Footwear Quality Assurance Specialist

Footwear Quality Assurance Specialist

About the Role

Specialized is looking for a Footwear QA Specialist to join our Footwear team and support the delivery of world-class cycling products. This role plays a key part in ensuring that footwear products meet Specialized's quality, fit, performance, and manufacturing standards from commercialization through mass production.

The position will work closely with the engineering team and factory teams to identify potential quality risks, validate production readiness, and drive continuous improvement throughout the manufacturing process.

This role will be based full-time at our manufacturing partner's facility in Thai Binh Province, Vietnam, with regular collaboration with global and regional teams.

How You will Make a Difference

• Support footwear commercialization activities from Tech II through Tech IV, ensuring products are developed and prepared for successful mass production.
• Work closely with factory technical and quality teams to identify, troubleshoot, and resolve product and manufacturing issues.
• Review fit and wear test results and follow up on corrective actions as required.
• Monitor production readiness, including material approvals, laboratory testing results, bonding performance, and production trial outcomes.
• Verify that production processes, materials, and finished products align with approved specifications and quality standards.
• Conduct in-line quality audits and inspections during production.
• Perform final inspections prior to shipment to ensure product quality and compliance with Specialized requirements.
• Maintain accurate quality records, inspection reports, and supporting documentation.
• Partner with factory teams to drive continuous improvement in product quality, manufacturing consistency, and process control.
• Escalate quality concerns proactively and support root cause investigation and corrective action implementation.

What You will Need to Win

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering is highly preferable
• 3+ years of experience in footwear quality assurance, manufacturing, commercialization, or a related field.
• Strong understanding of footwear construction, manufacturing processes, and product quality standards.
• Experience working directly with footwear factories and cross-functional production teams.
• Familiarity with laboratory testing, product validation, and quality control methodologies.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Good communication and stakeholder management capabilities.
• Ability to work independently and influence factory partners to achieve quality objectives.
• English communication skills sufficient for working with international teams.

Here at Specialized we believe that bikes have the power to change lives for the better. We are a culture of barrier-breakers, but we need your unique ideas and backgrounds to help us push boundaries and change the world. We are always looking for creative, innovative, and passionate people who can contribute to our mission of getting people outside. Regardless of your qualifications, if you think this could be you and you're ready to make a difference, please apply! We hope that you will reach out and show us how you can make an impact here.