Director of Sourcing, Quality Assurance, and Compliance – North America Sporting Goods

Description

Position Overview:

Under the direction of the VP of Product, the Director of Sourcing Quality Assurance (QA) and Compliance leads the global quality strategy for Johnson Health Tech’s (JHT) consumer products in the North America Sporting Goods (NASG) division. This role ensures that overseas manufacturing partners meet all regulatory requirements and safety standards for fitness equipment, including ASTM and EN957 guidelines for product safety?. The Director will oversee vendor production setup and quality processes to align with our design specifications, ensuring products consistently meet JHT’s quality standards. 

This position requires significant leadership in managing cross-cultural teams and coordinating with Product Development, Sourcing, and Engineering teams to drive vendor compliance, product testing, and effective engineering change management across the supply chain. The Director of Vendor QA & Compliance will serve as a key liaison between our headquarters and international manufacturing sites, championing quality improvements and regulatory compliance at every stage of product development and production.

Responsibilities:

· Regulatory Compliance: Ensure all manufacturing vendors comply with applicable regulatory and safety testing requirements for our products. Verify that products meet global safety standards (e.g. ASTM F2276 for fitness equipment safety and EU EN 957 series) and maintain proper certifications and test documentation for each market.

· Vendor Quality Audits: Plan and conduct regular vendor audits and quality inspections to assess manufacturing processes, adherence to ISO 9001 quality management systems, and overall compliance. Implement corrective action plans and supplier corrective action requests (SCARs) for any non-conformances, and follow up to verify effective resolution

· Production Alignment: Oversee vendor production setup and process validation to ensure alignment with company design specifications and quality expectations. This includes supervising first article inspections, pilot builds, and production line validations to confirm vendors can manufacture products to our standards.

· Product Testing Oversight: Manage the product testing program for all vendor-produced items, ensuring that performance and safety tests are conducted (both in-house and via third-party labs) according to JHT protocols and industry standards. Review test reports and certification results to confirm that products consistently meet or exceed quality and safety benchmarks.

· Engineering Change Management: Oversee and manage the Engineering Change Order (ECO) process for any design or specification changes impacting vendor-produced components. Establish clear change management procedures and ensure thorough documentation of all proposed changes, including technical specifications, risk assessments, and approvals.

o Involve cross-functional teams (engineering, production, quality) in evaluating and approving changes to maintain product integrity, and communicating those changes to overseas vendors with clear instructions and documentation control.

· Documentation Control: Ensure rigorous documentation control for product designs, specifications, test plans, and quality standards. Maintain an organized system for version control of drawings, BOMs, test protocols, and supplier quality agreements. Guarantee that vendors always have the latest specifications and requirements, and that any changes are recorded and disseminated promptly.

· Quality Standards Enforcement: Implement JHT’s quality standards across all supplier facilities. Work closely with procurement and sourcing teams to integrate quality requirements into vendor selection and agreements, making quality an active part of the global sourcing process. Verify that each supplier is capable of meeting our company’s quality benchmarks before and during production

· Supplier Performance Monitoring: Develop and track supplier performance metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to product quality, on-time delivery, and compliance. Use supplier scorecards and data analytics to monitor trends, drive continuous improvement with vendors, and make informed decisions about supplier development or qualification status.

· Team Leadership: Lead and mentor a team of quality assurance professionals, including on-site QA inspectors, document control specialists, and test engineers, many of whom are based overseas. Provide direction and support to ensure the team effectively executes quality inspections, testing, and process audits at vendor locations. Foster a culture of quality, accountability, and continuous improvem