Management · Holland code CEI
Quality Control Systems Managers
Plan, direct, or coordinate quality assurance programs. Formulate quality control policies and control quality of laboratory and production efforts.
Also called: Quality Assurance Director (QA Director), Quality Assurance Manager (QA Manager), Quality Control Manager (QC Manager), Quality Manager, Product Quality Director, Quality and Food Safety Manager, Quality and Process Improvement Manager, Quality Control Supervisor (QC Supervisor).
O*NET 11-3051.01
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $126,060
- Middle half earn $98,160 to $161,880. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree
- 100% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
- US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034
- +2% · Slower than average
- 241,900 jobs in 2024, projected 246,500. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Industrial production managers".
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Stop production if serious product defects are present.
- Review and update standard operating procedures or quality assurance manuals.
- Monitor performance of quality control systems to ensure effectiveness and efficiency.
- Review quality documentation necessary for regulatory submissions and inspections.
- Analyze quality control test results and provide feedback and interpretation to production management or staff.
- Verify that raw materials, purchased parts or components, in-process samples, and finished products meet established testing and inspection standards.
- Oversee workers including supervisors, inspectors, or laboratory workers engaged in testing activities.
- Direct product testing activities throughout production cycles.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
- Active Listening3.9 / 5
- Writing3.9 / 5
- Speaking3.9 / 5
- Monitoring3.9 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.8 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Production and Processing4.1 / 5
- Education and Training4.1 / 5
- English Language4.1 / 5
- Chemistry3.9 / 5
- Customer and Personal Service3.8 / 5
- Administration and Management3.7 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic43
- Investigative52
- Artistic5
- Social18
- Enterprising68
- Conventional74
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- quality services manager · DE Qualitätsmanager/Qualitätsmanagerin · FR responsable qualité services
- industrial quality manager · DE Qualitätsbeauftragter in der Industrie/Qualitätsbeauftragte in der Industrie · FR responsable en qualité industrielle
- footwear quality manager · DE Qualitätsbeauftragter in der Schuhindustrie/Qualitätsbeauftragte in der Schuhindustrie · FR responsable qualité chaussure
- leather goods quality manager · DE Qualitätsbeauftragter für Lederwaren/Qualitätsbeauftragte für Lederwaren · FR responsable qualité cuirs et peaux
- textile quality manager · DE Qualitätsbeauftragter in der Textilindustrie/Qualitätsbeauftragte in der Textilindustrie · FR responsable qualité habillement
- quality engineer · DE Qualitätsingenieur/Qualitätsingenieurin · FR ingénieur qualité/ingénieure qualité
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Quantity surveyors (2453)45,300 employed
- Production managers and directors in manufacturing (1121)227,800 employed
- Building and civil engineering technicians (3114)20,100 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Managers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €96,629 |
| Italy | €96,052 |
| Germany | €90,192 |
| Austria | €82,936 |
| Netherlands | €69,857 |
| Sweden | €60,369 |
| France | €58,740 |
| Ireland | €55,854 |
| Spain | €54,121 |
| Portugal | €39,189 |
| Poland | €19,596 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.51. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (11-3051).
Related careers
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