Manager, Color Production & QA at Thrive Causemetics (Los Angeles, CA)Manager, Color Production & QA

Location: In-Office 4 days/week in Playa Vista, CA HQ

Who We Are:

Thrive Causemetics is Bigger Than Beauty™: We are an independent, female-owned beauty brand that creates high-performance vegan cosmetics and supports a community of giving. All of Thrive Causemetics' products are free of parabens and sulfates, in addition to being 100 percent cruelty-free. Through its Bigger Than Beauty™ program, every product purchased results in a donation to help communities thrive. Thrive Causemetics is dedicated to fostering a collaborative and cross-functional workplace where everyone’s voice matters. We are committed to being pioneers in creating a culture of wellness. Together, we prioritize a strong work ethic while maintaining a positive, exciting environment where people are passionate about what they do.

Who We Are Looking For:

We are seeking an experienced QA/QC Manager to lead quality assurance and quality control efforts across our color cosmetics and skincare product lines. This critical role will oversee all aspects of product quality, ensuring that our formulations, packaging, and finished goods meet the highest standards of safety, performance, and regulatory compliance. As the QA/QC Manager, you will work closely with internal teams, contract manufacturers, and external testing partners and warehouses to uphold our brand’s reputation for exceptional quality. This role will require occasional travel to physically audit inventory and visit CMs to inspect product quality.

What You Will Be Doing:

- Review pilot, line trial, production, and commercial bulk batches against approved standards to assess shade accuracy, texture, appearance, odor, payoff, application, and overall product quality.

- Evaluate manufacturing submissions and provide timely approvals, detailed feedback, and recommended corrective actions to contract manufacturers.

- Support day-to-day production oversight, including batch reviews, reorder approvals, bulk approvals, and time-sensitive manufacturing decisions.

- Travel to domestic and international manufacturing facilities as needed to review production batches, attend line trials, troubleshoot issues, and ensure alignment with approved standards.

- Collaborate with Product Development, Quality, Operations, Regulatory, and external manufacturing partners to investigate and resolve color, aesthetic, packaging, and production-related discrepancies.

- Partner with Customer Experience to review product quality complaints, identify trends, investigate potential root causes, and communicate findings and recommended actions.

- Communicate quality discrepancies clearly and promptly to internal teams and manufacturing partners, ensuring appropriate documentation, escalation, and follow-through.

- Support investigations, root cause analysis, corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs), and other quality processes as needed.

- Follow established Quality SOPs and help ensure products and manufacturing partners meet internal quality requirements.

- Establish, maintain, and periodically refresh approved production standards, retains, and reference samples to ensure consistency throughout the product lifecycle.

- Maintain organized archives of approved standards, retains, production references, batch history, quality documentation, and related records.

- Review primary and secondary packaging for quality, functionality, aesthetics, and alignment with approved standards.

- Support artwork reviews to help ensure packaging execution aligns with approved product specifications and quality requirements.

- Support continuous improvement initiatives focused on color consistency, manufacturing robustness, production quality, and efficient batch approval processes.

- Provide technical expertise related to color cosmetic formulations, pigment behavior, shade development, color matching, and manufacturing variability.

- Identify recurring production or quality issues and partner cross-functionally to develop solutions that improve future production.

- Balance multiple product reviews, production timelines, quality investigations, and manufacturing priorities while maintaining exceptional attention to detail.

What Will Make You Stand Out:

- Bachelor's degree in Cosmetic Science, Chemistry, Product Development, Quality Assurance, or a 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 the ability to identify subtle differences in shade, undertone, texture, payoff, appearance, and overall 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 the 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

Thrive Causemetics is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. without current or future sponsorship for an immigration-related work benefit. Thrive Causemetics does not hire H-1B, F-1 CPT, OPT, or STEM OPT candidates for this role.

The base pay range for this role is $85,000 - $105,000 with the following factors determining the base pay at offer: skills, qualifications, experience. This range provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. Additionally, this role is also eligible for an annual discretionary bonus based on company and individual performance. Thrive Causemetics provides a competitive benefits package, including but not limited to: comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans, a 401(k) plan with employer matching, various paid time off programs, employee discount/perks, life insurance, disability insurance, and employee assistance programs.