Quality Assurance and Control Manager

Location: Remote/Hybrid

About Us:

Bushbalm is The Bikini Line Skincare Experts, on a mission to be the go-to solution for ingrown hairs, dark spots, and razor bumps—everywhere on the body. We create effective, results-driven products that help people feel confident in their skin, from the bikini line to underarms and beyond.

Born in Ottawa, ON, we’ve grown from a bold idea to one of the city’s most exciting startups—securing a deal on Dragons’ Den and ranking among Ottawa’s fastest-growing companies. With a powerhouse eCommerce presence, a rapidly expanding retail footprint, and a strong network of waxing professionals, we’re disrupting the skincare industry in a big way.

At Bushbalm, you’ll join a fast-moving, passionate team where innovation, collaboration, and career growth go hand in hand. If you're ready to make an impact, we’d love to meet you!

Why Join Bushbalm?

• Be part of a rapidly growing and innovative skincare brand making waves in the beauty industry.
• Work in a collaborative and fun environment that values creativity and fresh ideas.
• Gain strong opportunities for career growth and professional development.
• Help expand a brand that is available in Ulta Beauty locations nationwide and 27,000+ waxing salons.

About the Role:

The Quality Assurance and Control Manager builds and owns the quality function at the company. Reporting directly to the Director of Operations, this role creates, implements and manages the systems, standards, and supplier relationships that ensure every product we ship meets our quality bar, and holds the authority to decide what does and does not go out the door.

This is a newly created role. You will architect our quality management system from the ground up, including authoring the quality management system manual, standard operating procedures, internal audits, product recalls, internal quality training, inspection standards, AQL protocols, supplier scorecards, CAPA, change control, and release criteria, while also handling day-today quality issues as they arise. As we scale and diversify our supplier base across new geographies, quality becomes foundational to protecting our brand and our customer experience.

You will partner closely with Product Development, Operations, and Supply Chain from concept through commercialization and into the post market phase to ensure quality is built into every stage of the product lifecycle, not simply inspected at the end. Working alongside Product Development, you will translate product specifications into measurable quality standards by defining inspection criteria, acceptance limits, sampling plans, and validation requirements that ensure products can be consistently manufactured and verified before commercial launch. Together, you will help ensure every product is designed, developed, and commercialized with quality built in from day one.

The salary range for this role is $95,000 CAD - $110,000 CAD.

Responsibilities:

Quality Management System

• Architect, implement, and launch a quality management system (QMS) from the ground up to establish the company's foundational quality infrastructure.
• Author a comprehensive quality management system manual that is uniquely tailored to the company's operational workflows, distribution channels, and specific product portfolio, including cosmetics and consumer goods.
• Author all standard operating procedures (SOPs) and supporting quality documentation required to govern the QMS.
• Design and deliver the necessary internal training to ensure cross-functional teams understand, adopt, and successfully execute the new quality procedures.
• Establish, schedule, and execute a comprehensive internal audit program to evaluate QMS effectiveness, identify gaps, and drive continuous compliance across internal operations.

Quality Standards, Inspection and Release

• Develop and maintain them for raw materials, packaging components, and finished goods, and build the AQL sampling plans (ISO 2859-1 or equivalent) that operationalize them.
• Establish and own quality inspection at source and on receipt across all shipments, partnering with our stakeholders who physically receive and handle goods.
• Own COA review and documentation across components and finished goods.

Supplier Quality Management

• Onsite and via documentation review, across our domestic and international supplier base.
• Evaluate quality systems, GMP compliance (ISO 22716), and manufacturing capabilities as we onboard new suppliers.
• Contribute quality inputs to the supplier scorecards, monitor supplier quality performance, and lead quality-driven supplier improvement.

Product Development and Commercialization 

• Responsible for making PD specifications inspectable, defining the acceptance criteria, sampling plan, and quality documentation the specification will be verified against.
• Verify products consistently meet established standards before commercial launch, and hold the quality-readiness gate for launch.
• Evaluate formulation, packaging, supplier, raw material, and manufacturing changes, ensuring appropriate validation and documentation are completed before implementation.

Quality Issue Resolution and Continuous Improvement

• Drive Corrective and Preventive Action investigations and partner with suppliers on long-term corrective actions.
• Identify recurring issues across products, suppliers, and internal processes and recommend preventative improvements, in partnership with Customer Experience and Operations who surface customer-reported quality issues.
• Serve as the primary point person and coordinator for product recalls, ensuring the recall plan is written, actionable, and executed efficiently in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Regulatory and Documentation

• Support cosmetic regulatory compliance across Health Canada Cosmetic Regulations, FDA cosmetic and OTC oversight (including MoCRA), and Cosmetic Good Manufacturing Practices (ISO 22716), in partnership with Product Development.
• Own quality documentation and records, specifications, deviations, CAPAs, supplier records, and change-control documentation.
• Support the documentation, investigation, and regulatory escalation of adverse event reports in accordance with applicable regulations and internal procedures.

Who You Are:

Must-haves

• 5+ years of quality assurance experience in cosmetics, beauty, skincare, or personal care preferred.
• Experience creating, implementing and managing a quality function and QMS from the ground up in a scaling environment.
• Hands on AQL inspection experience, running incoming quality inspections using AQL sampling protocols (ISO 2859-1 or equivalent).
• Conducting or participating in supplier quality assessments to resolve issues and drive continuous improvement, including with contract manufacturers.
• Performing root cause analysis and implementing corrective and preventive actions.
• Working knowledge of cosmetic regulatory frameworks, Health Canada Cosmetic Regulations and FDA cosmetic/OTC oversight (including MoCRA).
• Familiarity with cosmetic GMP (ISO 22716) and how it applies to manufacturing partner qualification.
• Strong written communication
• Experience qualifying new suppliers across multiple geographies.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in chemistry, biology, food science, biochemistry, pharmaceutical science, or a related discipline

Perks & Benefits:

• Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package.
• Flexible work environment (remote/hybrid options where applicable).
• Health and wellness benefits, including a lifestyle spending account.
• Professional development opportunities to support career growth.
• Free access to our award-winning products.
• Inclusive and dynamic company culture with team-building events.

Join us in redefining body care and making an impact in the beauty industry!

At Bushbalm, we believe in a people-first hiring experience. We do not use artificial intelligence (AI) to screen, evaluate, rank, or make decisions about candidates at any stage of our recruitment process. All applications are reviewed by members of our hiring team, and hiring decisions are made by people based on each candidate's qualifications, experience, and overall fit for the role. We are committed to providing a fair and transparent recruitment experience for every applicant.

Bushbalm is committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible workplace where all employees and applicants are treated with dignity and respect. In accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA), accommodations are available upon request for candidates participating in all aspects of the recruitment and selection process. If you require accommodation during the hiring process, please notify us and we will work with you to meet your accessibility needs.