Manager, Quality

Quality Assurance Manager

Location: Chippewa Falls, WI 

Salary: Based on skills and experience

Schedule: Monday-Friday, 1^st shift

We are looking to add an experienced Quality Assurance Manager to our water bottling plant to carry out our company mission of maintaining an inclusive culture of trust, honesty, humility, integrity, and candor in our dealings with others, ourselves, and our communities.

Who are we? 

• Premium Waters is the 2^nd largest bottler of private label bottled water products in the U.S.A. We are committed to providing high quality bottled water in an environmentally friendly manner. 
• Our Teams focus on proactively supporting safety, understanding sustainability, and building lasting relationships.

Your part in our story:

The Quality Assurance Manager position is responsible for managing the Quality Assurance team at the plant level for multi-state distribution. This position must ensure that the company produces safe products at the highest and most consistent quality by overseeing various branded and private label production. This position will aid in the assessment of operations and manage the implementation of corporate quality assurance policies and programs at the plant level. 

Responsibilities include:

• Ensure conformance to FDA, IBWA, FSMA and other local regulations

• Implement and maintain corporate quality assurance programs to prevent product quality or food safety issues across manufacturing and offsite storage facilities.
• Monitor finished product quality data to ensure alignment with corporate standards and customer specifications.
• Guide, develop, and manage the Quality team across multiple shifts.

• Manage and oversee the Quality department’s budget.

• Develop the technical and professional skills of direct reports and plant personnel through training and coaching initiatives.

• Oversee GMPs of both facilities 
• Direct all customer, regulatory and third-party audits.

• Identify, prioritize, and steer process improvement initiatives to enhance quality and operational efficiency.

• Develop a collaborative relationship with Plant and QA managers at all company locations.
• Maintain HACCP plans for both facilities 
• Responsible for Document Control and SDS Libraries
• Determine root cause, develop and implement corrective actions, and prevent reoccurrence through the development of long-term solutions for non conformances associated with deviations

• Establish and improve production controls, including sampling plans, hold/release procedures, code rotation, batching processes, and other critical quality systems.

• Monitor effectiveness of integrated pest management system
• Stay current with all key industry, regulatory and certifying agency guidelines. 
• Oversee Management of Change at plant 
• Participate in monthly financial calls
• Complete monthly and yearly reporting for DNR and maintain permits
• Responsible for monitoring and testing of source water and water processing equipment. 
• Oversee and approve activated carbon media change-outs, including verification of sanitization, rinsing, and return-to-service procedures.
• Coordinate and verify reverse osmosis membrane replacements, cleanings, integrity evaluations, and performance monitoring.
• Monitor water treatment performance indicators including conductivity, TDS, pH, ozone residual, turbidity, flow rates, recovery rates, and microbial trends.
• Evaluate treatment process deviations and determine product disposition when treatment systems operate outside established parameters.
• Lead investigations related to source water quality, treatment efficiency, finished product quality, and environmental monitoring results.
• Ensure validation and ongoing verification of critical treatment processes including ozone, UV, filtration, carbon adsorption, and reverse osmosis systems.
• Provide technical guidance to plant operations regarding water treatment, sanitation, chemical usage, and process control.
• Develop and maintain SOPs for filter changes, carbon exchanges, membrane replacements, sanitization activities, and system commissioning.
• Manage source water monitoring programs and ensure compliance with FDA, state, IBWA, customer, and permit requirements.
• Review and trend source water chemistry, microbiological data, and treatment system performance to identify emerging risks.
• Support capital projects involving treatment equipment upgrades, source expansions, filtration systems, and process improvements. 
• Must follow all established Good Manufacturing Practices. 

Why work with us? 

We strive to foster an environment that celebrates differences in our teams at all PWI locations. We recognize that a diverse and inclusive workforce results in better decision-making, faster and more innovative problem solving, and creates a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.

Benefits include:  

• Medical, Prescription Drug, and Vision Program –on DAY ONE
• Dental – on DAY ONE
• A generous PTO program -178 hours in your first year!
• Paid Parental Leave
• Gym Reimbursement Program and Company Paid Wellness Coach
• Online Virtual Care
• Company Paid Life Insurance for Employee, Spouse, Children
• Company Paid Long and Short-Term Disability 
• Company Paid Employee Assistance Program
• Flexible Spending Account
• Education/Tuition Reimbursement Program – to supplement your current skillset or advance to a higher position.
• 401(K) – Company Match 100% up to 4%
• Bereavement Leave
• Volunteer Time Off Program
• Employee Water Program – Free Water
• Daily Pay
• FREE physical therapy on site
• FREE employee medical care at our near-site clinic (employee only)

About you – preferred requirements for this role

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 5 years of manufacturing experience with a beverage, food or liquid consumer products manufacturer.
• Minimum of 3 years of management experience.
• HACCP Certified, or ability to become certified upon hiring
• Must be experienced with GMP’s, sanitation standards and FDA/SQF requirements.
• Demonstrated continuous improvement skills, strong facilitation, organizational, and communication skills (oral and written), strong computer skills.
• Effective negotiation skills with the ability to listen
• Excellent Verbal and Written Communication skills
• Strong MS Office Skills
• Positive attitude 
• Ability to learn and use software programs such as Datalyzer, Margin Miner and JDE, Microsoft to maintain and evaluate quality data. 
• Experience in sanitation with ability to develop cleaning procedures based on risk and data.

• Ability to analyze financial statements and company metrics as well as water capital projects and specifications. 
• Ability to work autonomously and simultaneously on multiple projects.
• Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer service. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, evaluation of customer satisfaction, and actively looking for ways to help people.
• Knowledge of raw materials, production process, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Premium Waters, Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and Drug Free Workplace.