Senior Quality Controller / QA Manager – Garment Exports

Job Description:

Senior Quality Controller / QA Manager – Garment Exports
Industry: Ready-Made Garment Manufacturing & Export
Location: Mumbai / Navi Mumbai
Experience: Preferably 9–12+ years in garment export quality
Reporting To: Factory General Manager / Director

Role Objective
We are looking for an experienced and hands-on Senior Quality Controller / QA Manager to take overall responsibility for garment quality from pre-production through cutting, stitching, finishing, packing and final shipment.
The objective of the role is to ensure that all garments manufactured in-house as well as through job-workers buyer specifications, approved samples, measurement tolerances, workmanship standards, testing requirements and packing instructions, thereby reducing rework, inspection failures and buyer quality claims.
The candidate should have strong experience in ready-made garment manufacturing and exports, preferably handling international buyers from USA, Canada, UK and/or Europe.

Key Responsibilities

• Review buyer tech packs, specifications, size charts, approved samples, measurement tolerances and quality requirements before bulk production.
• Participate in pre-production meetings and identify style-specific quality risks before cutting/stitching.
• Monitor incoming fabric and trims for quality parameters such as shade variation, defects, GSM,width, shrinkage, spirality, colourfastness and other buyer-specific requirements.
• Control quality at cutting, sewing, finishing and packing stages through first-piece, inline, mid-line, pre-final and final inspections.
• Ensure garment construction, measurements, stitching, workmanship, trims, printing/embroidery, finishing, labels, barcodes, folding, packing and carton details comply with buyer requirements.
• Conduct internal final inspections based on buyer-prescribed AQL / inspection standards and approve or recommend hold/rework/re-inspection before shipment.
• Independently identify repetitive defects and coordinate immediate corrective action with production, merchandising and job-workers.
• Visit and monitor outside job-workers/subcontractors to ensure the same quality standards are maintained as in the company's own factory.
• Coordinate professionally with buyer QC teams, buying houses and third-party inspection agencies and ensure goods are fully ready before external inspections.
• Maintain buyer-wise and style-wise quality records, inspection reports and defect analysis.
• Investigate all buyer complaints/claims through Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and implement Corrective & Preventive Action (CAPA) to avoid recurrence.
• Maintain regular quality MIS covering rejection/rework levels, recurring defects, inspection results, job-worker performance, buyer claims and CAPA status.
• Have the authority and confidence to recommend HOLD / REWORK / RE-INSPECTION / REJECT where goods do not meet required quality standards.

Candidate Profile
The candidate should preferably have: 9–12+ years of hands-on QA/QC experience in a garment manufacturing/export house.
Strong knowledge of woven garments and cut-and-sew knits.
Good understanding of garment construction, measurements, fabrics, trims, sewing defects, finishing and packing.
Practical experience in AQL inspections, inline/final inspections, RCA and CAPA.
Experience handling buyer QC / third-party inspections and buyer-specific quality standards.
Experience in controlling quality at job-worker/subcontractor factories.
Ability to read and interpret tech packs, measurement sheets and buyer comments.
Good communication, reporting and coordination skills.
Diploma/Degree in Textile Technology, Garment Technology, Apparel Manufacturing, Fashion Technology or similar qualification preferred.
Key Attributes
The person should be hands-on, detail-oriented, firm on quality and comfortable spending significant time on the production floor. The candidate must be able to independently highlight quality risks to management and should not compromise quality merely due to shipment pressure.
Key Performance Expectations
Performance will primarily be evaluated on reduction in buyer quality claims, improvement in first-time inspection pass rates, reduction in rework/rejection, timely identification of defects, effective CAPA implementation, job-worker quality improvement and consistent shipment of buyer-compliant garments.