Quality Control Specialist

Stella-Jones is a leading manufacturer of essential infrastructure products focused on serving utilities and railroads, as well as supplying big box home improvement stores across North America. Headquartered in Montreal, Canada and publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Stella-Jones operates a vast network of facilities that employs more than 3,000 employees across the United States and Canada. Built on strong foundations with a coast-to-coast reach, we offer real opportunities for career success and community impact.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Quality Assurance Supervisor, the Quality Control Specialist plays a vital role in ensuring that Stella-Jones facilities consistently meet company, industry, and customer-specific quality standards. Based in Gatineau with frequent travel (approximately 60%), this individual will audit manufacturing plants, peeler facilities, and distribution yards producing utility poles across untreated wood, preservative chemicals, and pressure-treated processes. This role acts as a trusted technical partner to operations—delivering hands-on quality training, leading audits, driving root-cause analyses for non-conformances, and upholding compliance with standards such as ISO 9001, CSA, ANSI, AWPA, and ASTM.

Responsibilities:

• Plant Audits & Field Travel: Conduct regular on-site quality audits across treating facilities, pole peeling operations, and distribution yards (requiring ~60% travel) to ensure compliance with corporate standards, ISO 9001, and TRD requirements.
• Product & Preservative Standards Compliance: Inspect and evaluate untreated and treated materials against customer specifications and governing industry standards (AWPA, ANSI O5.1, CSA O15 / O80, and ASTM D25).
• Laboratory & Chemical Oversight: Oversee facility-level laboratory operations, ensuring regular monitoring of preservative solution concentrations and proper calibration and maintenance of testing and inspection equipment.
• Non-Conformance & Corrective Actions (CAPA): Investigate quality defects, track non-conforming products, troubleshoot issues on the plant floor, and implement sustainable corrective/preventive actions.
• Technical Training & Defect Awareness: Develop and deliver training to facility personnel on defect identification, raw material grading, quality procedures, and lab testing methods.
• Operational Partnership: Partner closely with Plant Managers, treating operators, and production teams to drive continuous quality improvement and resolve shop-floor challenges.
• Document Control & ISO Management: Maintain quality management system (QMS) records, procedures, and manuals on SharePoint in strict adherence to ISO 9001 standards.
• Data Tracking & Reporting: Manage quality databases and deliver daily, weekly, and monthly KPI reports to leadership regarding audit results, training progress, and compliance trends.

Qualifications:

• Minimum 3 years of related experience
• BA/BS degree or at least 2 - 3 years relevant experience in a production environment.
• QMS, Engineering, Forest Resources, Business, Operations Management degree a plus.
• Proficiency in French and English, spoken and written
• Industry Expertise (Strong Asset): Direct experience in wood preservation, forestry, or lumber manufacturing, including familiarity with governing standards (AWPA, CSA O15/O80, ANSI O5.1, ASTM D25). (Candidates from adjacent process-manufacturing backgrounds with strong technical learning agility will be considered).
• Proficient in QC principles
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals
• Ability to write routine reports and correspondence

As a Stella-Jones employee, you will enjoy access to excellent benefits and incentives, including:

• Extended health and dental coverage
• Life insurance and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D)
• Short-Term and Long-Term disability coverage
• Competitive compensation
• Annual Bonus Program
• Retirement program (RRSP) with generous Company match (150% of employee's 4% contribution)
• Company Share Purchase Program with 25% Company contribution match
• Career advancement opportunities

Stella-Jones is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, provincial, or local laws.

This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. Stella-Jones makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.

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