How To Become A Director Of Quality: What It Is and Career Path

What is a director of quality and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A director of quality oversees and implements quality control processes. They ensure products or services meet expectations, standards, and regulations. Their duties include developing quality policies, conducting audits, analyzing data, and leading cross-functional teams. A director of quality also works with production and engineering departments to ensure that quality goals are met throughout the product life cycle. Overall, they maintain the reputation and success of a company by ensuring that quality remains a top priority.

ScoreDirector Of QualityUS Average

Salary

8.5

Avg. Salary $134,435

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.8

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 9.03%

Black or African American 3.78%

Hispanic or Latino 12.93%

Unknown 3.86%

White 69.89%

Gender

female 34.76%

male 65.24%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

9.8

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a director of quality?

Pros

High level of responsibility and authority
Competitive salary and benefits
Chance to work in a dynamic and challenging environment
Recognition for successful quality initiatives
Potential to work on high-profile projects

Cons

High stress level and long hours
Frequent travel may be required
Risk of burnout due to demanding workload
Difficulty in measuring and demonstrating the ROI of quality initiatives
Tendency for quality issues to fall on director's shoulders

Key steps to become a director of quality

Explore director of quality education requirements

Most common director of quality degrees

Bachelor's

62.6 %

Master's

22.0 %

Associate

10.2 %

Start to develop specific director of quality skills

Skills	Percentages
Healthcare	8.34%
Quality Improvement	4.66%
Patients	4.48%
Oversight	4.32%
Patient Safety	4.29%

Complete relevant director of quality training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New directors of quality learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a director of quality based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real director of quality resumes.

Research director of quality duties and responsibilities

Develop and manage internal QMS audit and corrective and preventive action processes.
Manage the transition to a campus AS9100 certification for all major Aero sites.
Manage functional and system testing activities, API customization and RDMBS tools testing teams.
Lead teams from design concept and team feasibility commitment through product launch and PPAP.

Get director of quality experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a director of quality. The most common roles before becoming a director of quality include quality manager, quality assurance manager team lead and staff nurse.

Prepare your director of quality resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your director of quality resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a director of quality resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable director of quality resume templates

Build a professional director of quality resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your director of quality resume.