Lead Quality Assurance Specialist (Aerospace) (Direct Hire)

Lead Quality Assurance Specialist (Aerospace) (Direct Hire)

Department: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Location(s): Stennis Space Center, Mississippi

Salary Range: $89508 - $116362 Per Year

Job Summary: Serves as Lead Quality Assurance (QA)/safety specialist for fabrication, assembly, and operation of propulsion test facility support systems. Provides guidance on QA/safety procedures; coordinates and conducts inspections and audits for compliance; monitors materials, calibration, nonconformances, and trends affecting test readiness; identifies hazards and implements required controls, conducts root cause analysis, develops corrective actions, and provides safety guidance to the workforce.

Major Duties:

• Provides leadership and guidance for quality assurance specialists, performing safety and quality functions associated with system testing, institutional facilities, and related systems.
• Coordinates, plans, schedules and implements safety and quality assurance resources to fulfill the required level of assurance deemed necessary for various test projects and institutional facilities.
• Conducts inspections and audits of products and processes for conformance to specifications and detects processing and technical documentation deficiencies and recommends corrective actions.
• Verifies product quality using sampling inspection or, when appropriate to the characteristics involved or pertinent quality history, more intensive product inspection techniques.
• Reviews work instructions and technical data to identify characteristics critical to product acceptability; analyzes quality data to detect unsatisfactory trends or conditions and weaknesses in the quality system.
• Leads routine inspection and investigative work in enforcing occupational safety and health laws; applies technical knowledge of the trades and crafts, or general safety practices.
• Conducts safety meetings with workers to give or reinforce training in safe work methods, and standard accident prevention techniques.
• Reports on unsafe conditions and work practices.
• Leads investigations of deficiencies, accidents, or close calls by collecting data and identifying apparent causes.
• Leads or oversees root cause analyses and corrective action efforts for nonconformances or mishaps.

Qualifications: Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work. To qualify for GS-12, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level: Applying Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements and safety engineering principles to identify hazards and perform systems safety analyses; Providing leadership or technical guidance to resolve quality or safety issues found during production, fabrication, inspection, or testing; Monitoring materials, equipment, and work processes for conformance to requirements; Monitoring, controlling, or improving products or service quality in accordance with quality assurance methods or techniques. Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience. Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job. NASA prohibits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted tool in drafting application and assessment responses. Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of AI tools during the application process.

How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application and have all required information available. We encourage you to provide a complete description of your educational achievements and include both paid and non-paid work in the experience portion of your resume. If you submit a resume that does not contain the required information, you may lose consideration. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: To begin the application process, you will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application process. Once logged in to your account, click on the "Apply" link. Follow the prompts to select your resume (2 pages or fewer) and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. Resumes longer than 2 pages will be rejected by the system. Resumes submitted via other document types will not be forwarded to the hiring manager, nor will they be used in the review of your qualifications. We strongly encourage you to utilize the USAJOBS resume builder when creating your resume. Using the resume builder will help you ensure your resume includes important information related to your qualifications and eligibility for this position. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. During the application process you can review, edit, delete and update your information. We'll automatically save your progress as you go, so you won't lose any changes. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the 'Include Personal Information' section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the vacancy questionnaire which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify all required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. NASA's online application process provides step by step guidance to ensure you provide all needed information. If you are unable to apply online, please contact NSSC-STAFFING@MAIL.NASA.GOV for assistance. Be advised - application materials faxed, emailed, and/or mailed to Stennis Space Center will not be accepted for this announcement. NASA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you are an applicant with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency contact center listed on the job vacancy announcement. The decision on granting reasonable accommodations will be on a case-by-case basis.

Application Deadline: 2026-05-05