Head of QC

Our Place

Los Angeles, CAUSD 120,000–140,000Posted 5 days ago Series B

About the role

At Our Place, we believe in the power of home-cooking to bring people together. We design thoughtful, beautiful products that make cooking and sharing meals easier and more joyful—and we are building a brand that earns a meaningful place in customers’ homes over time.

What you will own QC planning across the supply chain

- Build and own a rolling QC calendar for every PO and factory: incoming (IQC), during-production (in-line), pre-shipment and final inspections, 100% QC and container loading checks, tied to production schedules and cargo ready dates.

- Forecast inspector capacity weeks ahead, and flex with temporary staff and third parties so QC is never what holds up a ship date.

- Set sampling plans according to our Supplier Quality Manual (ANSI/ASQ Z1.4, General Inspection Level II, AQL 0 / 1.5 / 4.0 for critical, major and minor defects, special levels S-2 and S-4), and apply tightened, reduced and skip-lot rules.

Leading the China QA/QC team

- Manage, coach and schedule the China QA/QC team (three QC inspectors and a QA engineer); set daily priorities and review every report.

- Train inspectors on product-specific checklists, golden samples, defect classification and functional and safety tests (for example ground continuity, insulation resistance, hi-pot and leakage current on appliances; coating thickness and adhesion on cookware).

- Run regular calibration sessions so every inspector, in-house or third-party, grades defects the same way.

Costco and BD programs

- Plan and run QC for Costco and BD programs end to end: 100% QC, factory training, sample selection support, and coordination with retailer-appointed inspection and testing firms.

- Work with Supply Chain to build retailer QC and testing time (typically two to three weeks for Costco) into production timelines.

- Recruit, qualify, train and audit third-party QC providers (for example QIMA, Bureau Veritas or Intertek) to Our Place standards when we need more capacity; manage their scheduling, cost and report quality.

Issue handling

- Issue non-conformance reports, lead containment within 24 hours, decide rework, sort or reject with QA and Supply Chain, and track supplier corrective actions to closure.

- Flag quality risks to ship dates early, with options.

- Keep factories' in-line QC and production control plans aligned with our standards.

Reporting and tools

- Own inspection data in Qarma: complete, on-time reports, defect paretos and supplier pass rates.

- Publish a weekly QC report in English to the US and China teams covering schedule, results, open issues and risks.

- Feed field and customer issues back into inspection checklists with QA and Engineering.

What success looks like in 6-12 months - Every PO has a planned inspection before production starts, and no shipment slips because QC wasn't scheduled or staffed.

- Costco and BD shipments pass retailer inspections the first time.

- A trained, audited bench of third-party inspectors is ready for peak volume.

- Inspection reports are complete and on time in Qarma, and defect trends are reviewed weekly with QA.

- In-house and third-party inspectors grade defects consistently.

What you bring - 8+ years in QC or QA for consumer products made in China, including 3+ years leading inspection teams. Small kitchen appliance experience is required; cookware is a plus.

- Fluent spoken and written English and Mandarin.

- Hands-on skill with AQL sampling, inspection checklists, golden samples, first article inspection, non-conformance reports, 8D and factory audits.

- Experience running retailer QC programs (Costco preferred) and managing third-party inspection firms.

- Comfortable running appliance safety and function tests and cookware material tests, and reading specifications and drawings.

- A highly organized planner who works from data and tools (Qarma or similar, plus spreadsheets).

- Based in Los Angeles or willing to relocate, and able to travel 25%

From Our Place's careers page

Join job seekers getting matched with startup roles

Apply opens this role's application form on the company's own careers site, and we'll send you other roles that fit.