Quality Assurance Manager - Food Manufacturing
Lead plant-level quality assurance, food safety, regulatory compliance, and product-specification programs for a high-volume food manufacturing operation. This manager will keep the facility audit-ready while ensuring processing records, sanitation controls, packaging checks, and finished products meet company and regulatory requirements.
The best fit is a hands-on food manufacturing quality leader who can supervise employees, coach production teams, investigate deviations, and confidently work with thermal processing, container closure, fill control, product grading, and frozen-food quality systems. Experience in canned foods, low-acid foods, frozen vegetables, IQF production, or another tightly regulated food-processing environment is especially valuable.
Location: Glencoe, MN
Work Setting: Onsite manufacturing plant
Role Type: Direct Placement
Openings: 1
Compensation: $85,000-$95,000 base salary plus an MBO bonus opportunity of up to 7.5%, depending on skills and experience
Responsibilities
- Plan, organize, direct, and control plant quality programs that protect product safety and ensure conformance with specifications.
- Audit compliance with GMPs, food safety standards, case and label procedures, sanitation requirements, and plant safety programs.
- Review and organize plant processing records for compliance with local, state, and federal regulations and company policy.
- Administer the plant food safety program and coordinate quality activities with corporate quality and technical-services partners.
- Supervise quality employees and provide clear priorities, coaching, training, and follow-through.
- Train employees on fill control, sanitation, double seams, product grading, IQF production, statistical process control, and related quality procedures.
- Audit sanitary conditions throughout the manufacturing facility and partner with operations and sanitation teams to correct deficiencies.
- Investigate spoilage, process deviations, documentation gaps, nonconforming product, and recurring quality issues.
- Participate in internal, customer, regulatory, and third-party food safety audits.
- Work across production, sanitation, maintenance, warehousing, and plant leadership to achieve quality and food safety goals.
- Drive corrective and preventive actions and verify that completed actions prevent recurrence.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Food Science or a related scientific or technical field.
- Food manufacturing, food processing, or plant quality experience.
- One to two years of supervisory experience.
- Working knowledge of GMPs, food safety programs, sanitation, processing records, audits, and regulatory compliance.
- Ability to review production and processing records for accuracy and compliance.
- Ability to train employees and influence plant-floor teams when quality or food safety is at risk.
- Strong attention to detail, sound judgment, and clear communication skills.
- Certified, or able to become certified, through Better Process Control School.
- Certified, or able to become certified, in Thermal Processing and Container Closure.
Preferred Qualifications
- Quality leadership experience in canned foods, frozen foods, vegetables, fruit, soups, beans, sauces, ready-to-eat foods, or similar processing environments.
- Experience with low-acid canned foods, retorts, double seams, container closures, fill control, product grading, or spoilage investigations.
- Experience with IQF production or frozen vegetable processing.
- HACCP, PCQI, SQF Practitioner, BRCGS, or comparable GFSI-recognized audit experience.
- Experience supporting FDA, USDA, state, customer, or third-party audits.
- Experience supervising QA technicians, quality supervisors, laboratory staff, or production quality employees.
Benefits
The employer offers an excellent benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance; life insurance; a 401(k); paid time off; and additional company benefits.