Quality Control Manager

Job Description

The Quality department is committed to maintaining the highest standards across all aspects of our products and services. Through rigorous inspection, testing, and continuous improvement processes, the team ensures compliance with industry regulations, client specifications, and internal quality benchmarks. Their focus on excellence supports reliable, safe, and high-performing solutions, reinforcing Alternative Heat's reputation for delivering outstanding mechanical and electrical systems.

The Quality Control Manager is a key role, leading QC execution within an ISO environment, ensuring that all prefabricated modules are produced safely, consistently and in compliance with design, regulatory and Client requirements. The focus of the role is on execution: effective inspection and test, corrective action implementation, root cause analysis, defect prevention, risk-based decision-making and driving continual improvement in factory performance.

What You'll be Doing

Factory QC Leadership

• Lead day-to-day QC activities in the Dundalk manufacturing facility, directing Engineers and Inspectors and aligning priorities with production schedules.
• Ensure all QC activities are carried out in accordance with relevant ISO standards, existing AH-IMS policies, procedures, work instructions etc.
• Act as the primary site point of contact for all quality control matters, collaborating closely with Operations, Design, Commercial teams etc to resolve quality issues and support continual improvement initiatives.

Inspection and Testing

• Review project documentation and technical specifications to develop detailed inspection checklist and quality control plans.
• Develop and maintain quality procedures and work instructions to standardise inspection and testing activities.
• Develop, implement and maintain Inspection and Test Plans (ITPs) to ensure structured, traceable and compliant verification of works.
• Ensure incoming, in-process and final inspections are performed, including dimensional checks, visual inspection and other functional tests (as applicable).
• Use Field View (FV) to plan, execute and record inspections, including checklists, photographs etc (ensuring full traceability and alignment with key milestones).
• Verify that assemblies comply with approved drawings, specifications, standards and client requirements before release from the factory, control release documentation and factory quality records in FV (and any linked systems).
• Support and lead acceptance tests with Clients and third parties, ensuring all observations and results are captured.

Nonconformity, Containment and Improvement

• Identify and clearly document nonconforming products arising from factory operations, ensuring it is segregated, labelled and controlled in line with existing procedures.
• Participate in and support structured root cause analysis.
• Contribute to the definition of corrective actions and support implementation and verification on the shop floor, even where ownership of the action sits with other functions.
• Regularly review FV data and other quality metrics to identify patterns, risk areas and improvement priorities.
• Proactively highlight defect prevention opportunities by analysing trends in Nonconformity reports (NRs), rework and failures.
• Support FMEA/process risk reviews by providing defect data and practical feedback from inspections and NRs.

Performance Measurement and Monitoring

• Use existing data sources (e.g. FV, test records, NRs, rework/scrap data etc) to measure and monitor factory quality performance on an ongoing basis.
• Develop, track and maintain key performance indicators (KPIs) including defect rates, nonconformities (NRs) and inspection performance metrics.
• Prepare and present quality performance reports to senior management, highlighting trends, risk and corrective actions.
• Escalate significant negative trends or risk indicators identified through measurement and monitoring to the relevant owners and support them with evidence for decision making.

Team Communication and Engagement

• Plan and deliver regular quality-focused toolbox talks and short quality briefings to promote awareness and accountability across QC and other teams.
• Work with key stakeholders to ensure these toolbox talks align with current risk, project priorities, NRs, audit findings and improvement themes.
• Encourage open reporting of issues and suggestions during briefings, feeding relevant points into improvement activities or escalations as appropriate.

Welding Quality Execution

• Oversee the implementation of welding-related controls in line with ISO 3834 etc and direction from the Welding Quality Manager, ensuring use of approved use of approved Welding Procedure Specification (WPS), correct materials and qualified welders.
• Escalate welding issues to the Welding Quality Manager and QA for investigation and potential system-level change.

Compliance with Existing ISO 9001/14001/45001 Controls

• Ensure QC staff follow all documented procedures, risk assessments, controls and safe systems of work.
• Support internal and external audits in the factory by providing evidence of QC implementation from FV records and other sources, ensuring findings related to QC execution are addressed.
• Promote compliance culture on the shop floor, reinforcing expectations on documentation, identification, cleanliness, segregated nonconforming product and environmental/safety controls.
• Conduct internal audits to ensure compliance with the AH-IMS and project requirements.

Stakeholder and Client Interface

• Act as the main QC representative for factory visits, Client inspections and coordination with site quality teams, resolving product quality issues prior to dispatch.
• Demonstrate use of FV to Clients and stakeholders where required, to evidence inspection coverage, defect management and closure.
• Collaborate with Design/BIM, planning and production teams to clarify quality requirements, buildability issues and inspection points.

Team management and competence

• Line manage Engineers, Inspectors: allocate work, clarify priorities, review inspection outputs and support development of technical competence.
• Develop training plans for QC Inspectors, providing structured technical development, onboarding and continuous upskilling to enhance team capability.
• Ensure all QC staff are competent in the use of FV, providing coaching and arranging formal training, as needed.
• Identify wider training needs (inspection techniques, welding quality, reading drawings, procedures etc) and arrange coordination with HQ Quality and Learning and Development.