and the ability to support cross-site and cross-program initiatives in a fast-paced defense manufacturing environment.
Preferred Additional Skills
- +Experience in automated manufacturing and inspection environments, preferably defense, aerospace, automotive, or similar industries.
- +Expertise in AI-assisted or otherwise automated inspection and defect detection systems.
- +Experience with automated manufacturing systems, such as PLC-controlled equipment, robotics, machine vision, automated assembly, or test systems.
- +Capable of working independently and dynamically with minimum oversight with multiple and/or changing priorities.
- +Demonstrated success supporting new product introduction or manufacturing scale-up efforts.
- +Familiarity with APQP and manufacturing risk management.
- +Knowledge of Six Sigma and LEAN manufacturing principles.
- +Proficient in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Power BI.