Lead quality at the highest level. AET is seeking a strategic, enterprise-minded Director of Quality to shape and advance our Quality Management System across the organization. This is an opportunity to influence how quality is embedded in our operations, strengthen compliance and risk management, and help drive consistent, high-quality outcomes for our clients and teams. Based in St. Paul and reporting to the COO, this role is ideal for a leader who can connect big-picture strategy with practical execution across a complex, technical business.
Why Join AET?
At AET, we work together to build a more certain world through critical investigations, testing, analysis, and design. As a 100% employee-owned company headquartered in St. Paul, we combine technical expertise, long-term client relationships, and a collaborative culture to deliver trusted solutions across geotechnical, construction services, pavements, environmental, building technology, laboratories, and other specialized disciplines. In this role, you will help elevate enterprise quality standards in a company where safety, quality, communication, and continuous improvement matter.
What You’ll Do
- Establish and lead AET’s enterprise quality strategy, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and regulatory requirements.
- Act as the senior authority on quality across AET, influencing operational standards and client outcomes.
- Provide regular reporting to senior leadership on QMS performance, risks, and improvement opportunities.
- Drive cross-functional alignment and consistency in quality execution across regions and service lines.
- Champion innovation in quality systems, reporting, and tools to enhance efficiency and client satisfaction.
- Oversee the design, maintenance, and effectiveness of the enterprise QMS, including policies, procedures, work instructions and forms.
- Ensure QMS documentation is controlled, current, and aligned with governing standards.
- Promote a company-wide culture of quality, reinforcing accountability and performance improvement at all levels.
- Serve as the executive liaison for external audits, accreditation bodies, and client quality requirements.
- Lead internal audit programs to evaluate adequacy, implementation, and effectiveness of the QMS.
- Oversee nonconforming work processes, including escalation, evaluation, and resolution of quality issues.
- Ensure corrective actions are implemented, monitored, and verified for effectiveness using structured methodologies. Partner with operations, engineering, laboratory and field teams to integrate quality standards into all phases of project delivery.
- Oversee investigation and resolution of internal and external quality-related complaints, ensuring timely and documented responses.
- Define and lead enterprise quality training strategy, ensuring all employees receive required QMS training and updates.
- Partner with HR and Operations to ensure role-based competency requirements are defined, assessed, and maintained.
- Analyze trends in quality performance, customer feedback, and risk to drive data-informed improvements.
- Provide leadership and direction to quality teams, including workforce planning, development, and succession strategies.
- Advise executive leadership on quality risks, opportunities, and strategic initiatives.
Supervisory Responsibility
Provide leadership to enterprise quality personnel and the Quality Committee, including quality representatives across practices and services lines. Responsible for team development, performance management, and succession planning.
Qualifications and Education Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or related field (advanced degree preferred).
- 10+ years of progressive experience in quality assurance/quality control within engineering, construction materials testing, or infrastructure services.
- Demonstrated experience leading enterprise QA/QC or QMS programs.
- Strong knowledge of ISO, AASHTO, and relevant regulatory standards.
- Proven leadership experience managing multi-disciplinary teams.
Preferred Skills and Experience
- Strategic leadership and executive communication
- Quality systems and regulatory expertise
- Continuous improvement and data-driven decision-making
- Cross-functional collaboration and change management
- Client-focused problem solving
Pay Transparency
Base compensation is expected to be in the range of $125,000 - $160,000 annually based on skill set and experience. AET offers a comprehensive salary and benefits package, including year-end incentive bonus, health benefits, insurance, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), long term savings, paid time off, and professional development opportunities. The selected candidate must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. without requiring visa sponsorship now or in the future.
Work Environment
This job primarily operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, and filing cabinets. This position will occasionally be required to operate in a field environment.
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; use hands or fingers, handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to sit; climb or balance, and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
AAP/EEO Statement
It is the policy of AET to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.
Other Duties
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Reasonable accommodations or workable solutions may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
