Quality Assurance Manager Senior
Owns the quality system: AQL policy, audit readiness, needle control, root cause and the buyer's technical relationship.
Quality Assurance Manager — what the job really is
Every role guide, study and toolkit here is free of charge — no candidate fees, no employer fees, no commission. Never pay anyone for a job in this industry.
Works in: QA office, buyer audits, all departments
What you actually do
- Set and police the inspection plan, AQL levels and rework rules across every line.
- Host buyer and third-party audits and close findings with evidence.
- Run root cause analysis on repeat claims and chargebacks.
- Own needle control, metal detection and sharp-tool policy.
- Train QC staff and calibrate their defect judgement.
Skills employers screen for
- · AQL and sampling statistics used correctly, not by habit
- · Audit protocol experience (buyer codes of conduct, third-party inspection bodies)
- · Root cause tools: 5 why, fishbone, Pareto
- · Writing corrective action plans a buyer will accept
Qualification & experience
Several years of QC/QA on the floor plus a recognised quality qualification. Six Sigma training is a strong differentiator.
How to get in — the realistic route
- 1. Build the statistics properly — most QA managers are promoted for reasoning, not for years served.
- 2. Take the free standards, compliance and Six Sigma material and apply it to a real defect problem.
- 3. Move QC → QA Officer → QA Manager inside a group large enough to have multiple buyers.
Free study to finish first
Real employers hiring this role
Every organisation below is a real company or industry body from the free NOSK.space directory. Contact details and careers pages are published by the organisation itself — always confirm current openings there, because vacancies change weekly.
Marks & Spencer
London · United Kingdom
UK retailer publishing clothing supplier and factory information
- Address
- Waterside House, 35 North Wharf Road, London W2 1NW, United Kingdom
- Phone
- +44 20 7935 4422
H&M Group
Stockholm · Sweden
Global fashion retail group publishing a public supplier list
- Address
- Mäster Samuelsgatan 46A, SE-106 38 Stockholm, Sweden
- Phone
- +46 8 796 55 00
- info@hm.com
Inditex (Zara)
Arteixo · Spain
Retail group with published supplier standards and sourcing clusters
- Address
- Edificio Inditex, Avda. de la Diputación s/n, 15143 Arteixo, A Coruña, Spain
- Phone
- +34 981 185 400
Primark
Dublin · Ireland
Value fashion retailer with a public global sourcing map
- Address
- Arthur Ryan House, 22-24 Parnell Street, Dublin 1, D01 P7W2, Ireland
- Phone
- +353 1 888 0500
DBL Group
Dhaka · Bangladesh
Vertically integrated knitwear manufacturing, spinning, dyeing and printing
- Address
- South Avenue Tower, House 50 (6th Floor), Road 3, Gulshan Avenue, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Youngone Corporation
Seoul · South Korea (plants in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Ethiopia)
Outerwear, technical apparel, footwear and backpacks
- Address
- 159 Mallijae-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Coats Group plc
London · United Kingdom
Industrial sewing thread, zips and performance materials
- Address
- 4th Floor, 14 Aldermanbury Square, London EC2V 7HS, United Kingdom
Free explainers that teach this role
Photo and diagram walk-throughs covering the fabric, pattern, machinery and quality knowledge this job is built on — free, no sign-up.
How it works · Free
How garment quality inspection works, stage by stage
In-line, end-line and final AQL inspection: what each catches, how sample sizes are set and how defects are classified.
Quality checks · Free
In-line checks, traffic light control and buyer audits
How hourly in-line checks, traffic-light status, needle control and a buyer's ethical or technical audit fit together on one floor.
Fabrics · Free
How to read a fabric test report without guessing
GSM, shrinkage, colour fastness, pilling and tensile results — what each line means and which failures actually stop production.
Other quality & compliance roles
Entry level
Quality Controller (Inline / Endline QC)
Checks garments at the operation and at endline, records defects and stops problems travelling down the line.
Open the role guide