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Salary: USD 85,000 - 105,000 / annual
Thrive Causemetics, an independent female-owned beauty brand creating high-performance vegan cosmetics, is seeking an experienced QA/QC Manager to lead quality assurance and quality control efforts across color cosmetics and skincare product lines. This role oversees all aspects of product quality, ensuring formulations, packaging, and finished goods meet the highest standards of safety, performance, and regulatory compliance.
You will work closely with internal teams, contract manufacturers, and external testing partners to uphold the brand's reputation for exceptional quality. Key responsibilities include reviewing pilot, line trial, production, and commercial bulk batches against approved standards to assess shade accuracy, texture, appearance, odor, payoff, and application. You will evaluate manufacturing submissions, provide timely approvals and detailed feedback, and recommend corrective actions to contract manufacturers.
You will support day-to-day production oversight including batch reviews, reorder approvals, and time-sensitive manufacturing decisions. Travel to domestic and international manufacturing facilities is required to review production batches, attend line trials, troubleshoot issues, and ensure alignment with approved standards. You will collaborate cross-functionally with Product Development, Quality, Operations, Regulatory, and external partners to investigate and resolve color, aesthetic, packaging, and production-related discrepancies.
Additional responsibilities include partnering with Customer Experience to review product quality complaints and identify trends; communicating quality discrepancies clearly and promptly; supporting investigations, root cause analysis, and corrective/preventive actions (CAPAs); establishing and maintaining approved production standards and reference samples; maintaining organized archives of quality documentation; reviewing primary and secondary packaging; supporting artwork reviews; driving continuous improvement initiatives; and providing technical expertise on color cosmetic formulations, pigment behavior, and shade development.
The role requires balancing multiple product reviews, production timelines, quality investigations, and manufacturing priorities while maintaining exceptional attention to detail. In-office 4 days per week at Playa Vista, CA headquarters.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor's degree in Cosmetic Science, Chemistry, Product Development, Quality Assurance, or related field (preferred)
- 2–5 years of experience in Color Cosmetics Product Development, Color Formulation, Shading, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, or Manufacturing Support
- Strong understanding of color cosmetic formulation, pigment technology, shade matching, and cosmetic manufacturing processes
- Experience with cosmetic commercialization, scale-up, line trials, and production troubleshooting
- Demonstrated experience reviewing pilot, line trial, bulk, and commercial production batches
- Exceptional visual color assessment skills with ability to identify subtle differences in shade, undertone, texture, payoff, appearance, and aesthetics
- Working knowledge of cosmetic quality systems, manufacturing controls, SOPs, CAPAs, root cause investigations, and batch approval procedures
- Understanding of cosmetic packaging quality and artwork review processes
- Strong organizational and documentation skills with ability to maintain accurate standards, retains, and production records
- Ability to make thoughtful, timely decisions in a fast-paced production environment
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
