Urban Sky
Head of Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance
Urban Sky, Denver, Colorado, United States, 80285
Head of Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance
Join to apply for the
Head of Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance
role at
Urban Sky .
Base pay range $100,000.00/yr - $155,000.00/yr
About Urban Sky Urban Sky is a venture‑backed aerospace startup that pioneers the utilization of the stratosphere and reimagines the way humans view and analyze the earth. We design, build, operate, and sell stratospheric balloon systems, and the data we collect supports a wide range of applications, from real‑time wildfire monitoring to urban mapping. Our technology is employed by government customers including the Department of Defense, NASA, and others. Urban Sky sends flight vehicles to the stratosphere on a weekly basis.
Our team consists of engineers, makers, developers, and doers who believe in the power of human potential when passion meets utility within a small, supportive team. At Urban Sky we strive to create a culture grounded in candor, inclusion, respect and empowerment.
About The Role Urban Sky is currently seeking a leader in safety, quality, and mission assurance to join our team in Denver, CO. This position will be responsible for fostering a collaborative culture of safety and quality, aimed at enhancing the overall safety, reliability, and mission success of Urban Sky’s stratospheric systems across the organization. The successful candidate will collaborate with product management, manufacturing, design, and operations to lead the development of processes, systems, and strategies that improve the safety and reliability of our balloons, payloads, avionics, firmware, and software.
Key Responsibilities
Develop and implement Quality Management Systems: Design, implement, and maintain quality management systems aligning with industry standards to ensure product quality and compliance.
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).
Management of Training Protocols: Develop training for staff on quality standards, best practices, and quality tools.
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 related documentation.
Safety & Mission Assurance: Lead safety reviews prior to stratospheric flights, evaluate mission successes and failures, and incorporate lessons learned from ground and flight tests into future missions.
Develop and Lead Mission Assurance Strategy: Define and implement a mission assurance program aligned with internal performance requirements and external regulatory/contractual obligations.
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.
Qualifications
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality Management, or equivalent experience.
Industry experience: 5–10+ years in safety, quality, or quality assurance roles, with increasing responsibilities including management.
Communication skills: Ability to lead communication regarding safety and quality cross‑functionally, coordinating between company leadership, product management, engineering, flight operations, and manufacturing.
Project management: Ability to lead quality and safety‑related projects, coordinate cross‑functional resources, track progress, and meet deadlines in a fast‑paced environment.
Analytical skills: Ability to analyze data and generate reports on quality performance.
Nice‑to‑Haves / Preferred Skills
Experience leading Safety & Mission Assurance activities for high‑consequence systems or missions.
Demonstrated ability to apply lessons learned from flight tests and operational feedback into engineering and procedural improvements.
Statistical tools: Proficiency with tools such as Minitab for statistical analysis of quality data.
Industry Standard Familiarity: Experience with quality management systems following ISO 9001, AS9100, or similar.
Capable of maintaining meticulous documentation of inspections, test results, risk assessments, safety reviews, and quality system records.
Requirements
Must be US Citizen or Permanent Resident.
Must be located near Denver, CO and must work at the company’s Denver office.
Willing to consider relocation.
Salary $100,000 - $155,000 per year (per Colorado law).
Stock Options.
Medical, Vision, and Dental benefits.
Unlimited Vacation Days.
Maternity/Paternity Leave.
Urban Sky is required to post this salary range per Colorado law. Your salary will be determined based on your abilities and experience.
We expect all team members to actively leverage and continuously adapt to emerging AI tools as a core part of their daily workflow. Proficiency with job‑relevant modern AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, GitHub Copilot) is expected and integral to success in this role.
NOTE Research suggests that women and BIPOC individuals may self‑select out of opportunities if they don’t meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who believes that they have the skills and the passion necessary to succeed here to apply for this role.
Urban Sky is an equal opportunity employer, and we value diversity. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.
Seniority Level Executive
Employment Type Full‑time
Job Function Quality Assurance
Industry Aviation and Aerospace Component Manufacturing
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Head of Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance
role at
Urban Sky .
Base pay range $100,000.00/yr - $155,000.00/yr
About Urban Sky Urban Sky is a venture‑backed aerospace startup that pioneers the utilization of the stratosphere and reimagines the way humans view and analyze the earth. We design, build, operate, and sell stratospheric balloon systems, and the data we collect supports a wide range of applications, from real‑time wildfire monitoring to urban mapping. Our technology is employed by government customers including the Department of Defense, NASA, and others. Urban Sky sends flight vehicles to the stratosphere on a weekly basis.
Our team consists of engineers, makers, developers, and doers who believe in the power of human potential when passion meets utility within a small, supportive team. At Urban Sky we strive to create a culture grounded in candor, inclusion, respect and empowerment.
About The Role Urban Sky is currently seeking a leader in safety, quality, and mission assurance to join our team in Denver, CO. This position will be responsible for fostering a collaborative culture of safety and quality, aimed at enhancing the overall safety, reliability, and mission success of Urban Sky’s stratospheric systems across the organization. The successful candidate will collaborate with product management, manufacturing, design, and operations to lead the development of processes, systems, and strategies that improve the safety and reliability of our balloons, payloads, avionics, firmware, and software.
Key Responsibilities
Develop and implement Quality Management Systems: Design, implement, and maintain quality management systems aligning with industry standards to ensure product quality and compliance.
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).
Management of Training Protocols: Develop training for staff on quality standards, best practices, and quality tools.
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 related documentation.
Safety & Mission Assurance: Lead safety reviews prior to stratospheric flights, evaluate mission successes and failures, and incorporate lessons learned from ground and flight tests into future missions.
Develop and Lead Mission Assurance Strategy: Define and implement a mission assurance program aligned with internal performance requirements and external regulatory/contractual obligations.
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.
Qualifications
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality Management, or equivalent experience.
Industry experience: 5–10+ years in safety, quality, or quality assurance roles, with increasing responsibilities including management.
Communication skills: Ability to lead communication regarding safety and quality cross‑functionally, coordinating between company leadership, product management, engineering, flight operations, and manufacturing.
Project management: Ability to lead quality and safety‑related projects, coordinate cross‑functional resources, track progress, and meet deadlines in a fast‑paced environment.
Analytical skills: Ability to analyze data and generate reports on quality performance.
Nice‑to‑Haves / Preferred Skills
Experience leading Safety & Mission Assurance activities for high‑consequence systems or missions.
Demonstrated ability to apply lessons learned from flight tests and operational feedback into engineering and procedural improvements.
Statistical tools: Proficiency with tools such as Minitab for statistical analysis of quality data.
Industry Standard Familiarity: Experience with quality management systems following ISO 9001, AS9100, or similar.
Capable of maintaining meticulous documentation of inspections, test results, risk assessments, safety reviews, and quality system records.
Requirements
Must be US Citizen or Permanent Resident.
Must be located near Denver, CO and must work at the company’s Denver office.
Willing to consider relocation.
Salary $100,000 - $155,000 per year (per Colorado law).
Stock Options.
Medical, Vision, and Dental benefits.
Unlimited Vacation Days.
Maternity/Paternity Leave.
Urban Sky is required to post this salary range per Colorado law. Your salary will be determined based on your abilities and experience.
We expect all team members to actively leverage and continuously adapt to emerging AI tools as a core part of their daily workflow. Proficiency with job‑relevant modern AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, GitHub Copilot) is expected and integral to success in this role.
NOTE Research suggests that women and BIPOC individuals may self‑select out of opportunities if they don’t meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who believes that they have the skills and the passion necessary to succeed here to apply for this role.
Urban Sky is an equal opportunity employer, and we value diversity. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.
Seniority Level Executive
Employment Type Full‑time
Job Function Quality Assurance
Industry Aviation and Aerospace Component Manufacturing
#J-18808-Ljbffr