Head of Quality & Technical – Furniture Manufacturing (China)
Contract/Freelance
Location: Foshan / Guangdong Province, China
Company
Cult Furniture is a fast-growing UK furniture brand specialising in indoor and outdoor furniture across dining, lounge, occasional, and garden categories. We work with multiple manufacturing partners across China and are now strengthening our technical quality and supplier management structure following rapid growth.
Role Overview
We are seeking an experienced, hands-on Head of Quality & Technical to lead all factory quality control, supplier performance, product technical standards, packaging quality, and supplier accountability across our China supply chain. This is a senior leadership role focused on preventing quality issues before shipment — not simply inspecting finished products.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead all quality control operations across furniture suppliers in China
- Conduct regular factory visits and supplier audits
- Implement and enforce factory QC standards and procedures
- Monitor supplier performance, defect trends, and repeat failures
- Approve or reject production prior to shipment
- Hold suppliers accountable for repeated manufacturing and QC failures
- Review product construction, assembly, hardware, and material specifications
- Improve packaging protection and carton design
- Conduct drop test reviews and transport risk analysis
- Manage supplier corrective action plans (CAPA / 8D)
- Implement pre-production, inline, final, and loading inspections
- Build photographic QC reporting systems
- Manage external QC teams and third-party inspection agencies
Requirements
- 8+ years furniture manufacturing / quality experience
- Strong experience with upholstered, metal, outdoor, and flat-pack furniture
- Strong understanding of packaging engineering and export quality standards
- Experience managing China-based furniture suppliers
- Fluent Mandarin and English
- Strong factory negotiation and supplier management skills
- Hands-on and proactive approach
Preferred Experience
- Experience working with UK or European furniture brands
- Experience with SGS / Intertek / TÜV standards
- Experience with packaging optimisation and transport testing
- Engineering or technical manufacturing background preferred
KPIs
- Reduction in customer-reported defects
- Reduction in transport damages
- Reduction in missing parts and assembly issues
- Improved supplier quality scores
- Reduced replacement and claims costs
- Improved packaging performance
What Success Looks Like
- Build a far stronger supplier quality system
- Reduce recurring product defects significantly
- Improve factory accountability
- Improve packaging standards
- Create consistent inspection reporting
- Reduce claims, refunds, replacements, and customer complaints
Please note, this is a self-employed/ freelance role.
How to Apply
Please send:
• CV / Resume
• Current location
• Day Rate expectations
• Examples of factories or furniture categories managed
• Notice period
• English language level