Director Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Ulta Beauty; Bolingbrook (IL); On-site; USD 147,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Health insurance

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

Disability benefits

Job summary

Ulta Beauty is seeking a Director of Quality Assurance & Quality Control to lead QA/QC strategy and governance across the supply chain and retail network. You will own the QMS, drive regulatory readiness, and oversee supplier quality, audits, and CAPA programs to ensure product quality and compliance.

Lead a cross-functional team, collaborate with Legal, Risk, Compliance, Operations, and Retail leadership, and report to executive leadership on quality metrics and improvements.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of compliance leadership experience in retail, beauty, or consumer products.
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred (e.g., JD and/or MBA).
• Proven ability to design, operationalize, and audit enterprise compliance programs.
• Demonstrated leadership skills to build and maintain high-performing teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the enterprise QA and QC strategy, establishing annual quality objectives.
• Provide end-to-end accountability for product quality, QMS integrity, and regulatory readiness.
• Own and continuously enhance the QMS, including policies, standards, procedures, and governance.
• Lead quality governance activities, including reviews and executive reporting forums.
• Direct quality oversight for distribution centers, supply chain operations, and retail locations.
• Manage supplier quality programs, including qualification, auditing, corrective actions, and continuous improvement.
• Lead complaint handling, product recall management, and non-conformance investigations.
• Ensure regulatory compliance and internal quality policies.
• Coordinate and oversee internal/external audits and regulatory inspections.
• Identify, assess, elevate, and mitigate quality risks impacting products or customers.
• Oversee pharmacovigilance and cosmetovigilance programs, including adverse event monitoring and reporting.
• Maintain controlled quality documentation and procedures for compliance.
• Establish quality KPIs and present results to leadership.
• Lead CAPA programs and continuous improvement.
• Build, coach, and develop QA/QC teams and field quality staff.
• Partner with Legal, Risk, Compliance, Operations, Supply Chain, and Retail leaders to drive quality objectives.
• Serve as primary quality representative with regulators, auditors, suppliers, and external stakeholders.
• Foster a culture of quality, accountability, compliance, and continuous improvement.

Skills

Quality leadership

Regulatory expertise

Quality management

Quality Assurance

Quality Control

Risk management

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

Overview

Realize new levels of autonomy and professional ownership. At Ulta Beauty, our Legal, Risk & Governance team provides clarity and continuity in ways that have made our growth a seamless venture, with keen insights that have opened up new and previously unexplored areas of opportunity. Through superior leadership and work that continually challenges, you’ll have the chance to help set strategic direction through ethical and collaborative thought and practice.

THE IMPACT YOU CAN HAVE

The Director of Quality Assurance & Quality Control is a key leader within the Enterprise compliance function. This role oversees the organization's quality strategy, quality management systems, compliance programs, and continuous improvement initiatives. They lead teams responsible for preventing defects (Quality Assurance) and verifying product/service quality through inspection and testing (Quality Control). Accountable for the end-to-end product quality, integrity of the quality management system, and regulatory readiness across the supply chain and retail network. The Director must operate as a strong collaborator and partner, leveraging relationship skills and business expertise.

YOU'LL ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS BY:

• Develop and execute the enterprise Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) strategy, establishing annual quality objectives aligned with organizational goals.
• Provide end-to-end accountability for product quality, Quality Management System (QMS) integrity, and regulatory readiness across the supply chain and retail network.
• Own and continuously enhance the Quality Management System (QMS), including quality policies, standards, procedures, and governance frameworks.
• Lead quality governance activities, including management reviews, quality councils, and executive reporting forums.
• Direct quality oversight for distribution centers, supply chain operations, and retail locations to ensure consistent product quality and compliance.
• Manage supplier quality programs, including qualification, auditing, performance monitoring, corrective actions, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Lead complaint handling, product recall management, and non-conformance investigations to ensure timely resolution and risk mitigation.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, industry standards, and internal quality policies.
• Coordinate and oversee internal audits, external audits, regulatory inspections, and associated remediation activities.
• Identify, assess, elevate, and mitigate quality risks that may impact products, customers, operations, or regulatory compliance.
• Oversee pharmacovigilance and cosmetovigilance programs, including adverse event monitoring, investigation, documentation, and reporting.
• Maintain controlled quality documentation, records, and procedures to support compliance and operational excellence.
• Establish quality metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), monitor performance trends, and present results to executive leadership.
• Lead root cause analysis, Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) programs, and continuous improvement efforts to strengthen quality performance.
• Build, coach, and develop high-performing QA/QC teams and quality field organizations.
• Partner cross-functionally with Legal, Risk, Compliance, Operations, Supply Chain, Commercial, and Retail leaders to drive quality objectives.
• Serve as the primary quality representative with regulators, auditors, suppliers, and other key external stakeholders.
• Foster a culture of quality, accountability, compliance, and continuous improvement throughout the organization.

Required Qualifications

THE ESSENTIALS OF SUCCESS

• 7+ years of compliance leadership experience in retail, beauty, or consumer products, preferably at a Fortune 500 or similarly scaled enterprise.
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred (e.g., JD and/or MBA).
• Proven ability to design, operationalize, and audit enterprise compliance programs.
• Demonstrated leadership skills to build and maintain high-performing teams.

Preferred Experience

• Expertise in cosmetics, hair care, skin care, fragrance, wellness, and/or OTC product regulations.
• Technical expertise across FDA, CARES Act, DSHEA, EU Cosmetics Regulation, REACH/CLP, FTC, CPSC, retail store, salon, distribution center, and digital commerce platform compliance, factory compliance, CBP/import/customs, DOT/IATA/IMDG, EPA, Hazmat, State-Level Chemical & Toxic Bans, Ethical/Sustainability Laws, and/or FCPA/anti-corruption.
• Experience leveraging compliance technology, analytics, or automation platforms, and managing compliance risks associated with AI.

Additional Skills & Competencies

• Enterprise role model for compliance and ethical decision-making.
• Ability to lead complex programs and foster continuous improvement.
• Anticipate regulatory changes and prepare the company for compliance.
• Dynamic, results-oriented collaborator on strategic initiatives.
• Reliability in completing strategic initiatives on time and under budget.
• Use of metrics and benchmarking for improvement.
• Strong leadership presence and communication skills.
• Proactive, solution-oriented mindset.
• High emotional intelligence and interpersonal effectiveness.
• Trustworthiness and discretion in handling confidential information.

The pay range for this position is $147,300.00 - $200,000.00 / Year with the opportunity for eligible associates to earn additional compensation pursuant to the Company’s bonus plan. Exact pay will be based on factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, level, shift, geographic location, and business and organizational needs. Full-time positions are eligible for paid time off, health, dental, vision, life and disability benefits. Part-time positions are eligible for dental, vision, life, and disability benefits. For additional information concerning our benefits, visit our Benefits and Career Development page: https://learn.bswift.com/ulta

About

At Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA), the possibilities are beautiful. Ulta Beauty is the largest North American beauty retailer and the premier beauty destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skin care products, hair care products and salon services. We bring possibilities to life through the power of beauty each and every day in our stores and online with more than 25,000 products from approximately 500 well-established and emerging beauty brands across all categories and price points, including Ulta Beauty’s own private label. Ulta Beauty also offers a full-service salon in every store featuring—hair, skin, brow, and make-up services.

We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest records, conviction records, or other criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of any applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the New York City Fair Chance Act.