Quality Control Management — M5
QUALIT.QUALITYC4DAC.M5
Management of the operational quality control function — directing inspection and testing teams that verify raw materials, in-process samples, and finished products against internal standards and external regulations (e.g., AS9100). Distinct from Quality Engineering (process/design quality methods) and Regulatory Affairs (submission ownership): this focus owns the QC/inspection workforce, the Quality Management System (QMS) administration, defect tracking via SPC/LIMS tooling, and the authority to stop production for serious defects.
Management of the operational quality control function — directing inspection and testing teams that verify raw materials, in-process samples, and finished products against internal standards and external regulations (e.g., AS9100). Distinct from Quality Engineering (process/design quality methods) and Regulatory Affairs (submission ownership): this focus owns the QC/inspection workforce, the Quality Management System (QMS) administration, defect tracking via SPC/LIMS tooling, and the authority to stop production for serious defects.
Focus — Quality Control Management
Management of the operational quality control function — directing inspection and testing teams that verify raw materials, in-process samples, and finished products against internal standards and external regulations (e.g., AS9100). Distinct from Quality Engineering (process/design quality methods) and Regulatory Affairs (submission ownership): this focus owns the QC/inspection workforce, the Quality Management System (QMS) administration, defect tracking via SPC/LIMS tooling, and the authority to stop production for serious defects.
Material PAY differential vs the function baseline.
Responsibilities by level
What this person actually does at each level on the management track — escalating scope, not one generic blob. Your level is highlighted.
- Oversees daily operations of a QC inspection unit, scheduling inspectors, technicians, and laboratory workers to keep testing throughput aligned with production demand
- Verifies that raw materials, purchased parts/components, in-process samples, and finished products meet established testing and inspection standards using part prints and GD&T
- Performs hands-on problem-solving on the floor to maintain quality consistency and clear inspection backlogs
- Directs the day-to-day logging of defects and test results into LIMS (e.g., Thermo Fisher LIMS) and SPC data collection tools (ASI DATAMYTE GageMetrics, PQ Systems MEASUREspy), escalating recurring nonconformances
- Supports the QMS by ensuring inspection procedures and standard operating procedures are applied consistently across the shift
- Manages a skilled QC team (and junior leads), motivating, mentoring, and evaluating inspector and technician performance against quality and throughput targets
- Coordinates inspection and testing activities across product lines, owning tactical outcomes for nonconformance rates and first-pass yield in the unit
- Produces nonconformance, daily production quality, and quality-trend reports using SPC control charts (Minitab, InfinityQS ProFicient) with proposed corrective actions
- Performs internal audits and supports implementation of standards such as AS9100 within the team's scope
- Reviews and updates standard operating procedures and quality assurance manual sections affecting the inspection workflow
- Manages the QC/inspection department's operations and budget, coordinating the entire quality control process from staff management to compliance with regulatory standards
- Implements quality control policies and improves QMS processes across both QA and QC/inspection teams, administering the QMS platform (e.g., SAP Quality Management module, Vivaldi Quality Management)
- Leads root cause analyses on diverse quality issues, evaluating defect trends across product families with statistical tools (Minitab, Statgraphics) and recommends solutions
- Exercises authority to stop production when serious product defects are present, balancing schedule, cost, and quality risk
- Participates in the development of product specifications and reviews quality documentation required for regulatory submissions and inspections
- Oversees multiple QC departments or sections across sites/product lines, aligning quality control strategy with broader business objectives where defects could jeopardize program delivery
- Establishes, monitors, and reports on quality KPIs, analyzing project KPI trends and directing improvement strategies, and routinely audits project quality programs for continuous improvement
- Leads strategic planning and cross-departmental coordination (production, engineering, supply chain) — tracking corrective actions and audit findings in tools such as Atlassian JIRA and Microsoft Project — to achieve quality objectives
- Owns the AS9100/QMS audit program for the function, ensuring readiness for customer and regulatory inspections across the consolidated InfinityQS/Vivaldi quality data
- Engages senior leaders on functional quality strategy, defending KPI trends and corrective-action investment decisions
- Directs the quality control function division- or company-wide through subordinate department managers, setting the vision for quality across the company with decisions impacting overall operations
- Leads long-term planning, establishes organization-wide quality standards and methods, and ensures regulatory compliance across all sites and product lines
- Defines org-wide approaches to resolving complex, systemic quality issues and embeds continuous-improvement methodology into operations
- Integrates quality control activities with the organization's broader operational goals to contribute to overall performance and market competitiveness, leading through managers rather than performing technical work directly
- Serves as custodian of quality — safeguarding and enhancing the integrity of the organization's products and services — and influences executives and major customers on key quality issues
Level guidelines
The universal leveling rubric applied to this function — how scope, complexity, collaboration, and experience step up across levels.
| Level | Knowledge & Application | Complexity & Problem Solving | Collaboration & Interaction | Typical Degree & Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | Applies functional QC expertise — inspection methods, SPC data entry, GD&T interpretation — using established practices and procedures to keep a single unit running. | Limited scope; resolves routine inspection and consistency problems within defined standards, escalating anything outside known factors. | Daily interactions with inspection staff and production peers on the floor; task-focused coordination. | Functional QC expert with some leadership exposure; first-line supervisory responsibility for individual contributors. |
| M2 | Applies judgment within known factors to manage a skilled inspection team and support standards implementation such as AS9100 internal audits, using SPC charting tools to surface trends. | Makes judgments within established parameters; addresses tactical nonconformance and trend issues, proposing corrective actions. | Cross-functional cooperation with production and engineering peers; mentors and evaluates team members. | 2–5 years in team leadership or QC specialist roles; leads skilled inspectors and may oversee junior leads. |
| M3 | Applies broad QC and QMS knowledge to diverse issues, evaluating defect trends with statistical tools and administering the QMS platform to improve systems across a department. | Resolves diverse problems requiring trend evaluation; weighs quality, cost, and schedule including production-stop decisions. | Leads functional and customer-facing quality teams; coordinates with regulatory, engineering, and operations stakeholders. | 5–7+ years managing quality professionals and operating a department budget. |
| M4 | Applies strategic quality policy across multiple departments/sites, aligning the QMS and KPI framework with business objectives and consolidating quality data across SPC/QMS platforms. | Addresses problems where quality gaps could jeopardize program/business activities; defines improvement strategy from KPI and trend analysis and routine program audits. | Engages senior leaders on functional quality strategy and leads cross-departmental coordination and audit programs. | 8–10+ years; complex multi-team or critical-function quality leadership. |
| M5 | Sets the vision and defines quality methods and standards with division- or company-wide impact; embeds continuous-improvement methodology org-wide and leads through managers. | Tackles complex, systemic org-wide quality issues; defines the methods and frameworks used to resolve them and ensures organization-wide regulatory compliance. | Leads through department managers; influences executives and major customers on key quality issues as custodian of product/service integrity. | 10–12+ years including second-level management and quality strategy work. |
Skills
Focus-specific skills the role applies — the relevance layer beyond the occupational base.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Weighing relative costs and benefits to choose the most appropriate action, including production-stop and corrective-action decisions.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex quality problems and developing and evaluating options to implement solutions.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying indicators of QMS and process performance and the actions needed to improve them.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a quality system should work and how changes affect inspection and testing outcomes.
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
- Measuring, monitoring, and controlling quality during a process using control charts and process data in tools such as Minitab and InfinityQS ProFicient.
- Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to staff, peers, and customers and taking time to understand the points being made.
- GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing)
- Reading and interpreting part prints and engineering drawings with geometric dimensioning and tolerancing.
Provenance
The evidence base behind this profile — every layer is sourced; quality is scored by an adversarial review panel (1–5; passes at ≥4 on the minimum dimension).
Level — M5 — Senior Director
Leads multiple functions or a large department; drives multi-year strategy.
- Scope
- Multiple functions or a large department
- Autonomy
- Owns multi-year strategy for the area
- Complexity
- Org-level trade-offs and investment
- Impact
- Multi-function results
- Decision rights
- Owns investment and org design across functions
- Leadership
- Leads directors and managers
- Typical experience
- 12–18 yrs
Adjacent roles
Nearest roles by structural coordinates (level + taxonomy). Distance 0 → 1; each carries its 3-state match band. How coordinates work → · Compare side-by-side →
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O*NET / SOC
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