QC Lab Manager
About The Position
The QC Lab Manager will oversee quality and reliability of manufacturing output by leading high-throughput laboratory operations, rapid test execution, and material release workflows. The role manages daily testing cadence, instrument uptime, analytical method integrity, and continuous improvement across data integrity, sample management, and laboratory safety. It is responsible for coaching staff, maintaining high safety standards, maximizing equipment uptime, and establishing predictive maintenance strategies to support production targets. The manager will improve and scale the QC team’s people, processes, and systems to ensure on-time delivery of materials to customers. The role is based in Alameda, California.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Engineering, Operations Management, or a related technical discipline.
- At least 8 years of industrial work experience, including at least 2 years directly managing non-exempt personnel.
- Extensive background in chemical or materials manufacturing, with operational knowledge of analytical instruments, particle analytical technologies, measurement system analysis principles, and laboratory operations.
- Experience working within a quality management system and strong understanding of quality control systems and processes.
- Advanced command of Lean Manufacturing methodologies and a record of applying continuous-improvement frameworks to improve asset uptime and operational throughput.
- Demonstrated leadership in coaching, mentoring, and developing teams, and fostering a safety-first culture and operational accountability.
- Strategic, solution-oriented technical problem-solving skills, including root-cause analysis to eliminate recurring operational failures.
- Strong communication, facilitation, and influencing skills, including the ability to lead cross-functional alignment and collaborate across business units.
- Ability to wear required personal protective equipment, move long distances between buildings, remain stationary for extended periods, and operate a computer and other office equipment.
Nice To Haves
- Strong understanding of ISO 9001 and ISO 17025.
Responsibilities
- Lead, recruit, onboard, and retain laboratory technicians; establish safety and continuous-improvement culture, set KPIs, provide performance feedback, and allocate resources for changing production volumes.
- Direct daily testing operations to support 24/7 manufacturing, development, and research needs, turnaround-time targets, and non-routine analytical investigations.
- Oversee maintenance, calibration, verification, and troubleshooting of analytical instruments, and operationalize and transfer new test methods into routine testing.
- Partner with development teams on predictive and preventive maintenance and root-cause analysis, establishing reliability workflows to extend asset lifecycles.
- Champion data integrity, sample-retain workflows, out-of-specification and out-of-trend investigations, and root-cause analysis in alignment with the Quality Management System.
- Direct Measurement System Analysis (Gage R&R), method precision studies, and stability and shelf-life testing programs.
- Author, standardize, and maintain SOPs and test protocols; manage training matrices to ensure analyst qualification and audit readiness.
- Partner with Analytics, Production, Process Engineering, Product, and Corporate Quality to resolve nonconformances and prevent production bottlenecks.
- Manage departmental operating and maintenance budgets and critical MRO inventory.
- Set expectations, allocate responsibilities, track performance against key metrics, and help direct reports navigate operational roadblocks.
Benefits
- Competitive total rewards package that can include benefits, perks, equity, and bonuses.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
