QA Manager

Doodle Labs is a fast-growing technology company building high-performance wireless communications for the drone and unmanned systems ecosystem. Our technology enables reliable, high-bandwidth connectivity across airborne and mobile robotic platforms operating in complex environments.

We partner directly with leading drone OEMs, robotics companies, and defence organizations to deliver advanced networking solutions that power the next generation of autonomous systems. Our mission is to make connectivity for autonomous machines as reliable and ubiquitous as the internet itself.

Doodle Labs is scaling rapidly across the US and Singapore, and our products power mission-critical systems in unmanned platforms and tactical networks worldwide. As we grow, quality must evolve from reactive control to strategic enablement.

Reporting to the VP of Engineering, the QA Manager will architect, implement, and scale a company-wide Quality Management System (QMS) that enables rapid growth without compromising reliability, compliance, or customer trust. The scope spans hardware, software, contract manufacturing (CM), new product introduction (NPI), and customer support.

Working closely with executive leadership and engineering, this role builds and leads a high-performance QA team, reduces customer RMAs and field quality escapes, establishes software quality and release governance, and makes quality an enabler – not a bottleneck.

• Within 30 days, conduct a full audit of current QA practices across HW, SW, CM, NPI, and customer support.
• Within 60 days, deliver a documented QA strategy aligned with executive leadership, defining governance, KPIs, and process ownership.
• Within 90 days, implement the core QMS framework including documented procedures, audit cadence, escalation protocols, and measurable quality metrics.

Success Measure: Executive-approved QA roadmap implemented and operational across SG and US teams.

• Assess capabilities of current QA personnel within 45 days.
• Redefine roles and responsibilities to support strategic QA ownership.
• Establish clear KPIs for each QA team member tied to defect reduction, audit readiness, and process compliance.
• Develop hiring plan if required to close capability gaps.

Success Measure: QA team operating with defined ownership, weekly reporting cadence, and measurable performance improvements.

• Analyse historical RMAs and identify root-cause trends.
• Implement a structured CAPA process and cross-functional corrective action workflows.
• Establish CM quality oversight processes and measurable acceptance criteria.
• Implement a failure analysis reporting loop into Engineering and NPI.

Success Measure: Measurable reduction in RMA rate, improved first-pass yield at CM, and reduced defect escape rate to customers.

• Implement a structured software QA process integrated into the SDLC.
• Introduce release gates and quality metrics for firmware and system releases.
• Ensure cybersecurity and compliance considerations are embedded in QA reviews.

Success Measure: Formalised release approval framework and reduced post-release defect leakage.

• Partner with HW, SW, NPI, Sales, and Customer Support teams to embed quality early in design.
• Ensure QA accelerates issue resolution rather than delaying delivery.
• Present weekly and monthly quality dashboards to executive leadership.

Success Measure: Quality viewed by leadership and engineering as a strategic partner.

• Proven experience leading quality assurance for electronic hardware and embedded software/firmware products, ideally in robotics, defense, aerospace, telecommunications, or other high-reliability industries.
• Track record of building or scaling a Quality Management System, including procedures, internal audits, and quality KPIs.
• Experience leading and developing QA teams – defining roles, setting KPIs, and driving accountability.
• Skilled in structured problem-solving and CAPA: 8D, 5-Why, fishbone, FMEA, and RMA/failure analysis.
• Experience overseeing contract manufacturers: CM quality audits, acceptance criteria, first-pass yield, and outgoing quality.
• Familiarity with software QA within the SDLC, release gating, and firmware quality metrics, with awareness of cybersecurity and compliance considerations.
• Strong communicator who is comfortable presenting quality dashboards and recommendations to executive leadership.
• A collaborative partner who works effectively across HW, SW, NPI, Sales, and Customer Support, and across Singapore and US teams.

Occasional travel to contract manufacturer sites as required.