Quality Assurance Manager - Women’s Apparel (QA Import)

Reformation • Los Angeles, CA

7d • Onsite

About The Position

The Manager of Quality Assurance is responsible for driving product compliance and quality consistency across core QA processes — care label approvals, third-party inspection report review, fabric and garment testing, and high-return investigations for internationally produced product. This is a report-driven role: you are managing quality outcomes mainly through analysis and vendor communication, not physical warehouse inspection. You are the key communication link between overseas vendors, third-party inspection partners, internal QC, and the Production, Tech Services, Fabric, and Merchandising teams.

Requirements

• 4–6 years in Apparel Quality Control, QA, or Production.
• Experience must include managing offshore vendor quality through third-party inspection and testing programs.
• Candidates with warehouse or distribution QC backgrounds alone will not be considered.
• Strong knowledge of garment construction, fabric behavior, and inspection standards (AQL, inline vs. final audits).
• Candidates must demonstrate both garment and fabric expertise — fabric performance knowledge (colorfastness, shrinkage, seam strength) is required, not a plus.
• Ability to cross-reference complex data across BOMs, PIMs, Tech Packs, and lab reports.
• Intermediate Excel proficiency (vlookups, pivot tables).
• Familiarity with fabric performance standards (colorfastness, shrinkage, seam strength) and lab testing methods.
• Bachelor’s degree (Textiles, Apparel Manufacturing, or Supply Chain) or equivalent professional experience.
• Detail-Obsessed: You notice the small discrepancies in a care label or a lab report that others might miss.
• A Clear Communicator: You can provide concise, actionable feedback to overseas vendors and internal cross-functional partners.
• Data-Driven Decision Maker: You use standards and evidence to decide when to approve a marginal improvement or reject a lot. You make sound judgment calls independently, balancing quality and timelines — and you own those decisions.
• High-Volume Pro: You thrive in fast-paced environments and can manage multiple deadlines and hundreds of reports without breaking a sweat.
• Self-Directed: You manage your workload proactively, anticipate what's coming, and act before things become problems.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with NetSuite or PIM systems is a major plus.

Responsibilities

• Review 3rd-party reports (QIMA, Intertek, Baak, etc.). You will release passing shipments, troubleshoot workmanship/measurement issues for failures, and hold shipments missing approved TOP samples. This is a report-based function — you are managing quality outcomes through analysis and vendor communication.
• Manage the 3-week audit plan and follow up on unscheduled vendor audits.
• Verify vendor-submitted labels against BOM, PIM, and Tech Packs. You’ll identify discrepancies, request vendor corrections, and update PIM layouts to ensure total accuracy.
• Manage the end-to-end testing process. This includes reviewing overseas fabric reports, processing internal test requests (preparing yardage/forms), managing retests, and communicating rejection or replacement instructions to suppliers.
• Track TOP/Tech sample arrivals and build weekly QC capacity vs. demand charts to ensure the team stays ahead of incoming volume.
• Partner with Merch/Production to investigate high-return items. You’ll coordinate inventory pulls, conduct measurement checks against original inspection results, and prepare samples/findings for executive review.
• Investigate escalated issues from Import Production, coordinate re-audits, and ensure vendors implement corrective actions to close out quality gaps.

Benefits

• Employer-sponsored private medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Commuter benefits
• Competitive paid time off policies including vacation, sick leave, and company holidays
• Retirement planning support, including the option to invest in Environmental Social Governance-aligned funds
• Fertility care support through Carrot, and up to a $5,000 USD reimbursement for related fertility expenses after 1 year of employment
• Donations to community efforts on a yearly basis
• Clothing discount
• Culture events (like our annual Ref Values week and Volunteer Time Off)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager