Website:
vijayexports.co.in
Job details:
Purpose of the role
The Head of Quality Control & Assurance owns the quality of every piece that leaves the factory. The role has two halves. Quality control: leading the inspectors who check work at each stage of production and sign off the finished piece against its CAD, job card and customer specification. Quality assurance: building the standards, tolerances, records and audits that make good quality repeatable and make defects visible early, with their root cause.
The role is independent of production. It reports to the Directors so that quality decisions are not overruled by delivery pressure, and it has the authority to hold or reject work at any stage. It is a hands-on, floor-based role: the person in this seat is expected to be at the bench with the inspectors and karigars, not only at a desk.
Key responsibilities
1. Stage-wise quality control
- Define what "pass" means at each stage of production: casting (porosity, shrinkage, mis-runs, weight against target), filing and pre-polish (surface, symmetry, thickness), stone setting (seat depth, prong and bezel security, alignment, stone damage), polishing and finishing (surface, sharp edges, plating and rhodium where applicable) and assembly (findings, clasps, hinges, chain joins).
- Run the daily inspection schedule so that every job is checked at the agreed stages and does not move forward on a failed check.
- Set up and maintain the tools of inspection: loupes and microscopes, gauges, weighing scales with calibration records, reference samples and approved master pieces for each collection.
- Keep the inspection records complete: job number, stage, inspector, result, defect codes and rework instructions, so that any piece's quality history can be traced.
2. Final inspection and release
- Personally sign off, or delegate sign-off under clear rules, on every finished piece against its CAD or design image, job card, customer specification, gold and diamond weights and finish.
- Verify diamond quality, count and weight against the stone issue; escalate any variance before the piece leaves QC.
- Confirm hallmarking, stamping and certification requirements on each piece are met before release to Data & Dispatch.
- Hold the authority to reject or hold any piece, and record every rejection with a defect category and the department responsible.
3. Quality assurance systems and audits
- Write and maintain the quality manual: SOPs, inspection checklists, tolerance tables (weights, dimensions, stone grades, finish) and defect classifications, and keep them current as products and customers change.
- Track rejection, rework and first-pass-yield by stage, department and karigar; publish a weekly quality dashboard and a monthly review for the Directors.
- Lead root-cause analysis on recurring defects and customer complaints; agree corrective actions with the department heads and verify that they hold.
- Run internal quality audits of departments and karigar workshops and score them; feed results into the company's performance measurement.
- Manage customer complaints and returns on quality grounds: investigate, respond with findings, and close the loop with production.
- Support customer and third-party audits (buyer quality audits, hallmarking centre inspections) and maintain the records they require.
4. Leading the QC team
- Recruit, train and supervise the stage-wise checkers and final QC inspectors; assign workloads to match the production plan.
- Calibrate the team so that every inspector applies the same standard; run regular blind re-checks and inspector accuracy reviews.
- Train karigars and department staff on the standards and on the defects that matter most, so quality is built in rather than inspected in.
5. Coordination
- Work daily with the Head of Product Development & Customer Orders so that customer specifications are translated into inspection criteria before work begins.
- Review new developments at sample stage and flag design or construction features that will cause quality problems in production.
- Give the Directors clear, factual reporting on quality performance, risks and decisions needed.
Candidate profile
Experience
- 10 to 15 years in fine jewellery manufacturing quality, with at least 3 years leading a QC inspection team at a manufacturer or export house.
- Hands-on inspection experience across casting, setting, polishing and finishing on diamond-set gold jewellery; polki, uncut or rosecut experience is a strong advantage.
- Track record of building or overhauling a quality system: SOPs, tolerances, defect coding, yield and rejection reporting.
- Experience handling buyer quality complaints and audits, ideally for export customers in the US, UK or Europe.
- Experience working with karigar-based (piece-rate) production and holding quality without disrupting relationships.
Knowledge and skills
- Deep technical knowledge of jewellery construction, metals and alloys, casting defects, setting techniques and finishing standards.
- Sound diamond and coloured-stone grading knowledge, including polki and rosecut assessment.
- Working knowledge of BIS hallmarking requirements and diamond certification practice.
- Comfortable reading CAD renders, technical drawings and job cards and turning them into inspection criteria.
- Confident with Excel or Google Sheets for defect tracking, yield analysis and dashboards; experience with a jewellery ERP or QC module is an advantage.
- Familiar with structured problem-solving (root cause analysis, corrective and preventive action); Six Sigma or ISO 9001 exposure is a plus.
- Clear written and spoken English and Hindi; Gujarati or Marathi helpful on the shop floor.
Personal attributes
- Uncompromising on standards, and fair and consistent in applying them.
- Calm under delivery pressure; can hold a piece and explain why without conflict.
- Teaches rather than polices: raises the level of karigars and inspectors over time.
- Organised and data-minded: turns inspection results into decisions.
Education
- Graduate degree in any discipline. A diploma in jewellery manufacturing, gemmology or diamond grading (IIGJ, GIA, IGI or equivalent) is preferred. A quality management qualification (Six Sigma Green Belt, ISO 9001 auditor) is a plus.
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