Quality Control Technician

Company Overview

Metrea delivers effects-as-a-service to national security partners across five domains and more than a dozen mission areas. These include airborne ISR, electronic warfare, secure communications, aerial refueling, special air missions, aerial firefighting, and advanced simulation. We own the whole stack: designing, building, and operating turnkey capabilities that give our partners decisive, asymmetric advantage against rapidly evolving threats.

Our operating model is built around three interlocking pillars. The Support Groups provide a global shared-service – spanning people, finance, platform, operations, legal, and engagement. This frees up our Core Groups, who develop and own mission capabilities end-to-end, to focus entirely on delivery. The Market Groups apply a regional lens, ensuring that our agile and adaptable capabilities remain aligned to the wicked problems that matter most to our partners across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific.

At the heart of our model is a simple but powerful idea: be a true partner with skin in the game. Our partners need effects, not just equipment. By owning the full stack – from the lab to the field – we are able to drive a continuous cycle of innovation that keeps our partners ahead. It's a fast-moving, intellectually demanding environment where talented people are given real responsibility, work on problems that matter, and contribute to an enterprise that is growing quickly and deliberately.

Headquartered in Washington, DC, with facilities across the United States, the United Kingdom, as well as Continental Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Group Overview

Electromagnetic and Cyber Group (EM&C) is responsible for developing flexible and survivable advanced electronic warfare and secure communications equipment while providing the industry’s leading signals intelligence, electronic warfare, and cyber experts. Metrea specializes in signal classification, direction finding, advanced geolocation techniques, and waveform development including waveforms for MANET and LPI/LPD applications. Metrea also develops special purpose radios for government customers and licenses DF and geolocation solutions to multiple OEMs.

Position Summary

Reporting to the SHADOWLAB Product Integrity Lead, Electromagnetics and Cyber Group (EM&C), and supporting Metrea’s overall engineering efforts, the Quality Control (QC) Technician will join our busy team specializing in state-of-the-art military communications and signals intelligence products. All our teams operate in a small agile environment which allows our engineering personnel to work independently on a wide variety of systems and products. Our mix of product development and R&D also provides our engineering staff with a constant flow of new and interesting projects.

What You'll Do

• •Incoming, In-Process, and Final Inspection
• Inspect purchased components, fabricated parts, cable assemblies, PCBs, mechanical assemblies, and finished products against drawings, specifications, BOMs, work instructions, and acceptance criteria.

• •Measurement & Test Equipment Operation
• Use appropriate inspection equipment such as calipers, micrometers, height gauges, torque tools, pin/thread gauges, optical inspection equipment, multimeters, and other test equipment to verify product conformity. Support test equipment tracking, inventory management, and calibration scheduling.

• •Quality Documentation & Traceability
• Accurately document inspection results, serial/lot information, acceptance records, inspection reports, and objective evidence within the QMS/MES/ERP or other controlled systems. Provide timely reporting of results to the Product Integrity Lead.

• •Nonconformance Identification & Control
• Identify and document nonconforming material, segregate or quarantine affected product, initiate NCRs/nonconformance records, and support disposition through the MRB process. Provide timely reporting of nonconformities to the Product Integrity Lead.

• •Manufacturing & Engineering Support
• Work directly with technicians, assemblers, manufacturing engineers, and design engineers to resolve workmanship, drawing, process, or inspection issues without independently changing engineering requirements.

• •Quality System & Process Compliance
• Follow controlled procedures, inspection plans, work instructions, calibration requirements, ESD/FOD controls, workmanship standards, configuration controls, and applicable quality-system requirements. Assist in administering QC technical standards and annual facility compliance training.

• •Production Support
• Assist with production assembly to meet fluctuating operational needs.

What You Bring

Skills and Experience - Associate QC Technician

0–2 years of manufacturing, inspection, assembly, electronics, machining, or similar technical experience

Ability to read basic engineering drawings, BOMs, work instructions, and inspection criteria

Basic proficiency with calipers, micrometers, gauges, multimeters, and/or visual inspection equipment

Basic understanding of ESD, FOD, workmanship, traceability, and documentation discipline

Ability to accurately record inspection results and recognize obvious nonconformances

Expected autonomy: Follow the inspection plan correctly and know when to stop and ask.

Skills and Experience - QC Technician

2–4 years of relevant quality/manufacturing experience

Proficient reading mechanical drawings, tolerances, notes, specifications, and assembly documentation

Independent use of common dimensional and electrical inspection equipment

Working knowledge of NCRs, calibration status, material traceability, configuration control, and acceptance records

Familiarity with applicable workmanship standards such as IPC or equivalent industry standards

Expected autonomy: Can independently determine whether routine hardware conforms to established requirements.

Skills and Experience – Senior QC Technician

4–7 years of relevant inspection/manufacturing experience.

Advanced blueprint interpretation, including GD&T fundamentals and complex tolerance evaluation

Experience inspecting electromechanical assemblies, cable harnesses, PCBs, precision mechanical parts, or similar complex hardware

Strong understanding of NCR/MRB processes, first-article inspection, inspection planning, and measurement-system limitations

Ability to troubleshoot ambiguous inspection results and mentor Level I–II technicians

Expected autonomy: Can determine conformity on complex hardware and recognize when the requirement—not just the part—needs engineering clarification.

Skills and Experience – Principal QC Technician

7–10+ years of progressive quality/manufacturing experience.

Advanced knowledge of GD&T, measurement techniques, workmanship standards, inspection planning, and product acceptance

Experience supporting FAI, MRB, root-cause investigations, PFMEA/control plans, process validation, and production readiness activities

Ability to develop or improve inspection methods, inspection instructions, checklists, and acceptance criteria from engineering requirements

Demonstrated ability to train inspectors and manufacturing personnel and coordinate quality activities across multiple programs

Expected autonomy: Can determine how something should be inspected and ensure the inspection process itself is technically sound.

Skills and Experience – Senior Principal QC Technician / QC Technical Lead

10+ years of progressively responsible quality/manufacturing experience with significant complex hardware inspection experience

Expert understanding of dimensional inspection, GD&T, workmanship, metrology, measurement uncertainty, inspection planning, and acceptance methodology

Extensive experience with MRB, FAI, production qualification, control plans, PFMEA, configuration management, and corrective-action investigations

Ability to establish inspection strategies fo