Description
Do you have a passion for the craft of bookmaking, where quality meets innovation? At Sourcebooks, we're looking for a Quality Assurance Lead who brings dedication to detail and excitement for seeing their work reach readers in its finest form. This is an opportunity to make a true impact in a fast-growing, forward-thinking publishing environment that celebrates big ideas, creativity, and team collaboration. Join us in shaping and elevating the reading experience!
As a Quality Assurance Lead reporting to our Senior Director of Production Operations & Systems, you'll play a critical role in ensuring the flawless quality of each and every book we publish. You'll oversee the quality assurance process for production files, collaborating with teams across editorial, production, and technology to uphold—and push—our standards of excellence. Your keen eye and technical expertise will be the final word on files before they go to print, guaranteeing a seamless, quality-assured experience for our readers.
This an exempt salaried position with a range of $60,000 - $70,000. We determine starting pay based on a thorough evaluation of job-related factors, including geographic location, market conditions, relevant experience, training, and education. This process ensures a fair and competitive salary that aligns with both the company and the candidate’s qualifications.
The location for this position can be hybrid or remote in New York or Naperville, Illinois or remote based in any of the following states: Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington D.C. and Wisconsin. This role includes some travel with occasional meetings at the home office in Naperville, IL.
What You'll Do:
- Lead the quality assurance process for production files, rigorously checking all details before they go to press.
- Manage and refine the preflight and file-upload process, ensuring all files meet our production-ready standards.
- Collaborate with production and editorial teams to streamline workflows, implement process improvements, and drive consistency across projects.
- Develop quality assurance protocols and checklists, championing best practices across our production teams.
- Act as a mentor, training team members in quality standards and driving a culture of excellence.
- Partner with project managers and manufacturing teams to track and troubleshoot quality control issues.
Requirements
- 7+ years of quality assurance experience, ideally within the publishing industry or a similar field.
- Mastery of Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator) and Vellum on Mac, plus expertise in preflighting tools (Adobe Acrobat, Pitstop).
- Strong understanding of book production processes, file management, digital asset control, and preflight software.
- Familiarity with print-ready file preparation and color management basics (CMYK, ICC profiles).
- Exposure to printer specifications or working directly with book manufacturers.
- Any prior experience in a prepress or print production environment.
- Impeccable attention to detail, with a commitment to producing top-quality work.
- A collaborative spirit with excellent communication skills and an ability to build rapport across teams.
- Must love books!
