Quality Control Manager - Military Veterans

In January 2024, Livent merged with Allkem Limited to create Arcadium Lithium plc. While we work to integrate our technology systems, including our recruitment platforms, Arcadium Lithium plc will use Livent’s ADP system to capture all candidate information.

About Arcadium Lithium: We are change-makers, joining forces to drive progress. A world enabled by the critical mineral, Lithium - the elemental source powering modern life and our global transition to clean energy.

For decades, we’ve grown alongside and collaborated with our people, our customers, and communities. Pioneering, collaborating, and evolving Together.

From the birth of the first lithium-ion battery to the breakthrough lithium advancements that have followed. We've helped lead the change, powering the future of lithium innovation.

Our growth continues to be strategic, expansive, and sustainable. With a wealth of premier lithium resources spread across the world in key locations. We can reliably, safely, and responsibly provide the resources to meet the diverse needs of our customers.

No matter where they are. No matter the challenge. It's all about delivering on the high expectation for quality, performance, and sustainability.

And our duty goes even further. It includes everyone on the planet using a lithium-powered device or vehicle.

Every battery charged. Every device powered. Every lithium application utilized. Underscoring our commitment to quality, collaboration, and our shared vision of powering a more sustainable future for everyone.

Arcadium Lithium is more than just a company. It's a promise, and a commitment by our people.

To act ethically and responsibly, ensuring that our legacy is one of positive impact and lasting change.

Position Summary: Responsible for promoting safe and efficient operations in the Quality Control laboratory. Leads and manages all activities to ensure safe lab operations, effective planning, and regulatory compliance in the testing and analyzing of various chemical products maintaining high standards for product quality and responsiveness to customer needs and production requirements. Responsible for optimizing cross-functional support within responsibility area including Maintenance, Engineering and Technical resources.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

EHS/Quality

• Responsible to lead safety efforts in his/her safety team, develops programs and systems to promote a Safety Culture at the Site, sponsors safety activities in the area and plant-wide; is seen as a leader in safety plant-wide.
• Promotes a strong belief that all jobs must be performed safely and that no job is worth doing that would risk the health, safety, or welfare of the plant employees, contractors, or community.
• Runs a daily safety/quality meeting for the QC lab personnel in front of the ECS board promoting participation in the safety/Quality program, setting of individual monthly actions by all personnel and a review of safety/Quality issues, work orders, and actions.
• Establish performance standards (KPIs), monitor performance through regular reviews with a mindset to continually improve the QC function.
• Prepare a daily safety/Quality report regarding near miss, unsafe condition, unsafe behavior and non-conformance.
• Business Support
• Maintain an effective area management system (ECS) to drive daily and weekly area performance.
• Ensure that process, quality, and organizational changes affecting the department are properly identified, initiated, evaluated, approved, implemented and brought to closure in accordance with the Organization Management of Change procedure.
• Ensure accurate and timely lab analysis is completed to ensure raw material specifications, in-process, and final product specifications are met.
• Maintain work and capacity standards to support planning and scheduling of area activities
• Responsible for establishing lab testing priorities to support production effectively.
• Ensure calibration and standardization of lab equipment is done on schedule.
• Maintain accountability for lab testing standards.
• Responsible to be a subject matter expert for lab equipment, practices, and methods.
• Accountable for the transfer of new and improved lab methods into the QC lab.
• Responsible for adhering to the quality programs, including ISO, NSF and cGMP.
• Responsible to review and authorize cGMP lab results. Will lead investigations in the laboratory for OOS (out of specification), audit findings pertaining to the laboratory or any corrective or preventive actions identified for the laboratory.
• Monitor trends of critical to quality characteristics of keys products.
• Interfaces with others in the organization to ensure internal and external customer deadlines and requirements are met.

People

• Develop and direct QC employees in a proactive manner by fostering both individual employee contributions and development and cooperative teamwork, motivating toward total quality performance and exercising effective communication. Hold crucial conversations as necessary to foster teamwork.
• Provide regular feedback to employees and drive accountability to perform to established performance standards.
• Responsible for work shift scheduling and approving of time in the time management system
• Responsible to lead the building of strong and effective teams within the department.
• Carry out management responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws.
• Responsible for overall recruiting process in the area which includes interviewing, hiring, and training employees.
• Responsible to formally appraise the performance and behavior of direct reports and provides appropriate feedback, is actively engaged in the development of junior peers, serves as a mentoring resource for the plant.
• Responsible for recognizing the need to reward employees.
• Responsible to addressing complaints, resolving problems and in some cases discipline employees.
• Hold routine meetings to provide training, communication and goal setting for employees.

Financial

• Forecasts and controls expenses, and implements plans to ensure commitments on budget, cost and schedule are met.
• Responsible for championing optimization of lab testing costs.
• Identifies needs for new equipment and assists in writing of capital request documents.

Education and Experience:

• BA/BS in Chemistry or related technical degree with 7 to 10 years professional experience in an analytical laboratory including leadership of people required
• ASQ CQE, CQA certification desired
• Experience in a regulated environment such as ISO 9001-2015 or cGMP facility
• Experience in Statistical Process Control (SPC) desired

Knowledge and Skill Requirements:

• Extensive working knowledge of chemical manufacturing
• Understanding of applicable quality control equipment and methods including but not limited to: Inductively Coupled Plasma, Gas Chromatography, Ion Chromatography, Karl Fischer analysis, Particle size measurements, Color determination, acid/base titrations, ion specific electrodes, and pH measurements
• Experience handling air sensitive materials and water reactive materials is a plus
• Knowledge of Laboratory Information Management systems such as Thermo’s LQM system is needed.
• Experience in Method Development and Validation is a plus.
• Experience in MS Office and SAP
• Experience in Lean Manufacturing principles and continuous improvement techniques is desired. Certification as a Six Sigma belt is a plus. Knowledge of Minitab is a plus.
• Must have good written and oral communication skills and proven ability to lead a team, train and problem solve.

Safety Requirements:All employees are expected to carry out their work functions in a healthy and safe manner, to encourage and support safe work practices at all times, and to report and/or rectify any unsafe conditions that may come to their attention immediately.

Physical Demands:The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to sit and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to walk and use hands to finger, handle, or feel. The employee is occasionally required to stand; climb or balance and taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and color vision.

Work Environment:The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is frequently exposed to toxic or caustic chemicals. The employee is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions; moving mechanical parts; fumes or airborne particles and outside weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Personal Protective Equipment:Must wear PPE as required based on job duties or when traveling to locations where PPE is essential.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

ARCADIUM LITHIUM employs people across a broad range of occupations in locations across the world. We are looking for people to join us in creating, developing, and improving our products, our processes, and our markets. Employees enjoy competitive compensation, a menu of work/life benefits and opportunities to continue developing their skills and building their career.

ARCADIUM LITHIUM is an Equal Opportunity Employer, EEO, AAE, MFDV and supports a drug free workplace.