How To Become A Lead Quality Control: What It Is and Career Path

What is a lead quality control and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

The primary responsibility of lead quality control is to ensure that workers are operating under set standards, and that resulting products are of standard quality. To do this, they perform duties such as supervising employees, coordinating manufacturing activities, inspecting incoming and outgoing materials, and recording any issues found.

Another major duty of lead quality control is conducting product tests and assessments, wherein they identify any product defects, make necessary corrections as needed, and gather data for the improvement of future production processes. They usually report to upper management and work closely with other leaders of the production team.

A high school diploma or GED is the basic requirement for this role, but acquiring a bachelor's or associate's degree can be a great edge. The same goes with experience, but unlike educational requirements, prior work experience is a must. Lead quality control professionals make an average of $77,000 a year. Since their role is vital in any manufacturing or production setting, job opportunities are abundant all across the country.

ScoreLead Quality ControlUS Average

Salary

6.7

Avg. Salary $85,375

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 9.07%

Black or African American 3.80%

Hispanic or Latino 13.01%

Unknown 3.86%

White 69.74%

Gender

female 34.58%

male 65.42%

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

Key steps to become a lead quality control

Explore lead quality control education requirements

Most common lead quality control degrees

Bachelor's

43.2 %

Associate

19.6 %

High School Diploma

18.2 %

Start to develop specific lead quality control skills

Skills	Percentages
GMP	9.09%
Safety Procedures	7.84%
Quality Checks	7.18%
Production Lines	7.13%
Corrective Action	6.24%

Complete relevant lead quality control training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New lead quality controls 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 lead quality control based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real lead quality control resumes.

Research lead quality control duties and responsibilities

Manage production line, accountable for production quotas and safe food handling procedures are continually meet according to USDA guidelines.
Own, manage, and oversight to comprehensive quality management systems including leading policy deployment process within quality assurance function.
Oversee all quality operations to ensure FDA regulations are meet.
Analyze raw material, in-process and finish products using HPLC and IR.

Get lead quality control experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a lead quality control. The most common roles before becoming a lead quality control include cashier, quality control inspector team lead and supervisor.

Prepare your lead quality control resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your lead quality control 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 lead quality control resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable lead quality control resume templates

Build a professional lead quality control 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 lead quality control resume.