Mission Director Jobs
Mission Director jobs are open across nonprofit organizations, government agencies, international development, and healthcare systems, from program manager level to executive director, with specializations in program oversight, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement. See the openings below and apply to the ones that match your experience.
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Associate Director of Quality and Mission Assurance
Company: ESI Motion
Location: Simi Valley, CA (on-site)
Salary: $160,000 to $175,000 per year
Schedule: 9/80 work schedule
About ESI Motion
ESI is a technology leader in servo motor controller technology for extreme environments. We design and manufacture rugged, high-performance motor control products for space, military, industrial, aviation, robotics, automotive, and agricultural applications.
The Role
The Associate Director of Quality and Mission Assurance leads ESI’s growing Quality and Mission Assurance team in a high-technology aerospace manufacturing environment. This role owns day-to-day quality operations, leads certification activities, and ensures compliance with customer, regulatory, and industry requirements. It reports directly to the Sr. Director of Quality and Supply Chain and works closely with Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, and Program Management to drive continuous improvement across the organization.
Responsibilities
- Lead day-to-day operations of the Quality and Mission Assurance organization, including personnel, priorities, performance metrics, and resource planning.
- Mentor, coach, and develop quality personnel to strengthen technical capability and team effectiveness.
- Partner with the Sr. Director of Quality and Supply Chain to set departmental objectives, strategic initiatives, and long-term quality goals.
- Direct implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the Quality Management System (QMS) to AS9100 Rev D and applicable customer, regulatory, and statutory requirements. Identify emerging quality technologies and best practices to support growth.
- Manage the internal audit program and quality compliance activities.
- Serve as the primary quality representative for customers; host customer, regulatory, and third-party audits and assessments.
- Support supplier quality surveillance activities.
- Ensure corrective actions and risk mitigations are effectively implemented and verified.
- Lead Material Review Board (MRB) and failure investigations.
- Review customer contract requirements and develop quality compliance matrices to ensure proper flow-down throughout the organization.
- Assign a designated Quality Lead to program, design, manufacturing readiness, test readiness, and production gate reviews; serve in this role when appropriate.
- Develop, monitor, and report quality KPIs. Prepare and present Quality Management Review (QMR) data and recommendations to executive leadership.
- Develop and deliver training on quality systems, procedures, root cause corrective action, and regulatory compliance.
Qualifications
- 8+ years of progressive quality experience in aerospace, defense, space, or high-reliability manufacturing environments.
- 3+ years of formal leadership experience managing quality organizations.
- Strong working knowledge of AS9100 Rev D, corrective action systems, internal auditing, customer quality requirements, and mission assurance principles.
- Experience leading customer and third-party audits.
- Demonstrated experience driving continuous improvement initiatives and quality metrics.
- Strong leadership, communication, team-building, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
- U.S. Person required (ITAR).
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality Assurance, Quality Management, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Master’s degree preferred.
- ASQ certifications (CQE, CQA, CMQ/OE) preferred.
As part of the ESI Motion's commitment to this overall process as an Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) Employer, we will ensure all aspects of employment, including recruitment, selection, job assignment, training, compensation, benefits, discipline, promotion, transfer, layoff, and termination processes remain free of illegal discrimination based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, and protected veteran status. ESI Motion ensures all employment decisions are based only on valid job requirements.
Pay: $160,000.00 - $175,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
Associate Director of Quality and Mission Assurance
Company: ESI Motion
Location: Simi Valley, CA (on-site)
Salary: $160,000 to $175,000 per year
Schedule: 9/80 work schedule
About ESI Motion
ESI is a technology leader in servo motor controller technology for extreme environments. We design and manufacture rugged, high-performance motor control products for space, military, industrial, aviation, robotics, automotive, and agricultural applications.
The Role
The Associate Director of Quality and Mission Assurance leads ESI’s growing Quality and Mission Assurance team in a high-technology aerospace manufacturing environment. This role owns day-to-day quality operations, leads certification activities, and ensures compliance with customer, regulatory, and industry requirements. It reports directly to the Sr. Director of Quality and Supply Chain and works closely with Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, and Program Management to drive continuous improvement across the organization.
Responsibilities
- Lead day-to-day operations of the Quality and Mission Assurance organization, including personnel, priorities, performance metrics, and resource planning.
- Mentor, coach, and develop quality personnel to strengthen technical capability and team effectiveness.
- Partner with the Sr. Director of Quality and Supply Chain to set departmental objectives, strategic initiatives, and long-term quality goals.
- Direct implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the Quality Management System (QMS) to AS9100 Rev D and applicable customer, regulatory, and statutory requirements. Identify emerging quality technologies and best practices to support growth.
- Manage the internal audit program and quality compliance activities.
- Serve as the primary quality representative for customers; host customer, regulatory, and third-party audits and assessments.
- Support supplier quality surveillance activities.
- Ensure corrective actions and risk mitigations are effectively implemented and verified.
- Lead Material Review Board (MRB) and failure investigations.
- Review customer contract requirements and develop quality compliance matrices to ensure proper flow-down throughout the organization.
- Assign a designated Quality Lead to program, design, manufacturing readiness, test readiness, and production gate reviews; serve in this role when appropriate.
- Develop, monitor, and report quality KPIs. Prepare and present Quality Management Review (QMR) data and recommendations to executive leadership.
- Develop and deliver training on quality systems, procedures, root cause corrective action, and regulatory compliance.
Qualifications
- 8+ years of progressive quality experience in aerospace, defense, space, or high-reliability manufacturing environments.
- 3+ years of formal leadership experience managing quality organizations.
- Strong working knowledge of AS9100 Rev D, corrective action systems, internal auditing, customer quality requirements, and mission assurance principles.
- Experience leading customer and third-party audits.
- Demonstrated experience driving continuous improvement initiatives and quality metrics.
- Strong leadership, communication, team-building, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
- U.S. Person required (ITAR).
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality Assurance, Quality Management, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Master’s degree preferred.
- ASQ certifications (CQE, CQA, CMQ/OE) preferred.
As part of the ESI Motion's commitment to this overall process as an Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) Employer, we will ensure all aspects of employment, including recruitment, selection, job assignment, training, compensation, benefits, discipline, promotion, transfer, layoff, and termination processes remain free of illegal discrimination based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, and protected veteran status. ESI Motion ensures all employment decisions are based only on valid job requirements.
Pay: $160,000.00 - $175,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
Mission Director Jobs by Experience Level
See All 37 Mission Director Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Mission Director JobsMission Director Job Market
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Consulting & Professional Services
- Construction & Real Estate
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in mission director jobs.
- 7 or more years of program leadership or executive management experience
- Demonstrated ability to manage and report on multi-million-dollar program budgets
- Experience building and maintaining partnerships with government, funders, or community organizations
- Strong written and verbal communication skills for board and stakeholder reporting
- Bachelor's degree required, master's degree in public administration, nonprofit management, or related field preferred
- Proficiency with project management tools and performance measurement frameworks
Tips for Your Mission Director Job Search
Tailor your resume to mission alignment
Mission directors are evaluated on how well their leadership philosophy fits an organization's core purpose. Your resume should explicitly connect past program outcomes to the stated mission of each employer you target, not just list responsibilities.
Quantify program scale and community reach
Hiring committees for mission director roles want evidence of scope. Replace vague language with specifics about how many people your programs served, the size of teams you directed, and the budgets you managed across a given period.
Find openings through sector-specific boards
Generic job boards surface a fraction of mission director roles. Search nonprofit-focused job boards, government agency career portals, and international development networks to find postings that rarely appear on mainstream sites.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists mission director openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Prepare a theory of change narrative
Interviewers for mission director positions routinely ask you to articulate how your work produces lasting impact. Practice a clear, three-to-four sentence explanation of your approach to systems change before you walk into any panel or executive interview.
Negotiate scope before negotiating title
Mission director offers vary widely in actual authority. Before accepting, clarify whether you control hiring decisions, final program budgets, and board-level reporting. Title alone does not tell you what the role actually lets you do.
Mission Director Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most mission directors?
The most active employers for mission directors right now are Aldridge Electric, STO Building, and Henderson Engineers, and the most openings are in California, Arizona, and Pennsylvania, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Demand is especially consistent in organizations with complex, multi-site program operations.
How many mission director jobs are remote?
About 64% of mission director openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, though fully on-site positions remain common for roles that require direct community presence or board-level in-person engagement. Strategic planning, grants management, and policy-focused mission director roles tend to offer the most location flexibility.
How do you become a mission director?
Most mission directors build their path by first leading individual programs, then managing multiple programs or a department, and eventually taking on organization-wide or cross-site responsibility. Gaining direct experience with budget oversight, staff management, and funder relationships at each step is what moves candidates into director-level consideration. A graduate degree in a relevant field can accelerate the timeline but is rarely a strict prerequisite over demonstrated results.
How do you get hired as a mission director with limited experience?
Candidates with limited direct experience as a mission director can strengthen their applications by highlighting adjacent leadership roles, such as deputy director, program director, or senior manager positions where they held real decision-making authority. Framing your work around organizational impact rather than task completion, and showing measurable outcomes from programs you led, closes much of the experience gap in the eyes of hiring committees.
What does the mission director interview process look like?
Mission director interviews typically involve an initial screening with HR or a search committee, followed by a deeper panel interview with senior leadership, board members, or key stakeholders. Candidates are usually asked to present a vision statement or respond to a scenario about organizational challenges. Reference checks and a final conversation with executive leadership or a board chair are standard before an offer is extended.
Where can I find and apply to mission director jobs?
You can find and apply to mission director jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States in one place. Search for roles that fit your background and experience level, then apply directly to each listing that matches what you're looking for.
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