About this role
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES THE WHY At Blackwave, we develop and manufacture Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels and carbon fiber structures for the space industry — hardware where failure is not an option. As we scale from one site in Germany to two with our new facility in Texas, quality can't be an afterthought or a paper exercise. We're looking for a Quality Manager who builds a pragmatic, ISO 9001-compliant Quality Management System from the ground up for our Texas site, keeps our German QMS sharp, and creates a quality culture that engineers, operators, and management actually live — not one that gathers dust in a document folder. THE WHAT • Own ISO 9001 at both sites: Maintain certification in Germany and establish it in Texas, preparing all audits — internal, certification, and customer — together with the teams so they're passed without major findings. Blackwave Code: High Performance • Build processes people actually use: Define and implement essential quality processes that are pragmatic and scalable enough for development, manufacturing, and management to apply confidently in daily work. Blackwave Code: Togetherness • Make performance visible: Give leadership clear, up-to-date visibility into company performance through meaningful KPIs and management reviews that drive decisions rather than just report numbers. Blackwave Code: Candor • Own risk end-to-end: Establish and actively maintain a company-wide risk management system covering organizational, process, and product risks — with clear ownership and follow-up on mitigations. Blackwave Code: Accountability • Digitize quality: Establish a digital QMS platform as the mandatory system of record, with quality documentation and workflows fully migrated and adopted across the organization. Blackwave Code: Playfulness YOUR PROFILE • 3–5+ years of experience in quality management within a manufacturing environment — you've stood on a shop floor, not just in an office • Degree in a technical field (e.g. aerospace or mechanical engineering) plus relevant further training in quality management • Hands-on ISO 9001 experience: you've managed audit cycles and can walk us through a process you set up yourself, end to end • Pragmatic quality mindset: you build processes for usage, not just for compliance — standards are an enabler, not bureaucracy • Builder mentality: you create structures from scratch rather than maintaining what's already there, and you see a bit of chaos as an opportunity • Strong ownership and communication at all levels — from C-level to operator • Fluent English is a must; German is a plus WHAT WE OFFER • Freedom to Create: Extensive decision-making freedom and short decision paths – we trust your expertise to lead your team. • Fresh Fuel Every Day: Shared lunch breaks with freshly prepared, varied meals to keep the team energized. • Coffee Culture @ Blackwave: Enjoy premium coffee from our portafilter machine or join one of our barista courses. • Choose Your Perk: Select from a Deutschland-Ticket, EGYM Wellpass, or a Give Card. • Gear up for Take-off: Receive premium Blackwave team apparel during your on boarding. • Grow in Aerospace: Expand your professional horizons in a high-growth company at the forefront of space technology. • Rooftop Relaxation: End your day on our spacious rooftop terrace with a panoramic view of the Alps. About us Blackwave designs, manufactures and ships flight-qualified, commercial off-the-shelf composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) for launch vehicles and satellites. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Munich, Germany, the company delivers COPVs from a standardized portfolio with flight heritage. The approach reduces lead time from months to days while ensuring that each tank is qualified and flight-ready. Blackwave's mission is to end COPV failure in spaceflight. The company employs more than 150 people across manufacturing facilities in Germany and Texas.More information at Blackwave.com and the procurement platform COPV.com .