Quality assurance officer
Are you meticulous about small details? If so, you could make your living helping to keep products and services at the highest standard.
Also known as: quality controller, quality assurance scientist
About the job
What it's like
Help make the world safer by making sure things are built to last and work the way they should. Quality assurance officers analyse data, test systems and suggest improvements to help teams work better and avoid problems.
You might check if new products are safe to use, or use quality assurance software to see if your company’s work meets customer expectations. If anything falls short, you’ll recommend what to change.
Your daily task might include:
conducting quality audits and inspections on new products and services
providing feedback after audits and recommend ways to improve
making sure all products and processes comply with safety standards
investigating complaints to identify how an issue occurred and suggest ways to stop it happening again
managing a team of quality control technicians
working with colleagues to develop new procedures for product analysis
keeping up to date with product trends
Green job
In this job, you could be doing work to help the environment. You might:
work on a wind farm making sure the best materials and construction methods are used
Hours
Your working hours will depend on the sector and business you work in. For example, if you work in manufacturing, you may need to fit in with factory shift patterns. If you work as a consultant, or for a company with several sites, you might travel regularly.
Environment
You could work in just about any specialism in the public or private sector. Your working environment will depend on your industry – you could work in a laboratory, warehouse, office or anything in between.
Explore more information about this job
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Related industries
Many jobs can be done in lots of different industries. We've highlighted the ones we think are most important for this job.
Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Top specialised skills
These are the top specialised skills that have been found in job vacancies across Scotland. From March 2024 to March 2025.
- quality management systems
- good manufacturing practices
- corrective and preventive action (capa)
- change control
- medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency (mhra) guides
- analytical procedures
- analytical techniques
- batch production
- service quality management
- operations support systems
Meta skills
Here are some of the meta skills you'll need to do this job.
- analysing
- attention to detail
- problem solving
- evaluating
- written communication
- working with technology
- verbal communication
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore each section to find more information about getting into this career.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Business Management
Maths (Mathematics)
Physics
Foundation Apprenticeship: Business Skills
Foundation Apprenticeship: Engineering
Applications of Mathematics
You can get a head start in this career by doing a Foundation Apprenticeship in S5 and S6.
You'll get an SCQF level 6 qualification which is the same level as a Higher. You'll also learn new skills and gain valuable experience in a work environment.
Discover what's on offer at your school on Apprenticeships.scot.
You can develop the necessary skills for this role through a variety of routes.
Although there is no set entry route, a qualification in a relevant area, such as business management, would be useful, especially if it included quality assurance modules.
Also, certain sectors may require industry-specific qualifications so HND’s/degrees in the following subjects could be useful, depending on your chosen industry:
Engineering and manufacturing
Food science and technology
Science technology
Textile technology
Production
Materials science
Printing and clothing technology
Apprenticeships
You can gain skills and qualifications in the workplace through options such as:
Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) mean you learn on the job. You get paid and work towards a qualification at the same time.
You might want to consider an MA in areas such as:
Engineering
Management
Graduate Apprenticeships (GAs) are designed for industry and you'll spend most of your time learning on the job but you'll also go to uni or college. You'll get a job, get paid and work towards a qualification at the same time.
You might want to consider a GA in areas such as:
Business management
Engineering
Not all employers list specific qualification requirements but they might ask for relevant experience, usually work based, that show a range of transferable skills.
You may want to consider joining the CQI (Chartered Quality Institute) who offer recognised professional qualifications as well as access to networking opportunities and events.
Technology is always evolving so you will be required to keep up to date with new developments within the industry.
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