| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Quality |
| Level | Manager |
| Reports to | Head of Quality or Plant Head |
| Direct reports | Quality Engineer, QC Inspector, Process Quality Engineer |
| Experience | 8 to 12 years in quality, with team handling |
Quality Manager job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Quality Manager
Department: Quality
Reports to: Head of Quality or Plant Head
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Quality Manager owns quality operations for a plant or area, covering both assurance and control. They run inspection and testing, maintain the quality system and certifications, resolve customer complaints, and drive down rejections and rework. In a mid-size plant the quality manager is the single quality authority, managing engineers, inspectors and lab staff. In an Indian factory the quality manager balances release decisions with production pressure, keeps audits and calibration in order, and reports quality performance to the plant head or head of quality.
Key responsibilities
- Run quality operations across incoming, in-process and final stages for the plant or area.
- Maintain the quality management system and certifications and keep the plant audit ready.
- Take product release and hold decisions and handle non-conforming material.
- Resolve customer complaints with root cause analysis and corrective action.
- Drive down internal rejections and rework through data-led improvement.
- Keep measuring and testing equipment calibrated and inspection standards current.
- Manage quality engineers, inspectors and lab staff across shifts.
- Work with production to fix quality issues at the source.
- Manage supplier quality issues on incoming material with the supply chain.
- Report quality metrics and trends to the plant head or head of quality.
Requirements
- B.E. or B.Tech, or a diploma in engineering, or a science degree for lab-heavy plants
- Knowledge of the industry's quality standard and tools
- A Six Sigma or auditor certification is an advantage
- 8 to 12 years in quality, with team handling
KRAs and KPIs for a Quality Manager
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Rejection and rework | Internal rejection and rework reduced to the plant target for the year |
| Customer complaints | Customer complaints closed with corrective action within the agreed time |
| Certification | Quality system and certification maintained with no major non-conformity |
| Calibration | Measuring and testing equipment calibrated on schedule through the year |
| Release discipline | Non-conforming material contained, no unapproved release during the year |
| Supplier quality | Incoming defect rate reduced to the agreed target |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Quality management system (QMS), Measuring and testing instruments, SPC software, Calibration records, MS Excel.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: General Manager Quality, Head of Quality, QA Manager
Interview questions for a Quality Manager
- How do you balance product release with production's pressure to ship?
- Walk me through how you resolved a repeat customer complaint.
- How do you cut rejection and rework with limited resources?
- How do you keep the plant ready for a certification audit year round?
- How do you handle a supplier that keeps sending defective material?
- Which quality metrics do you review every month, and how do you act on them?
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What does a quality manager do?
A quality manager owns quality operations for a plant or area, covering both assurance and control. They run inspection and testing, maintain the quality system and certifications, take release decisions, resolve customer complaints, and drive down rejections and rework. They manage engineers, inspectors and lab staff, keep calibration and audits in order, and report quality to the plant head.
What is the difference between a quality manager and a QA manager?
A quality manager usually owns both assurance and control for a plant, especially in mid-size factories where one person leads quality. A QA manager focuses specifically on assurance: systems, documentation and prevention. In larger plants QA and QC managers report to a general manager quality, while a quality manager often carries both scopes.
What qualifications does a quality manager need?
A B.E. or B.Tech, a diploma in engineering, or a science degree in lab-heavy plants is the usual base, with knowledge of the industry's quality standard and tools. A Six Sigma or auditor certification is an advantage. Employers expect several years in quality with experience handling a team, audits and customer complaints.