Product Quality & Recovery Team Leader

IKEA; East Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 38,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous paid time off

WiselyPay – earned wages early

Paid parental leave

KinderCare tuition discount

Retirement and bonus plans

Co-worker discount

Pet insurance program

Education assistance and learning

Safety shoe reimbursement

24/7 telehealth visits

Dental and vision plans

Medical and Rx plans (min. 20 hrs/wk)

A fun and inclusive work environment

Job summary

IKEA in East Palo Alto is seeking a leader to drive product quality in-store, ensuring rapid investigations and resolution of issues while coordinating with cross-functional partners.

The role emphasizes developing team competence, managing quality claims under tight timelines, and upholding IKEA’s standards of cost-aware, sustainable store operations.

Qualifications

• 3 years of experience in retail processes and working methods.
• 3 years leading and developing people in customer-centric service or retail environment.
• Understanding of business processes and working methods within IKEA retailing.
• Knowledge of budgeting and Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ).

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage product quality work in the retail store.
• Drive competence development and increase awareness around correcting identified issues, investigations and reporting.
• Serve as main contact for the store and the Service Office on quality claims and 24-hour reporting.
• Process claims documentation and ensure timely follow-up of resolutions; reconcile and credit store for claims.
• Report all store quality problems to matrix partners and drive improvements with Imonitor and other stakeholders.
• Keep store stakeholders informed about products on quality and champion IKEA culture with diverse teams.
• Contribute to an environment where IKEA culture is strong and inclusive.

Skills

Retail operations experience

People leadership

COPQ knowledge

Budget & planning

Job description

Why we will love you

You care about making a positive impact in the world. A job at IKEA is so much more than home furnishings, we work to make sustainable living easy and affordable for everyone. Want to help us create a more sustainable future? Join our team!

What you'll be doing day to day

Leads, develops and manages the product quality work in the retail store. Continuously drives competence development and increases awareness around the importance of correcting identified issues, performing investigations and creating reports with the purpose of reducing product quality issues.

• Acts as a member of the Recovery team and proactively contributes to achieving common objectives and goals.
• Ensure all recovery processes are completed in a consistent manner. Such as, repackaging, confirmation, recycling, building, pricing, SAMS and maintaining the spare parts library.
• Ensures all quality claims meet the 24-hour mandatory reporting and are brought to a successful resolution. Serves as the main point of contact for the store and the Service Office.
• Processes all related claims documentation and ensures timely follow up of the resolutions. Reconciles and ensures credit to the store for all quality claims.
• Reports all store product and packaging quality problems are investigated and communicated to matrix partners.
• Works with Imonitor quality related questions on a consistent basis and champions all necessary changes to become compliant.
• Ensures that all store stakeholders are kept informed about products on quality.
• Contributes to an environment where the IKEA culture is a strong and living reality that embraces the diversity of co-workers and customers.

Together as a Team

In our team we make a virtue to cut waste and keep the quality while saving time and money. You could say that we increase operational excellence without sacrificing what IKEA customers want: a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at low prices. It's a collaborative process of continuous improvement and an ongoing challenge to make the most of every single thing.

JOB TYPE – Permanent

HOURS - 40 hours per week /Benefits Eligible

SHIFTS – Fully open work schedule availability including evenings and weekends required; Operations generally range between the window of 7am to 11pm; Work schedules are published one month in advance

The pay range for this role is $27.77- $38.93

At IKEA, taking care of our co-workers and their dependents is a top priority. That’s why we offer our eligible, regular co-workers (part-time and full-time) a full menu of benefits and perk options to help everyone maintain work and life balance, be well and plan for their future. Join our team and enjoy these benefits and so much more!

• Generous paid time off, holiday and sick time
• WiselyPay – get earned wages up to two days early
• Paid parental leave (up to 16 weeks)
• KinderCare tuition discount
• Retirement and bonus plans
• Co-worker discount, meal deal, and referral bonus
• Pet insurance program
• Education assistance and learning programs
• Safety shoe reimbursement
• 24/7 telehealth visits
• Dental and vision plans
• Medical and Rx plans (must work min. 20 hrs/wk)
• A fun and inclusive work environment

Thank you for your interest in applying for this role. The successful candidate may be required to complete a background check and drug test as a condition for this role.

The anticipated posting closing date is on or around 10/28/26

Qualifications

• 3 years of solid experience of business processes and working methods within retailing.
• 3 years of experience in managing, leading, and developing people preferably in customer centric service or retail environment.
• Understanding of business processes and working methods within IKEA retailing.
• Knowledge of business and management principles, budgeting and resource allocation, retail store operations and Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ).