Manager, Color Production & QA

Thrive Causemetics•Los Angeles, CA

16d•Onsite

About The Position

The production manager and quality associate will play a key role in ensuring the color accuracy, consistency, quality, and overall execution of our products from development through commercial production. This role will partner closely with Product Development, Quality, Operations, Regulatory, Customer Experience, and external manufacturing partners to review production batches, maintain approved standards, troubleshoot quality issues, and support shade development across multiple product categories. The ideal candidate has a strong eye for color, hands-on experience with color cosmetics, and an understanding of cosmetic manufacturing and quality processes. This individual should be comfortable making detailed product assessments, communicating clear feedback to manufacturing partners, and supporting fast-paced production decisions.

Requirements

2–5 years of experience in Color Cosmetics Product Development, Color Formulation, Shading, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, or Manufacturing Support.
Strong understanding of color cosmetic formulation, pigment technology, shade matching, and cosmetic manufacturing processes.
Experience with cosmetic commercialization, scale-up, line trials, and production troubleshooting.
Demonstrated experience reviewing pilot, line trial, bulk, and commercial production batches.
Exceptional visual color assessment skills with the ability to identify subtle differences in shade, undertone, texture, payoff, appearance, and overall aesthetics.
Working knowledge of cosmetic quality systems, manufacturing controls, SOPs, CAPAs, root cause investigations, and batch approval procedures.
Understanding of cosmetic packaging quality and artwork review processes.
Strong organizational and documentation skills with the ability to maintain accurate standards, retains, and production records.
Ability to make thoughtful, timely decisions in a fast-paced production environment.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Cosmetic Science, Chemistry, Product Development, Quality Assurance, or a related field preferred.

Responsibilities

Review pilot, line trial, production, and commercial bulk batches against approved standards to assess shade accuracy, texture, appearance, odor, payoff, application, and overall product quality.
Evaluate manufacturing submissions and provide timely approvals, detailed feedback, and recommended corrective actions to contract manufacturers.
Support day-to-day production oversight, including batch reviews, reorder approvals, bulk approvals, and time-sensitive manufacturing decisions.
Travel to domestic and international manufacturing facilities as needed to review production batches, attend line trials, troubleshoot issues, and ensure alignment with approved standards.
Collaborate with Product Development, Quality, Operations, Regulatory, and external manufacturing partners to investigate and resolve color, aesthetic, packaging, and production-related discrepancies.
Partner with Customer Experience to review product quality complaints, identify trends, investigate potential root causes, and communicate findings and recommended actions.
Communicate quality discrepancies clearly and promptly to internal teams and manufacturing partners, ensuring appropriate documentation, escalation, and follow-through.
Support investigations, root cause analysis, corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs), and other quality processes as needed.
Follow established Quality SOPs and help ensure products and manufacturing partners meet internal quality requirements.
Establish, maintain, and periodically refresh approved production standards, retains, and reference samples to ensure consistency throughout the product lifecycle.
Maintain organized archives of approved standards, retains, production references, batch history, quality documentation, and related records.
Review primary and secondary packaging for quality, functionality, aesthetics, and alignment with approved standards.
Support artwork reviews to help ensure packaging execution aligns with approved product specifications and quality requirements.
Support continuous improvement initiatives focused on color consistency, manufacturing robustness, production quality, and efficient batch approval processes.
Provide technical expertise related to color cosmetic formulations, pigment behavior, shade development, color matching, and manufacturing variability.
Identify recurring production or quality issues and partner cross-functionally to develop solutions that improve future production.
Balance multiple product reviews, production timelines, quality investigations, and manufacturing priorities while maintaining exceptional attention to detail.