VP of Mission Assurance & Quality (MA&Q)
E-Space· United States·
The VP, Mission Assurance & Quality (MA&Q) holds the independent oversight authority that ensures every spacecraft is safe, reliable, and qualified before it launches. This role is structurally independent of all other VP organizations - the authority to halt work, reject deliverables, and withhold qualification sign-off cannot be overridden by any VP. Only the CTO can override an MA&Q determination, and that override is documented with the MA&Q position on record regardless of outcome.
Independence is the defining feature of this role. MA&Q does not build hardware, does not own schedule, and does not report to any VP who does. This structural separation is deliberate - quality and safety decisions must never be compromised by production pressure, schedule urgency, or cost targets.
The VP, MA&Q must be willing to halt a production line, delay a gate review, or withhold qualification sign-off when the evidence demands it - and hold that position under pressure from peers and the CTO alike.