Senior Apparel Quality Assurance Technician

Responsible for quality assurance of individual products and complete apparel product lines consisting of moderate to extreme levels of difficulty, complexity or breadth of scope; taking place through daily interaction and oversight during product creation, establishing all quality control expectations and remediation of any quality issues arising after product ship from the manufacturing vendor.

Responsibilities and Qualifications

Establish and maintain best quality practices for apparel and softgoods products Maintain awareness of all internal and external requirements associated to respective productEnsure adherence to established best quality practices during product creation; from product inception, up to manufactureEstablish and maintain correlation between product testing efforts and quality assurance and control effortsPerform FMEAs and other analysis with cross functional teams to determine needs for new test and quality control requirementsDesign and iterate new quality inspection methods in the absence of standardized and existing methodsResearch, design and publish formal quality control plans specific to REI developed productsIdentify quality issues (after product leaves manufacturing vendor)Provide oversight of identified quality issues (above) from discovery to resolutionOperate industrial shop tools as needed per product typeDirect the efforts of outside contracted resources to ensure adherence to industry and internal standardsProvide routine status updates in a timely manner and keep business partners continuously informed on quality issuesProvide expert analysis of qualitative and quantitative results and present objective recommendations to cross-functional product development teamsMaintain and readily communicate all internal procedures and best practices; ensure procedures and practices are up to dateMaintain archives and revision control of all quality associated procedures, protocols, documents, and recordsServe as a quality consultant for all new technology and product developmentsKeep informed of the latest developments in the field by reading trade journals, individual contacts and attendance at appropriate meetings and/or trade shows Qualifications: 8 year’s prior experience in a similar positionComputer experience and knowledge of Microsoft applications required (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)Expertise with quality assurance and quality control best practices, procedures and equipmentFamiliarity with product related testing practices, procedures and equipmentTechnical Aptitude - Ability to perform professional assignments of wide variety and complexity under general direction with considerable discretion as to work details given experience levelEffective Communication - Clear communication to internal and external customers in multiple formats (written, verbal)Self Sufficient - Ability to complete quality assurance deliverables of wide variety and complexity under general direction with considerable discretion as to work details given experience levelProblem Solving - Effectively analyzing all aspects of a problem, gathering necessary data, consulting others, making an informed decision and communicating it to the appropriate peopleTesting and Fabrication - Experience operating test and shop equipment related to assigned product typeMaterials Knowledge – Extensive knowledge of assigned product type materials and their respective propertiesQuantifiable Results - Demonstrated solid training and understanding of statistical sampling, inspection and analysis