Quality Engineer

About the role

Persona AI is developing and commercializing rugged, multi-purpose humanoid robots that perform real work. Persona's founding team has a decades-long history in humanoid robotics, bionics, and product development delivering robust hardware that has touched the stars, worked miles below the surface of the ocean, roamed Disney Parks, and has even been featured on a US postage stamp. Our mission is focused squarely on shipping beautiful, reliable products at massive scale, while building a customer-focused team to achieve these aims.

Role Overview

We're looking for a Quality Engineer to join our manufacturing team and build the quality function at Persona AI from the ground up. You will report directly into the Head of Manufacturing and be responsible for defining what great looks like: stand up incoming inspection, establish supplier quality standards, drive ISO 9001 certification, and own the full field-to-factory-to-supplier quality chain. You'll work closely with our Head of Manufacturing and Supply Chain Lead, and your decisions will shape how Persona's robots get built and into production!

Responsibilities

• Incoming Inspection: Define, procure, and set up all inspection equipment. Establish processes to validate that every supplier is building to spec and create documentation systems to track compliance over time.
• Supplier Quality Management: Partner with the Supply Chain Lead to hold suppliers accountable. Own PPAP (Pre-Production Approval Process) to ensure consistent standards before any part enters full production. Lead root cause analysis (8D) when parts fail to meet spec and drive resolution back to the source.
• Field, Factory & Supplier Quality Chain: Investigate field failures using a field > factory > supplier framework - was it used wrong, built wrong, or sourced wrong? Collaborate with assembly to implement poka-yoke (mistake-proofing) so the right build is the only possible build.
• ISO 9001 Certification: Drive Persona toward ISO 9001 certification - document processes, manage document control and revision history, and prepare for independent audit. Own the annual re-certification process once established.
• Metrology & Measurement: Specify, procure, and maintain precision inspection equipment including calipers, micrometers, CMM machines, and other measurement tools. Ensure calibration accuracy and traceability across all equipment.
• Quality Documentation: Create and maintain detailed inspection reports, non-conformance documentation, supplier scorecards, and quality records that support audit readiness and continuous improvement.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Supply Chain, Assembly, and field operations teams across Houston and Pensacola. Expect meaningful travel (~40% initially) to supplier sites and field locations as the function matures.
• Factory Floor Standards: Establish metrics and visual management so anyone walking the floor understands build status at a glance. Partner with the process engineering function on factory layout and process design as the team scales.

Qualifications

• 10 + years in quality engineering or manufacturing quality in a hardware environment. Automotive (OEM or Tier 2/3 supplier), medical device, consumer electronics, robotics, or aerospace preferred.
• Hands-on experience or a strong interest in building quality infrastructure from scratch, not just maintaining or monitoring an inherited system.
• Deep familiarity with ISO 9001. You've been through a certification process as a key contributor or lead
• Strong PPAP and 8D root cause analysis experience
• Proficiency with metrology equipment: calipers, micrometers, height gauges, CMM machines
• Ability to read and interpret technical drawings, blueprints, and GD&T specifications
• Supplier quality management experience. You will need to be comfortable owning the relationship when things go wrong.
• Knowledge of statistical process control (SPC) and quality control methodologies
• Houston-based or willing to relocate; comfortable with ~40% travel, reducing as the function matures