Are you a systems builder who thrives on creating order? Do you find satisfaction in preventing problems before they happen, and fixing them with grace and rigor when they do? If you love turning complexity into consistency and have a relentless eye for detail, keep reading. Apex is looking for an experienced, hands-on, and proactive Quality Manager to build the foundation of Quality Management practices.

Who are we?

Apex is a leading provider of high-performance automotive wheels and accessories, serving a community of drivers who push limits and demand products that can keep up. From education and our highly-touted fitment guides to rigorous product testing and quality standards, we deliver exceptional value to our customers. Founded in California in 2007, our company has grown into a team of 45+ passionate professionals and engineers working remotely across the country. We are united by a shared dedication to precision, performance, and authenticity. 

Objective

The Quality Manager at Apex owns the entire lifecycle of product quality, from the first steps in the manufacturing process to the moment it arrives in our warehouse, with the goal of capturing all quality issues at our contract manufacturing sites before the products are shipped to us. Success in this role means designing a scalable, repeatable quality process that ensures every custom-designed product meets our rigorous standards for precision, safety, and appearance. 

Job Summary

The Quality Manager is the cornerstone and first employee of a newly formed Quality team within Apex’s Engineering Department. This isn’t a “maintain the system” role; it’s a “build the system” role. You’re stepping into a company that’s always valued quality, but now we’re ready to formalize, scale, and elevate it. Your mission is to design, implement, and lead a sustainable and scalable quality framework that ensures consistency and precision across contract manufacturers.

You’ll begin by building upon our existing foundation by fully developing the quality framework, addressing KPIs, polishing inspection standards, and creating documentation that drives alignment between our contract manufacturers and Apex’s expectations. You’ll build trust and accountability with factory quality teams, guiding their investigations and root cause analyses, even though they don’t report to you. You’ll set a regular cadence for discussions that focus on prevention, not just correction, and ensure the data you receive from overseas is accurate, transparent, and actionable.

In the short term, you’ll be both the architect and the builder, rolling up your sleeves to create the systems and processes that will later become your team’s foundation. As the team grows, you’ll be responsible for hiring, training, and mentoring quality technicians, including an on-site inspector at our supplier’s factory in Southeast Asia and a domestic team member supporting our 3PL warehouse in Northern California. Together, you’ll ensure that quality issues are detected early, before they ever reach us, and especially before they reach our customers. You’ll ensure that root causes are addressed effectively, and supplier performance is tracked with clear, measurable KPIs.

Our products are engineered in-house and manufactured to our specifications by large, ISO and TÜV-certified contract partners. These facilities have deep OEM experience but often vary in the rigor of their aftermarket processes. You’ll face the nuanced challenge of driving improvement within organizations we don’t own, where our leverage may be limited but our standards are not. Success will require equal parts technical acumen and diplomacy as you bridge cultural and operational gaps, apply data and persuasion to elevate processes to OEM-level discipline, and consistently reinforce that improved quality is essential to mutual growth and long-term partnership.

This is a hands-on, high-impact role for someone who can work cross-culturally and spot a flaw on a wheel finish one day while building a quality dashboard the next. If you can’t confidently lead a meeting - either with leadership, the contract manufacturers, or your own team, this isn’t the role for you. While we don’t want you to be in the weeds constantly doing on-site quality inspections with metrology tools, you need to know enough about the quality technician’s role and tools to effectively coach them. Knowing how metrology tools are calibrated and used is a critical aspect of this position. If you have worked exclusively in QA/QC in SAAS/IT, or in spaces not related to the manufacturing of physical products, you don’t have the depth or manner of experience we’re looking for.

One of the key challenges in this role involves navigating time zones, language barriers, and business customs. The manufacturing teams you’ll collaborate with are based in Southeast Asia and primarily communicate in Mandarin. You’ll need to either speak Mandarin fluently, have proven experience successfully bridging cultural and language differences in the region, or demonstrate that ability through prior work with international manufacturers. Due to the geographic distribution of our vendors, early-morning or late-evening calls will occasionally be necessary to maintain effective communication.

Reporting to our Product Engineering Manager, you’ll collaborate closely with product engineers and R&D to align product specifications, measurement standards, and testing methodologies. You’ll work hand-in-hand with our Supply Chain team to translate quality findings into supplier scorecards, cost recovery discussions, and contract negotiations that they’ll lead. You’ll coordinate with Customer Service to ensure field data and customer feedback inform corrective actions, and with our 3PL warehouse team to define efficient inspection and quarantine workflows. While you’ll have autonomy to manage day-to-day quality operations, approve inspection protocols, and reject nonconforming product, broader decisions like major system overhauls, capital equipment purchases, or changes that affect COGS require leadership buy-in.

Success in this position means that you’ve built a scalable, transparent, and data-driven quality program that doesn’t just react to problems, but anticipates and prevents them. Balancing the dynamics of work with offshored contract manufacturers, bridging the language and culture gaps, all while building a lean, high-performance quality function from scratch, will be central to your success. We envision the quality team as a stabilizing force within the business that, once established, is a consistently oiled and well-running machine.

Who are you?

• You see systems where others see chaos and bring clarity, structure, and accountability to everything you touch.
• You’re equal parts diplomat and detective: able to uncover the real story behind the data and earn trust across cultures, companies, and time zones.

• You lead with quiet confidence. You don’t need authority to influence, and you know how to bring people to the table when they’d rather stay in their lanes.
• You balance rigor with pragmatism, knowing when “perfect” helps and when it gets in the way of progress.
• You don’t shy away from tough conversations; you approach them with facts, fairness, and persistence until improvement takes hold.
• You take ownership naturally, and when something breaks, your instinct is to fix the process, not the blame.
• You find genuine satisfaction in building something that lasts: a quality culture that thrives when you’re on vacation, runs smoothly, and keeps raising the bar.

How to Apply

When submitting your application, use the space provided for a cover letter to answer the following question: Describe a time when you had to push for quality or process improvements with an overseas manufacturing partner that has their own interests in mind. What was the quality or process improvement you needed to see? How did you approach it? What was the result? Would you do anything differently next time? If you are a motorsports enthusiast, take a moment to tell us about your experience in the space!

Responsibilities

• Elevate and enhance Apex’s quality control program, assessing current practices both domestically and overseas, and refining standards, documentation, and inspection criteria to ensure consistency, scalability, and world-class product quality.
• Develop and implement quality systems and processes for supplier-side, in-process, and inbound inspections with a strong focus on preventing nonconformances before shipment and ensuring alignment between factory and Apex standards.
• Lead and develop a lean quality team composed of Apex employees, contractors, or third-party partners to ensure consistent, on-the-ground inspection coverage. Hire, train, mentor, and evaluate quality personnel for technical accuracy and performance, providing coaching and feedback as needed. This may include managing a full-time quality Technician based at our partner’s Thailand factory who will oversee daily inspections, enforce Apex’s quality standards, and ensure that nonconforming products are reworked or rejected before shipment. Foster a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and craftsmanship excellence across all inspection activities.
• Review, improve, and maintain clear documentation, including control plans, inspection templates, work instructions, and visual standards for both overseas and domestic teams. 
• Conduct supplier audits and process reviews, including mid-production and pre-shipment inspections at our international manufacturing facilities, providing actionable feedback and following up on corrective action reports (CARs).
• Partner with Engineering and R&D on product specifications, measurement standards, and testing methodologies to ensure new products and manufacturing techniques meet Apex performance expectations.
• Collaborate closely with the Customer Service Manager to capture detailed data on quality issues, including root cause, frequency, and cost impact, and use those insights to drive corrective and preventive actions.
• Work with the Vendor Manager to communicate defect rates, error types, and supplier performance trends, ensuring quality data informs vendor scorecards and cost recovery discussions.
• Coordinate with Apex’s 3PL warehouse team to define and document efficient workflows for domestic inspections, including weight verification, visual checks, and product quarantine or release procedures.
• Lead root cause and corrective action (RCCA) initiatives, collaborating across departments and with supplier partners to resolve issues and prevent recurrence.
• Define and track KPIs such as defect rates, rework rates, supplier quality scores, and cost of poor quality, using these metrics to identify trends and guide improvements.
• Implement continuous improvement methodologies such as Lean Six Sigma or Kaizen to reduce variation, eliminate recurring defects, and strengthen supplier training and accountability.
• Communicate findings and recommendations through concise reports, dashboards, and presentations to leadership, providing transparency into supplier performance, quality trends, and progress toward company goals.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement and accountability within the quality function, mentoring staff, promoting technical excellence, and ensuring every product that leaves the factory upholds Apex’s reputation for precision and performance.
• Lead and develop your team through radical candor, balancing direct, honest feedback with genuine care while managing all aspects of people leadership, including hiring, interviewing, onboarding, coaching, mentoring, performance reviews, setting clear performance expectations, managing to OKRs and KPIs, and when necessary, making tough decisions around discipline or termination to maintain a healthy, high-performing team culture. 

• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Applied Sciences, Manufacturing Management, or a related field; a Master’s degree is preferred.

• Certifications, including ASQ, Six Sigma green belt or higher, or similar is strongly preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in Quality Control or Quality Assurance in an environment manufacturing physical products, or 3+ years of experience in QC/QA plus additional relevant. manufacturing-related experience. We’ll give strong preference to candidates who have worked with metal manufacturing, especially forging and flow-forming techniques. 
• 2+ years of experience building teams and directly managing individuals, especially those in QA/QC-related positions.
• Experience working in ISO 9001, IATF 16949, or similar accredited QMS environments.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with a keen attention to detail and a pragmatic approach that balances precision with production efficiency.
• Experience with metrology within a manufacturing inspection environment, including calibration and use of precision measurement tools, setup and operation of gauging and instrumentation, and a strong understanding of measurement principles and techniques.
• Proven experience in appropriately tailoring quality improvement initiatives to specific manufacturer and customer-specific requirements and capabilities.
• Project Management experience and the use of PM software are a plus (Click-Up).
• We’ll give strong preference to candidates who have experience working with overseas manufacturers, especially in Southeast Asia.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a proven ability to collaborate effectively across functions, including engineering, operations, and suppliers, including the ability to overcome language and cultural barriers.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple projects effectively.
• Ability to use standard communication tools such as Slack and Google Suite.
• Ability to travel internationally and domestically.
• We’ll give strong preference to candidates who are geographically located near our office in Pleasanton, CA.
• We’ll give strong preference to candidates who speak Mandarin.
• Bonus points for being an automotive enthusiast!

Benefits

• Full-time salaried exempt employment on W2 with Apex. You’ll earn a base compensation of $90,000 - $115,000 depending on location and experience. We still want to hear from you if your desired compensation falls outside of this range.
• Robust health benefits that include medical insurance covering 100% of monthly premiums for employees and their dependents under the age of 14 on our base plans, and generous contributions towards premiums for dependents over 14. We have a wide variety of other medical plans, so you can contribute to a more robust plan that better suits your needs. Get access to an HSA, mental health support, and gym membership discounts! Dental and vision benefits cover 100% of the monthly premiums for employees on our base plans, plus affordable buy-up options if you need orthodontic coverage. 
• Retirement savings through our 401(k) with generous company contributions.
• Paid time off to recharge and do what fuels you through paid sick leave, vacation time, and 11 paid company holidays, including Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
• Track-Day Reimbursements to support your track addiction with reimbursements for HPDE, autocross event registration fees, and more.
• Through your association with Apex Wheels, you are eligible to apply for the SEMA college grant and loan forgiveness program.
• Employee discounts and freebies on Apex products and swag (Did we mention friends and family discounts?).
• A modern professional work environment supported through remote work, almost anywhere in the contiguous U.S., and casual in-office dress (t-shirts and jeans are normal for us). Our in-person company events often include sim-racing, karting, spectator events, and visits to some of our favorite places in Northern California.

About the Work Environment

While performing the duties of this job, you will be regularly required to stand, sit, talk, hear, reach, stoop, kneel, and use your hands and fingers to operate a computer, telephone, and keyboard. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision requirements due to computer work. Ability to sit at a computer terminal for an extended period. You’ll have a high degree of control over your working environment, as you’ll be primarily working from your home office. Occasional domestic travel is required for this position. Occasional international travel is also required based on business needs. When traveling internationally, you will be in a manufacturing facility where walking and lifting may be required. In the manufacturing setting, loud noises, unconditioned temperatures, and bright lights will be regularly present. Regular, predictable attendance is required.