Quality Control — Visual Inspection & In-Process Testing | Full-Time, Non-Exempt (Hourly) | Entry Level
Starting Rate: $21.00 / hour
RUO NOTICE: Noble Harbor Sciences manufactures Research Use Only (RUO) peptide products. This role has no involvement with clinical, veterinary, or human-use applications. The QC Technician records inspection and test results but holds no batch release or disposition authority — those remain with the QA Manager under the NHS Quality Management System.
Position Summary
The QC Technician performs in-process and finished-goods quality checks that keep every NHS lot within specification — visual inspection of lyophilized vials against the NHS cake-appearance reference, fill-weight and reconstitution checks, representative sampling, incoming-material inspection support, and environmental monitoring. Every result is recorded accurately and contemporaneously in line with ALCOA+ data-integrity principles.
This is an entry-level, floor-facing quality role reporting to the QA Manager. It is a checking-and-recording role, intentionally separate from quality-system decision authority: the QC Technician gathers and documents data, flags anything out of specification, and hands it to QA — QA dispositions and releases.
Key Responsibilities
Visual Inspection & Cake Assessment
- Inspect finished vials against the NHS visual QA reference (NHS-REF-QA-001) and its cake-appearance categories, anchored to standard lyophilized-cake nomenclature.
- Identify and flag defects — cake collapse, meltback, shrunken or detached cake, discoloration, particulate, and fill-level anomalies — and physically segregate suspect vials from good stock.
- Distinguish expected product characteristics from true defects (for example, the blue/teal cake of a copper-peptide complex is expected, not contamination) and escalate genuine findings to QA.
In-Process & Finished-Goods Testing
- Perform in-process checks — fill weight, blend appearance, and reconstitution/appearance testing — and record each result against the specification on the batch record.
- Support residual-moisture, pressure, and cycle-completion verification checks as directed, using the assigned instruments and logs.
Incoming Material Inspection
- Support the QC inspection queue for incoming API, excipient, and packaging lots — verify labeling, quantity, lot number, and condition against the purchase order and paperwork.
- Keep incoming lots in quarantine status and route inspection results to QA; the QC Technician does not grant released status to any material.
Environmental & Equipment Monitoring
- Record cleanroom and storage environmental readings (temperature, humidity, and particulate where applicable) on schedule and flag any excursion immediately.
- Verify and log routine cleaning and line-clearance checks before and after production runs.
Sampling & Retention
- Pull representative samples per the sampling plan, accounting for the standard fill-overage allowance for defects and testing, and maintain sample chain-of-custody.
- Log, label, and store retention samples so lots remain fully traceable.
Documentation & Data Integrity
- Complete all QC entries accurately and contemporaneously — no backfilling, no estimated values — consistent with ALCOA+ principles.
- Identify out-of-specification results and initiate or support deviation documentation; the QA Manager retains sole authority for disposition and release.
Qualifications
- High school diploma or GED required; coursework or an associate degree in a science or laboratory field preferred.
- 0–2 years in a QC, laboratory, manufacturing, or other detail-driven environment; peptide, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, or compounding exposure a plus.
- Strong attention to detail and reliable visual/color acuity for cake and vial inspection.
- Comfortable reading and executing controlled documents (SOPs, Work Instructions, inspection criteria) exactly as written — this is not a role for improvising.
- Legible, disciplined documentation habits and basic computer/data-entry skills.
- Able to work in a controlled manufacturing environment, including gowning and standing for extended periods.
What This Role Is Not
This is not a QA role. The QC Technician does not hold batch release, deviation-disposition, or document-approval authority — those remain with the QA Manager and the designated document approver. The QC Technician inspects, tests, samples, and records; QA dispositions and releases.
Reports To
QA Manager, with daily working coordination alongside the Production Manager and Manufacturing Technicians on the floor.
