Quality Manager - Private Label

COMPANY

L&R Distributors is seeking Quality Manager that leads the end-to-end quality system for a Private Label company ensuring products meet consumer safety, regulatory, and brand standards across various beauty categories. This role owns quality KPIs, incident reporting and escalation, traceability, supplier/facility qualification, and production approval—while driving sustainability, risk management, and redundancy strategies across materials, components, and suppliers. The ideal candidate balances hands-on systems leadership with cross-functional partnership. The Quality Manager reports to the Vice President of Integrated Supply Chain.

Key Responsibilities

1) Quality Strategy, KPIs & Governance

• Execute and maintain the Quality Management System (QMS) aligned to industry standards for Cosmetics & OTC Personal Care Products (cGMP, ISO & MoCRA).
• Establish and report Quality KPIs and dashboards including consumer incident rate, Vendor Scorecards, Blocking Failures and other standard metrics
• Lead quarterly Quality Business Reviews with leadership; translate trends into action plans for design, sourcing, and manufacturing partners.
• Own master standards & reference standards management including pre-production & production samples, COA/COCs, functional and aesthetic standards, print and color tolerances, stability/compatibility acceptance criteria.

2) Incident Reporting, CAPA & Escalation

• Operate the consumer incident intake and triage process including coding, severity assessment, evaluation routing, and response letters.
• Lead root cause analysis (RCA) and Corrective & Preventive Actions (CAPA) for consumer complaints, nonconformances, and returns; ensure timely closure and effectiveness verification.
• Maintain and communicate the Quality Incident Reaction & Escalation Matrix (e.g., safety-related incidents, foreign matter, micro failures, packaging leakage, adverse events, mislabeling).
• Coordinate field actions (holds, retrievals, recalls) with Operations, Regulatory, and Legal as applicable.
• Provide trend analytics to drive product and process improvements upstream including scrap assessment & ESG design collaboration.

3) Traceability & Product Data Integrity

• Ensure full product traceability from finished goods to batch/lot-level raw materials, components, and contract manufacturers/packers.
• Maintain and audit Batch Records, Certificates of Analysis, MSDS/SDS where appropriate, and COC/COA from suppliers.
• Lead trace exercises and mock recalls; validate traceability integrity across systems (ERP/PLM/QMS).

4) Facility Audits & Qualification

• Develop and execute the Facility Audit & Qualification program for manufacturers, fillers, testing laboratories, and key component suppliers (GMP, hygiene, allergen/contaminant controls, change control).
• Track audit findings, risk ratings, CAPAs, and requalification timelines.
• Approve pilot runs, line trials, and Process Validation where applicable; verify documentation for high-risk categories.

5) Material Sourcing Strategy & Component Specifications

• Collaborate with Sourcing to define material sourcing strategy, quality acceptance standards, COA/COC requirements, and supplier scorecards.
• Own component spec sheets (dimensions, tolerances, resin type, PCR levels, barrier properties, sealing torque, decorative specs, ink/adhesive criteria, pump output, gasket/liner material).
• Implement material and part compatibility guidelines (formula–package compatibility, migration, stress/crack testing, thermal risk & transit simulation).
• Manage sample review (ENG, pilot, pre-production, and reference sets) and first article inspection (FAI) signoffs.
• Identify and escalate development projects requiring third party Packaging Engineer support

6) Systems, Tools & Training

• Administer QMS/PLM/ERP workflows for specs, NCR, CAPA, change control, and traceability.
• Lead SOP creation and training for internal teams and suppliers; certify inspectors and line operators on critical-to-quality attributes.
• Drive continuous improvement (Lean/Six Sigma projects) to reduce cost of poor quality and elevate consumer experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in Engineering, Chemistry, Quality, or related field; advanced degree or certifications (e.g., ASQ CQE/CQA, ISO Lead Auditor, Six Sigma) preferred.
• 7–10+ years in CPG beauty or closely related (cosmetics, personal care, OTC cosmetic-adjacent), with hands-on QMS leadership across suppliers and contract manufacturers.
• Demonstrated expertise in GMP for cosmetics, micro/stability/compatibility fundamentals, and packaging quality for beauty categories.
• Strong record in supplier quality, facility audits, CAPA/RCA, and production release.
• Experience implementing redundancy, risk frameworks (FMEA), and sustainability-aligned quality standards.
• Proficiency with QMS/PLM/ERP systems; strong data and dashboard/reporting skills.
• Ability to travel as needed to CM locations during production runs, located in the Los Angeles area.

Core Competencies

• Systems thinking; able to connect design, sourcing, and manufacturing to consumer outcomes.
• Analytical decision-making and statistical literacy (SPC, sampling plans, AQL).
• Clear communicator—effective with suppliers, leadership, and customer-facing teams.
• Bias for action under ambiguity; disciplined escalation and follow-through.
• Collaborative leadership; develops team capability and supplier partnerships.
• Detail orientation on specs/artwork with strong documentation rigor.

Work Schedule:
For this fully remote position, we would only require our candidate to come onsite to our Encinitas, CA location twice (2) per month on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Estimated hours are Monday through Friday 8:30AM to 5:00PM with variation based on business demands.

Pay range: $110,000 to $120,000

Anticipated Start Date: January 12th, 2027

The Company provides equal employment opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law.