What Does a Quality Systems Engineer Do? Quality in the Defence Industry

The short answer to what does a quality systems engineer do is this: they build, run and improve the system that proves a product was made to specification at every step, from drawing to delivery. In defence, supplier approval, audit findings and delivery acceptance all pass across this engineer's desk.

Three terms are often mixed up:

• Quality control measures and inspects the product: incoming, in-process and final inspection.
• Quality assurance defines and monitors the processes that stop defects from happening.
• Quality systems engineering brings both together in one management system and owns documentation, audits, supplier approval and continuous improvement.

In most small and medium-sized defence companies one person wears all three hats.

In defence the customer is a prime contractor or system integrator, and it audits quality before the contract is signed, during supplier approval. Four things make the difference:

1. 1.The chain of standards: the prime's requirements, ISO 9001 and the defence standards layered on top flow down to the supplier and again to its sub-suppliers.
2. 2.Traceability: which lot used which material, operator and test equipment may be asked years later; records must be findable, not just kept.
3. 3.Qualification and test evidence: the test report, revision and test list behind a "MIL-STD compliant" line are requested at acceptance. We listed the questions to ask in our MIL-STD-461 and MIL-STD-810 guide.
4. 4.Configuration control: the product shipped must match the configuration tested. A connector or board revision changed after the test can invalidate the evidence.

Management system and documentation

They write procedures, work instructions, forms, quality plans and process documents, and control their revisions. They report process performance indicators to management review.

Audits

They plan and run internal audits, prepare the company for certification body and customer audits, represent it during the audit, report findings and follow closing actions. In a prime contractor audit the auditor samples project records, test equipment calibration and material traceability, not just the system.

Incoming, in-process and final inspection

They carry out or arrange incoming inspection of purchased material and record the accept or reject decision. For electronic boards, cable assemblies, mechanical parts and electromechanical products they define in-process control points. They verify that the finished product conforms to the drawing, the bill of materials (BOM) and the specification, and perform or coordinate the final functional test.

Nonconformance and corrective action

They identify and quarantine nonconforming product, run root cause analysis with 8D, 5 Whys or the fishbone diagram, open the corrective and preventive action (CAPA) record and close it once the action is proven effective.

Supplier quality and customer approval

They evaluate the company's own suppliers, keep the approved supplier list current and run supplier development. The company must also remain an approved supplier to its customers: supplier questionnaires, qualification files and customer audits are produced by this engineer. In Türkiye this includes EYDEP (the Industrial Competence Assessment and Support Programme) registration and updates, together with facility security documentation.

None is sufficient alone; the prime's contract quality clauses are read afresh on every project, as we showed from the product side in how to specify a military PDU.

In a company building defence electronics the typical flow is:

1. 1.Drawing and BOM: quality writes into the quality plan which characteristics are critical and where they will be checked.
2. 2.Incoming inspection: components, connectors, cables and mechanical parts are accepted on certificates, lot numbers and sampling inspection.
3. 3.In-process control: defined control points are run at board, cable and mechanical assembly.
4. 4.Final functional test: run to the test procedure, results recorded against the serial number.
5. 5.First article inspection (FAI) and factory acceptance test (FAT): the first series unit is verified in every dimension and function; the customer may witness acceptance.
6. 6.Delivery documents: the certificate of conformance (CoC), test reports and traceability records travel with the shipment.

The test leg is shared with engineering; at TEDEG, test and validation work is carried out with traceable engineering records. The datasheet itself is one of the engineer's most concrete tools: the PDU-RT5002 military power distribution unit datasheet lists the CE102, CS101, CS114, CS115, CS116, RE102 and RS103 tests under MIL-STD-461F and 11 methods under MIL-STD-810G, and the SENTRA KBM camera power module defines its MIL-STD-461G test list and MIL-STD-810G CHG-1 methods. In a customer audit each line is matched to a test report and the configuration tested; the engineer must find that record within minutes. The same holds across our vehicle electronics products.

• Education: a bachelor's degree in industrial, mechanical, electrical and electronics or a related engineering discipline; there is no separate quality systems degree.
• Technical literacy: reading drawings, basic measuring equipment, acceptance criteria for boards and cable assemblies.
• Methods: internal auditor training, root cause tools such as 8D and 5 Whys, statistical thinking.
• Writing: procedures, work instructions and audit reports; in defence the customer reads what you write.
• Tools and language: ERP systems, MS Office, and English good enough to read standards and customer documents.
• Security clearance: nothing should prevent the candidate from obtaining a personnel security clearance.

The typical path runs from quality control technician or graduate quality management system specialist to quality engineer, then quality systems engineer and quality manager; at each step the work shifts from measuring products to managing the system.

TEDEG Defence is a manufacturer of military power electronics, vehicle electronics and tactical systems founded in Ankara in 2023. Our quality management system is structured to ISO 9001; we hold an EYDEP registration and are a member of the SAHA Istanbul cluster. Our processes are described on the Certifications & Quality page. The quality team currently has two open positions: Quality Engineer for experienced candidates and a development-focused Quality Management System Specialist for graduates. In both, AS9100 and AQAP-2110 knowledge is preferred, not required.

What is the difference between a quality systems engineer and a quality control engineer?

A quality control engineer measures and inspects the product; a quality systems engineer builds and audits the management system that decides which rule, how often and with which record those measurements are made.

Which degree do you need to become a quality systems engineer?

Usually industrial, mechanical or electrical and electronics engineering; drawing literacy, knowledge of methods and clear writing matter more than the exact degree.

Do you need to know AS9100 to work in defence quality?

Not to start; an ISO 9001 foundation is enough. You meet AS9100 and AQAP-2110 quickly in a prime contractor's supply chain, so adverts list them as preferred.

Is a security clearance needed for defence quality engineering?

Working on classified projects requires a personnel security clearance. Job adverts phrase this as "no impediment to obtaining a clearance".

The quality systems engineer owns the records and process discipline that prove a defence product conforms to its specification. The working day is spent between documentation, audits, three-stage inspection, root cause analysis and supplier approval. Engineers and technicians who want to work in this field can review our open positions; for questions about our quality processes, reach us through the contact page.