Quality Manager

Department: Quality

Role: Quality Manager

Location: Mumbai

Experience: 8–12 years

Industry: Apparel / Bags / Accessories / Home Textiles

Employment Type: Full-time

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Quality Manager to lead our quality function end to end—from incoming raw materials through production and finishing to final inspection and shipment release.

This role will be responsible for building and maintaining strong quality standards across in-house production as well as outsourced stitching and finishing units.

The ideal candidate will combine strong technical quality expertise with the ability to build systems, analyse quality data, solve recurring problems and develop production and vendor teams to take greater ownership of quality.

Key ResponsibilitiesIncoming Raw Material Quality

- Own the incoming inspection system for fabric, lining, webbing, zips, labels, hardware, thread and packing materials.
- Conduct fabric inspection using the four-point system.
- Check GSM, width, construction, shade continuity and lot-to-lot variation.
- Approve shade bands and material lots before cutting.
- Maintain approved swatches and trim cards for each style.
- Establish functional checks for components such as webbing, handles, zips, rivets, eyelets and hardware.
- Manage laboratory testing including shrinkage, colour fastness, tensile/pull tests and buyer-specific testing where required.
- Maintain supplier quality ratings based on incoming rejection rates.
- Ensure materials do not move to cutting without a recorded inspection result.

Pre-Production & Quality Standards
- Participate in pre-production meetings and own the quality section.
- Identify critical operations, likely defects, measurement tolerances and workmanship standards.
- Prepare and issue workmanship standards and defect classifications for each style.
- Approve and seal reference samples.
- Ensure approved samples and quality standards are available across all production floors and outsourced units.
- Define quality control points for each style and establish who is responsible for each check.

In-Process Quality
- Establish quality checks at the cutting stage, including shade banding, ply alignment, marker accuracy, panel dimensions and bundle identification.
- Ensure first-piece approval before bulk production.
- Establish inline inspection at critical operations.




- Monitor defects regularly and ensure issues are corrected at source.
- Conduct end-of-line audits and track defects per hundred units and right-first-time performance.
- Train operators and supervisors to conduct self-checks at their own operations.

Finishing & Final Inspection
- Set and enforce finishing standards covering thread trimming, stitch density, bartack placement, pressing, hardware function and cleanliness.
- Own measurement audits against approved specifications and tolerances.
- Conduct pre-final and final inspections as per agreed AQL standards.
- Verify packing, labelling, carton marking and quantities before shipment release.
- Coordinate buyer and third-party inspections and investigate any differences between internal and external results.

Outsourced Vendor Quality
- Extend the quality system to outsourced stitching and finishing units.
- Develop risk-based quality visit and inspection plans for vendors.
- Direct and support the Floating Quality Executive in vendor quality activities.
- Ensure approved samples, measurement charts, trims cards and workmanship standards are available at every vendor.
- Participate in technical assessment of new vendors before approval.

Problem Solving & Corrective Action
- Maintain quality defect Pareto analysis by style, production line and vendor.
- Identify and address the key contributors to quality problems.
- Conduct structured root-cause analysis for recurring and critical defects.
- Drive permanent corrective and preventive actions.
- Track the cost of quality, including rework, rejects, discounts, replacement production and quality-related freight.
- Handle buyer quality claims and returns, investigate the root cause and implement preventive actions.

Quality Systems & Documentation
- Own the quality manual, inspection formats, defect codes and record-retention systems.
- Maintain traceability from finished goods back to fabric lot, cutting bundle, production line/vendor and inspection records.
- Manage needle/sharp-tool control and metal detection requirements where applicable.




- Publish weekly quality reports covering right-first-time, defects per hundred units, incoming rejection, final inspection results and corrective actions.

Team Leadership
- Lead, allocate and develop the quality team.
- Build a skill matrix and calibration process to ensure consistency between inspectors.
- Train production operators and supervisors on quality at source.
- Develop vendor quality teams on required standards.
- Maintain the independence of the quality function and ensure quality decisions are not compromised by production or delivery pressure.

What We’re Looking For
- 8–12 years of experience in quality within apparel, bags, accessories or home textiles.
- At least 3 years of experience leading a quality team.
- Degree or diploma in Textile Technology, Apparel Production, Quality Management or a related field.
- Proven experience managing the complete quality chain, not only final inspection.
- Experience implementing quality systems at outsourced/job-work units.
- Robust knowledge of:
- Four-point fabric inspection
- AQL sampling
- Defect classification
- GSM and textile testing
- Shrinkage and colour fastness
- Tensile and pull testing
- Measurement and tolerance control
- Tech packs and specification sheets
- Buyer quality manuals and third-party inspection protocols
- ISO 9001 or comparable quality management experience will be an advantage.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving ability.
- Independent judgement and confidence to hold material, production or shipments when quality standards are not met.
- Strong written English for buyer communication and quality reports.
- Hindi and Marathi will be an advantage.

What Success Looks Like
- Higher right-first-time production across lines and vendors.
- Reduction in defects, rework and quality-related costs.
- Stronger quality performance at incoming, inline and final inspection stages.
- Fewer quality escapes, buyer complaints and returns.
- Corrective actions are closed on time and recurring defects are eliminated.
- Quality standards are consistently followed across internal and outsourced production.

If you have strong technical quality expertise and enjoy building systems that prevent problems rather than simply identifying them at the end, we would like to hear from you.

Pay: ₹1,200,000.00 - ₹1,400,000.00 per year

Work Location: In person

📌 Quality Manager (Mumbai)
🏢 Tiny Miracles
📍 Mumbai