Quality Manager

Quality Manager

HydroJug, Inc. · Quality · Ogden, Utah (in office)

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Level: Manager · Full-time · Exempt

About the Role

HydroJug ships millions of bottles, tumblers and lids made by four factory partners in Asia. Our hardest defects are the ones we have already fixed that come back on a single production run, at a rate too small for standard inspection to catch. At our volume, that still reaches thousands of customers. This role owns product quality from spec to shelf. The Quality Manager sets the standards our factories and inspection partner work to, puts controls in place so a fix holds on every run, and builds our quality presence in Asia. Success is measured in fewer defects reaching customers and in what that saves.

Responsibilities

• Set the quality standard for every product: specs, golden samples, inspection checklists and sampling levels.
• Direct our third-party inspection partner, and make the call on whether a batch ships.
• Put run-by-run controls in place at our four factories, such as adhesion and dishwasher testing on every run, so a fixed defect stays fixed.
• Find the root cause of our top defects with the factory, fix them, and prove the fix held in the data.
• Own compliance for every product we sell: food-contact and Prop 65 testing, certificates and claims.
• Lead the Quality Specialist, build a quality team in Asia, and turn customer complaints and returns into defect data by product, factory and production run.

Success Criteria

Twelve months:

• Quality complaints per million units sold are down 30% or more, led by the top three defect types.
• The cost of poor quality is tracked in dollars every month, and it is falling.
• No recall, no failed compliance test on a shipped product, and no repeat of a defect already closed.
• Every active product has a current spec, golden sample and compliance file.
• Every factory has a signed quality agreement and a quarterly scorecard, and every production run of a high-risk feature, such as overmold or printed logos, is released with test data.
• A quality team in Asia is planned and its first person is in place.

30 days: All four factories visited or scheduled, and every active product line reviewed. The top five defect types known from complaint and return data.

90 days: Defect data reported monthly by product and factory. The cost of poor quality known in dollars. A quality agreement drafted and sent to every factory. Root-cause work under way on the top three defects.

180 days: Fixes and run-by-run controls in place for the top three defects, with early data showing they hold. Inspection checklists and sampling levels updated for every active product. A plan for the quality team in Asia approved.

Qualifications

Required

• 6 to 10 years in quality, including several years working as a quality or supplier quality engineer for consumer products made by overseas factories.
• Has fixed defects that come and go between production runs by putting process controls in place at the supplier, and can show the defect rate before and after.
• Has written product specs, inspection checklists and sampling plans, and directed a third-party inspection firm.
• Reads technical drawings and tolerances, and knows plastics, stainless steel, molding and coatings well enough to challenge a factory's explanation.
• Has managed product compliance testing, such as food-contact and Prop 65.

Preferred

• An engineering degree (mechanical, materials, manufacturing or industrial)
• Drinkware or housewares experience
• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer or Certified Supplier Quality Professional
• Has built or led a quality team in Asia
• Has managed at least one person
• Speaks Mandarin

Reporting & Organization

• Reports to the Chief Executive Officer on the Quality team. Leads one direct report: the Quality Specialist.
• Tools: inspection reports, defect spreadsheets, technical drawings.
• Travel: 20–25%, including at least one trip a quarter to our four factory partners in Asia.
• Physical requirements: time on factory floors, and handling product samples and cartons.
• Cross-functional partners: Sourcing, Product Development, Customer Experience, Operations.
• Decisions this role owns: whether a batch ships; product quality specs and inspection standards; when a factory must deliver a corrective action.

About HydroJug

HydroJug, Inc. is a consumer brand based in Ogden, Utah. We design and sell premium hydration and lifestyle products direct to consumers and through major retail. Our core values are Customer Centricity, Hard Work, Resourcefulness, Pride in Craft and Teamwork. We hire for them, and we hold each other to them.