Quality control director vs lead quality control

The differences between quality control directors and lead quality controls can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a quality control director and a lead quality control. Additionally, a quality control director has an average salary of $108,193, which is higher than the $85,375 average annual salary of a lead quality control.

The top three skills for a quality control director include continuous improvement, oversight and FDA. The most important skills for a lead quality control are GMP, safety procedures, and quality checks.

Quality control director vs lead quality control overview

	Quality Control Director	Lead Quality Control
Yearly salary	$108,193	$85,375
Hourly rate	$52.02	$41.05
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	86,245	83,633
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	6	6

What does a quality control director do?

A quality control director oversees a company's quality control operations, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. They have the authority to make decisions, set goals, establish timelines and guidelines, delegate responsibilities and budgets among teams, liaise with key external partners, review documents, negotiate contracts, and develop strategies to optimize operations. They also monitor the workflow and performance of employees, addressing concerns and issues should they arise. Moreover, a quality control director leads and encourages the employees to reach goals, all while implementing the company's standards and regulations.

What does a lead quality control do?

Lead quality control agents are manufacturing professionals who are responsible for supervising and coordinating the activities of workers to meet the required quality standards of finished products. These professionals are required to review the calibration of manufacturing equipment to ensure they perform correctly and on time. They must assist in identifying and developing procedures and processes that are related to the quality management system. Leads quality control must also perform quality testing on materials while participating in team meetings to discuss safety and quality issues.

Quality control director vs lead quality control salary

Quality control directors and lead quality controls have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Quality Control Director	Lead Quality Control
Average salary	$108,193	$85,375
Salary range	Between $78,000 And $149,000	Between $66,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Brookhaven, NY
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	Genentech	Bloomberg
Best paying industry	Finance	Manufacturing

Differences between quality control director and lead quality control education

There are a few differences between a quality control director and a lead quality control in terms of educational background:

	Quality Control Director	Lead Quality Control
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Quality control director vs lead quality control demographics

Here are the differences between quality control directors' and lead quality controls' demographics:

	Quality Control Director	Lead Quality Control
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6%	Male, 65.4% Female, 34.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.3% Asian, 9.2% White, 69.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.0% Asian, 9.1% White, 69.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between quality control director and lead quality control duties and responsibilities

Quality control director example responsibilities.

Provide quality oversight for the company, managing QA/QC staff on various quality functions and quality improvement initiatives.
Manage product release and distribution; review and approve batch records and analytical data packages for API and finish drug products.
Organize and manage SharePoint site for tracking and documentation purposes
Provide guidance and troubleshooting with HPLC, GC, and wet chemistry techniques.
Advise management on U.S. and foreign regulatory requirements and serve as liaison with FDA and other regulatory agencies.
Establish quality standards for GMP manufacturing including use of appropriate materials, environmental control, and in- process/final product safety testing.

Lead quality control example 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.
Inspect plant and employees to ensure all are utilizing safe food handling by USDA standards
Involve in testing disintegration time, hardness of tablets and assist in HPLC tests on all finish products.

Quality control director vs lead quality control skills

Common quality control director skills

Continuous Improvement, 6%
Oversight, 6%
FDA, 6%
GMP, 5%
Product Quality, 5%
Regulatory Agencies, 4%

Common lead quality control skills

GMP, 9%
Safety Procedures, 8%
Quality Checks, 7%
Production Lines, 7%
Corrective Action, 6%
Internal Audit, 5%

Quality Control Director vs. similar jobs

Quality Control Director related careers

Quality Control Director related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Quality Control Director
Quality Control Director vs Lead Quality Control

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs