Quality Lab Supervisor

3M Company; Cordova (TN); On-site; USD 96,000 - 117,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental & Vision

Health Savings Accounts

Health Care & Dependent Care Flexible

Job summary

3M Company in Cordova, Illinois, is seeking a Quality Lab Supervisor to lead the quality control and wastewater laboratories, coordinating with production to prioritize testing and maintain continuous operations.

The role requires at least a high school diploma and 3 years in manufacturing or lab settings, plus leadership skills. You will mentor technicians, ensure training, and drive safety and cost-management initiatives while aligning with 3M's continuous improvement culture.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma/GED completed and verified prior to start.
• Three years of experience in manufacturing, quality, or laboratory environments.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in sciences or engineering preferred.
• Experience supervising individual contributors is a plus.
• Knowledge of measurement, testing, and calibration concepts.

Responsibilities

• Operate and oversee quality control and wastewater laboratories.
• Provide direct oversight and leadership for lab team members.
• Manage technician schedules to ensure shift coverage and continuity.
• Coordinate between production and WWT to prioritize sample testing.
• Support around-the-clock lab operational needs.

Skills

Leadership

Decision making

Problem solving

Continuous improvement

Education

High School Diploma/GED

Bachelor’s Degree or higher in sciences/engineering

Job description

Quality Lab Supervisor

Collaborate with Innovative 3Mers Around the World

Choosing where to start and grow your career has a major impact on your professional and personal life, so it’s equally important you know that the company that you choose to work at, and its leaders, will support and guide you. With a wide variety of people, global locations, technologies and products, 3M is a place where you can collaborate with other curious, creative 3Mers.

This position provides an opportunity to transition from other private, public, government or military experience to a 3M career.

The Impact You’ll Make in this Role

Quality Lab Operations

• Responsible for operations in the quality control and wastewater (WWT) laboratories.


• Provide direct oversight and leadership for lab team members.


• Manage technician schedule to ensure appropriate shift coverage and business continuity.


• Coordinate between production operations and WWT operations to prioritize sample testing and execution based on production and shipment needs.


• Support around-the-clock lab operational needs as required.

Quality Lab Training Program

• Ensure lab technician training remains current, effective, and compliant with applicable requirements.


• Oversee technician training progression, qualification, and development.


• Support onboarding and training of new quality technicians.


• Identify and implement improvements to lab training processes and documentation.

Safety & Environmental Support

• Serve as an HRP champion within the lab.


• Ensure HRP+ tools are used appropriately and consistently in applicable lab situations.


• Identify safety and environmental improvement opportunities and implement effective solutions.


• Serve as a lab point of contact for EHS audits, reviews, and compliance-related activities.


• Promote a proactive safety culture through coaching, engagement, and daily leadership presence.

Cost Management

• Identify and support cost-reduction opportunities within the lab.


• Partner with chemists, technologists, and other technical resources on cost of poor-quality reduction initiatives.


• Ensure an efficient utilization of labor, materials, equipment, and external services.

Continuous Improvement

• Champion continuous improvement initiatives within the quality & WWT labs.


• Coach lab technicians on Lean, 5S, and standard work fundamentals.


• Perform daily lab audits using the \"clean to inspect, inspect to detect, detect to correct, correct to perfect\" methodology.


• Support development of lab equipment preventive maintenance schedules and maintenance logbook utilization.


• Lead kaizen events and improvement projects within the lab.


• Capture measurable improvements and share best practices with other areas of the site and division.

Your Skills and Expertise

To set you up for success in this role from day one, 3M requires (at a minimum) the following qualifications:

• High School Diploma/GED (completed and verified prior to start)


• Three (3) years of experience in manufacturing, quality, research & development and/or laboratory in a private, public, government or military environment.

Additional qualifications that could help you succeed even further in this role include:

• Bachelor’s Degree or higher in sciences and/ or engineering from an accredited university.


• Medical product and/or quality management system experience such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Quality System Regulation (QSR) and/or International Organization for Standardization (ISO).


• Prior experience supervising individual contributors.


• Experienced and knowledgeable in routine test procedures, equipment validation, and problem solving.


• Understanding of basic concepts of measurement systems, testing, and calibration


• Strong leadership, decision-making, problem-solving, continuous improvement, and management skills with the ability to provide guidance, direction, and oversight to others.


• Continuous Improvement leadership experience including leading projects and kaizen events.

Work location:

• Onsite in Cordova, IL

Travel: May include up to 10%

Relocation Assistance: Is not authorized

Must be legally authorized to work in country of employment without sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H1B status).

Responsibilities of this position may include direct and/or indirect physical or logical access to information, systems, technologies subjected to the regulations/compliance with U.S. Export Control Laws.

U.S. Export Control laws and U.S. Government Department of Defense contracts and sub-contracts impose certain restrictions on companies and their ability to share export-controlled and other technology and services with certain \"non-U.S. persons\" (persons who are not U.S. citizens or nationals, lawful permanent residents of the U.S., refugees, \"Temporary Residents\" (granted Amnesty or Special Agricultural Worker provisions), or persons granted asylum.

To comply with these laws, 3M must help assess candidates’ U.S. person status.

The questions asked in this application are intended to assess this and will be used for evaluation purposes only. Failure to provide the necessary information in this regard will result in our inability to consider you further for this particular position.

Supporting Your Well-being

3M offers many programs to help you live your best life — both physically and financially. To ensure competitive pay and benefits, 3M regularly benchmarks with other companies that are comparable in size and scope.

Applicable to US Applicants Only:

The expected compensation range for this position is $95,591 – $116,834, which includes base pay plus variable incentive pay, if eligible. This range represents a good faith estimate for this position. The specific compensation offered to a candidate may vary based on factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s relevant knowledge, training, skills, work location, and/or experience. In addition, this position may be eligible for a range of benefits:

• Medical


• Dental & Vision


• Health Savings Accounts


• Health Care & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts


• Disability Benefits


• Life Insurance


• Voluntary Benefits


• Paid Absences


• Retirement Benefits

Additional information is available at: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/careers-us/working-at-3m/benefits/

Pay & Benefits Overview: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/careers-us/working-at-3m/benefits/

3M does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Safety is a core value at 3M. All employees are expected to contribute to a strong Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) culture by following safety policies, identifying hazards, and engaging in continuous improvement.