Quality Assurance Specialist

Job Description

Job Description

About the Role:

The Quality Assurance Specialist plays a critical role in ensuring that manufacturing processes and consumer products meet stringent quality standards, big-box retailer protocols, and evolving regulatory requirements.

• This dual-focused position is responsible for managing the end-to-end lifecycle of customer product verification and performing hands-on laboratory testing.
• Serving as the primary technical liaison between Tramontina, Retail Portals, and third-party laboratories, this role safeguards product integrity, drives corrective actions (CAPA), and handles day-to-day QA processing.
• Additionally, this position provides critical operational backup for factory audits and product certifications to minimize risk and enhance operational excellence.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality Management, or a related technical field; OR a minimum of a two-year technical degree with 3+ years of intensive experience in Quality Assurance.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in quality assurance within a manufacturing or consumer products environment.
• Proven knowledge and application of ISO 9001 quality management systems and general consumer product safety standards.
• Experience with corrective action processes, root cause analysis, and retail failure remediation.
• Strong understanding of document control and calibration procedures.
• Proven track record of personal reliability, punctual attendance, and the ability to execute tasks independently with minimal day-to-day supervision.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certification as a Quality Auditor or Quality Engineer (e.g., ASQ Certified Quality Auditor).
• Deep familiarity with consumer product safety regulations (CPSC), FDA food-contact material purity compliance, and state-level chemical restriction acts (such as Washington State's Lead in Cookware regulations and shifting PFAS legislation).
• Prior experience directly navigating big-box retail compliance portals, mandatory testing schedules, and vendor validation hubs (such as Walmart Retail Link, Costco systems, Tracegains, or Mars repositories).
• Practical familiarity with consumer products manufacturing guidelines, specifically the Cookware & Bakeware Alliance (CBA) engineering standards for material benchmarking and nonstick coating evaluations.
• Familiarity with risk assessment methodologies such as FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis).
• Proficiency with quality management software and electronic document control systems.
• Advanced training in statistical process control (SPC) and Lean Six Sigma methodologies.

Responsibilities:

• Maintain and implement consumer product quality assurance procedures and specific big-box retailer compliance frameworks (such as Walmart, Costco, Sam's Club, and BJ's Wholesale).
• Direct and execute physical product evaluations within the in-house laboratory.
• Serve as an operational backup to floor Quality Inspectors and assist with manufacturing facility audits.
• Conduct regular visual inspections and audits of manufacturing processes to identify deviations and ensure compliance with quality systems.
• Manage corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) by investigating root causes of quality issues and coordinating resolution efforts.
• Oversee calibration schedules and ensure all measuring and testing equipment are properly maintained and certified.
• Perform risk assessments to identify potential quality risks and implement mitigation strategies to prevent product defects.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date document control systems to ensure traceability and compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including production, engineering, and regulatory affairs to support quality initiatives and continuous improvement.

Skills:

The Quality Assurance & Compliance Specialist uses corrective action skills daily to resolve retail rejections and consumer complaints. Expertise in ISO 9001 and big-box retailer protocols guides the maintenance of compliant procedures. Document control skills using Monday.com are essential for tracking mandatory testing cycles and ensuring traceability. Laboratory proficiency ensures accurate in-house sample evaluation, defect replication, and material benchmarking. Risk assessment capabilities combined with composure in a crisis enable the specialist to navigate regulatory shifts under tight deadlines. Visual inspection skills are applied routinely to detect defects and verify product conformity. Calibration knowledge ensures that all measurement tools remain accurate and reliable.

This is an onsite full time position - Monday-Friday