Quality Assurance Manager
Location: Albert Lea, Minnesota
Why Join This Opportunity?
• Competitive salary and full benefits package
• Leadership role on the site management team
• Opportunity to drive food safety, quality, and regulatory excellence
• Significant influence on plant operations, continuous improvement, and quality culture
• Relocation assistance may be available for the right candidate
What You'll Do
• Lead all site Quality Assurance and Quality Control functions to ensure compliance with customer, regulatory, corporate, and food safety requirements.
• Manage CAPA programs, including customer complaints, vendor complaints, nonconformances, corrective actions, and root cause investigations.
• Oversee food safety and preventive control programs, including HACCP/HARPC, allergen control, sanitation, pest control, recall readiness, and environmental monitoring.
• Maintain customer quality satisfaction through effective control of raw materials, in-process materials, manufacturing processes, and finished products.
• Lead customer, vendor, third-party, and regulatory audits and inspections.
• Partner with operations, supply chain, R&D, commercialization, and leadership teams to drive quality improvements and operational excellence.
• Manage departmental staffing, budgets, training programs, employee development, and performance management.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives using SPC, root cause analysis, and quality systems.
• Support commercialization efforts, product launches, specification development, and change control processes.
• Ensure compliance with FDA, EPA, OSHA, GFSI, Kosher, Halal, RSPO, and other applicable standards and certifications.
Requirements
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a relevant field.
• Project Management & Change Management Experience.
• 5+ years of experience in food, supplement, or related industry.
• Familiarity with FDA.
• GFSI Scheme (i.e., SQF, BRC).
• Certification focused on Quality and Food Safety for Supply Chain requirement: PCQI or HACCP.
• Ability to lift 50 lbs; required to stand, walk, sit, and reach.
Skills & Certifications
• 5+ years of Quality Assurance experience.
• Solid FDA, HACCP, SQF, and industry best practices experience.
• Bachelor’s Degree.
• Creates and maintains a quality culture.
• US Citizen or Permanent Resident.
• Industry experience in Food & Beverage Manufacturing, Pharmaceutical, or Medical Device environments.
Ideal Candidate
• Strong Quality Assurance leadership experience within Food & Beverage manufacturing.
• Experience managing and developing Quality teams.
• Proven success leading food safety, compliance, audit readiness, and continuous improvement initiatives.