Full Description

Product & System Quality Assurance Manager

Location: Flexible / Hybrid (travel across the supply chain as required)

About Life Scientific

Life Scientific is a global crop science company transforming the crop protection industry. Operating within a $250 billion market, we specialise in reverse-engineering and developing high-quality, off-patent crop protection products - bringing them to market efficiently through deep scientific expertise and a predominantly virtual, third-party manufacturing supply chain. Our model combines innovation-led R&D with disciplined execution and strong commercial focus. As we scale globally, building modern, risk-based, agile quality systems is central to protecting customer trust and enabling sustainable growth.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a Product & System Quality Assurance Manager to play a pivotal leadership role within our R&D-driven, externally manufactured business model. This is not a traditional “QA policing” role. Instead, this position exists to enable the business - partnering with R&D, Supply Chain, Regulatory, and Commercial leaders to ensure quality and compliance are owned where they matter most, supported by proportionate, science-led, risk-based frameworks. You will design and embed agile, scalable quality systems that support product development, technology transfer, outsourced manufacturing, and commercial delivery - ensuring upstream decisions translate into reliable, safe, and consistent products for customers and end users. Success requires systems thinking, influence without authority, and the ability to operate effectively across a predominantly virtual supply chain.

Key Responsibilities

Quality Frameworks & Virtual Supply Chain Design and implement risk-based QA frameworks aligned to a virtual manufacturing model Define proportionate quality expectations for external manufacturers, formulators, packers, and logistics partners Establish effective oversight and assurance models without duplicating in-house controls Develop practical, outcome-focused quality agreements aligned to product, process, and customer risk

R&D & Product Development Enablement Partner with R&D teams engaged in reverse engineering to embed quality and compliance from early development Ensure specifications, analytical methods, and control strategies support robust third-party manufacture and regulatory submission Support technology transfer and scale-up, bridging R&D intent with supply chain execution and customer expectations Enable SMEs to understand and fulfil their critical-to-business quality responsibilities

Risk-Based Assurance & Issue Management Identify and prioritise quality risks across products and outsourced processes using structured, science-based tools Focus assurance on Critical Quality Attributes (CQAs), Critical Process Parameters (CPPs), and high-risk suppliers Lead investigations into deviations, complaints, and third-party quality incidents Drive effective CAPA that strengthens systems and protects customer confidence

Cross-Functional Integration Ensure end-to-end alignment of quality, compliance, and customer requirements across R&D, Supply Chain, Regulatory, and Commercial Close interface gaps where customer or compliance risk may arise Support risk-based decision-making where trade-offs between speed, cost, quality, and customer impact are required Ensure systems and data meet global regulatory and lifecycle expectations

Continuous Improvement & Quality Maturity Build scalable QA capability as the organisation grows Remove or simplify controls that do not materially improve quality or customer outcomes Use supplier performance data, complaints, and trend analysis to drive continuous improvement

Key Stakeholders

R&D • Supply Chain & Procurement • Regulatory Affairs • Commercial & Portfolio • Customers & Distributors • External Manufacturers & Laboratories

What We’re Looking For

Essential Degree in Chemistry, Life Sciences, Process Engineering, or related discipline Significant QA experience in regulated industries (crop protection, agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals) Experience operating within outsourced or virtual manufacturing models Strong supplier QA capability with a pragmatic, risk-based mindset Experience using quality data and complaint trends to drive measurable improvement Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and external partners without direct authority

Desirable Experience in reverse engineering or generic product development Practical application of Quality by Design (QbD) principles Familiarity with global crop protection regulatory frameworks Experience building quality systems in scaling or transforming organisations Hands-on use of risk-based tools (FMEA, CQA, CPP) Supplier audit and qualification experience

Leadership Profile

You bring

• A quality-as-an-enabler mindset focused on business and customer outcomes
• Strong influencing capability across technical and commercial teams
• End-to-end systems thinking from development through to customer use
• Pragmatic judgement, applying regulatory expectations proportionately
• A builder’s mentality - comfortable designing and evolving systems as the business scales
• Calm, credible leadership under pressure
• Integrity and trust that creates confidence across the organisation and supply chain

Why This Role Is Different

This is not a certification-driven compliance role. It is an opportunity to design and embed modern, agile, risk-based quality systems that enable a growing, innovation-led business to deliver high-quality, compliant products customers can trust across a global, outsourced supply chain, at pace.