Director of Quality Assurance

Summary: Has primary responsibility for the company's quality assurance systems and product quality programs across multiple facilities (raw and cooked), including governance of finished product specifications, raw material/ingredient specifications, label compliance support, customer quality expectations, complaint/incident management, and QA verification programs from raw material receiving through finished goods shipping. Standardizes, deploys, verifies, and continuously improves QA programs, tools, training, and performance expectations to assure regulatory/customer compliance and product quality. Partners cross-functionally with Food Safety/HACCP, Operations, Sanitation, R&D/Technical Innovation, Maintenance, Supply Chain, Customer Service, and Plant Leadership. Provides technical documentation support for new product/process start-ups and changes. Serves as acting lead for Quality Assurance continuity as assigned. Designates the Director of Food Safety as deputy coverage, as assigned.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Owns corporate quality assurance programs and ensures consistent implementation, verification, and continuous improvement across all company facilities. Establishes standards, tools, training, and performance expectations to assure product quality and customer/regulatory compliance. Other duties may be assigned.

• Provides corporate governance and technical leadership for QA programs and verification systems across all facilities; ensures consistent execution and drives continuous improvement.
• Leads and standardizes finished product specification and technical documentation processes (customer specifications, ingredient specifications, product attributes, claims, and supporting records); ensures controlled document management and version control.
• Partners with Food Safety/HACCP leadership to ensure quality programs align with food safety, regulatory, and customer requirements; supports risk-based decision making for deviations and disposition.
• Leads multi-site customer and third-party audit readiness for QA programs; standardizes evidence packages and ensures timely corrective and preventive action closure.
• Owns customer complaint/incident management governance (intake, investigation, root cause analysis, corrective action, and response quality); monitors trends and drives prevention plans.
• Establishes and deploys QA training (specifications, label support, quality systems, data integrity, customer portal requirements, and verification activities); ensures training effectiveness and compliance across sites.
• Provides QA leadership for new product introductions and process changes across sites, including initial production run evaluations, hold/release criteria, attribute verification, and start-up support.
• Partners with Indirect Purchasing, Operations, and QA to ensure supplier documentation and approval/verification programs support quality requirements (COAs, specifications, allergen statements, nutritional information, and formulations), including TraceGains governance where applicable.
• Defines and monitors QA KPIs and leading indicators; prepares enterprise reporting, trends, and action plans for leadership review.
• Conducts or leads internal audits and cross-site assessments; identifies systemic gaps and drives standard work and corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
• Maintains corporate standards for customer documentation portals and ensures responsiveness and accuracy of posted QA information.
• Supports shelf-life studies, customer-required validations, and product data requests; ensures accurate records and timely communication.
• Develops policies, procedures, and quality training programs to be implemented throughout the company.
• Other Duties will be assigned as needed.

Education and/or Experience

• A minimum of a B.S degree in Animal Science, Meat Science or related field is preferred.

- A minimum of five years general FSQA/QA experience in meat processing preferred.

- A minimum of three years FSQA/QA management experience is required.

• Understanding of the USDA-FSIS, FDA regulations, label requirements, GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices) and good QA practices, processes, and requirements

- Travel expectation: up to 30%.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations

• HACCP Certified
• PCQI Certification (recommended)
• Food Safety and Handling certifications