When I founded North Valley Precision, I knew we were entering a space that demanded excellence—not just in product delivery, but in the way we approach quality at every step. In high-stakes industries like defense contracting, quality isn’t just a checkbox. It’s the foundation for trust, longevity, and growth. Over the years, I’ve learned that scaling a quality assurance (QA) team in this environment requires more than just hiring good people. It takes vision, systems, culture, and the willingness to adapt quickly as the company evolves.
Starting Small, Thinking Big
Like most companies, we started small. A handful of people, a tight budget, and big dreams. At first, our QA efforts were baked into everyone’s job. We all wore multiple hats—one minute reviewing inspection data, the next setting up equipment. It worked for a while, but as we started landing more contracts and expanding our capabilities, I realized that we couldn’t keep scaling without a dedicated, structured approach to quality.
That’s when we made the decision to build out a formal QA team. Not just to check boxes for compliance, but to build a long-term system that would hold up under the scrutiny of government audits, tight tolerances, and high customer expectations. Quality had to become part of our DNA.
Hiring for More Than Skill
When we started expanding the QA team, I looked for more than just experience or certifications. I wanted people who believed in the mission. People who understand that in industries like defense or aerospace, someone’s safety—and sometimes even national security—depends on the precision of our work.
You can teach someone how to read a print or interpret a spec. What’s harder to teach is ownership. I’ve found that the best QA professionals are the ones who take it personally when something isn’t right. They don’t just flag a defect—they trace it back to the root cause and push the team to prevent it from happening again.
That mindset is something we actively screen for in our hiring process. It’s not just about what you know, it’s how you think.
Building Systems That Scale
As we grew from a small team to a company on track for 100 employees, we had to build systems that could scale with us. At first, our processes were verbal and knowledge-based—passed down via training or stored in someone’s head. That doesn’t work when you’ve got multiple shifts, several facilities, and complex parts moving through your floor every day.
We started by documenting everything—process flows, inspection steps, calibration schedules. Then we brought in digital tools to help us manage data, track non-conformances, and create accountability. It wasn’t about overcomplicating things—it was about freeing our people to do what they do best, while letting the system handle the routine.
We also made quality a shared responsibility. Even though we have a QA team, quality isn’t just their job. From machinists to managers, everyone is empowered to stop a job if something doesn’t look right. That culture didn’t happen overnight, but it’s one of the most valuable things we’ve built.
The Pressure (and Privilege) of High-Stakes Work
Working in defense and other critical sectors means the stakes are always high. There’s no margin for error. That pressure can either break a team or sharpen it. For us, it’s been the latter. We’ve built a culture where high standards aren’t intimidating—they’re motivating. People want to rise to the challenge.
It also means we’ve had to invest heavily in training and certifications. We pursue AS9100, ISO, and other standards not because we have to, but because they push us to be better. They give us a framework to grow into, rather than something that limits us.
And when we get audited, I don’t look at it as a threat—I see it as validation. It’s a chance to show that our systems work, and to identify areas we can improve. That mindset has helped us win the trust of some of the biggest names in the industry.
Lessons from the Journey
Scaling QA in this environment hasn’t been easy. There have been moments when we missed the mark—where something slipped through the cracks or a system didn’t hold up under pressure. But those were the moments we learned the most. We took the hit, made the fix, and got better.
If I had to boil it down, I’d say the keys to scaling quality in high-stakes industries are: hire people who care deeply, build systems that don’t rely on memory, and never treat quality as an afterthought. It should be a competitive advantage—one of the main reasons your customers keep coming back.
North Valley Precision is just getting started. As we continue to grow, the QA team will remain at the heart of everything we do. We’re exploring advanced inspection technologies, predictive analytics, and smarter ways to integrate QA across every department. But even as the tools change, the philosophy stays the same: build it right, check it twice, and never compromise on quality.
Scaling in a high-stakes world isn’t easy—but when you get it right, the results are worth it. And most importantly, the people who depend on what we build can trust that we’ve done our job with integrity.