Quality Assurance Manager

Quality Assurance Manager - USDA Ready-to-Eat Manufacturing Lead Food Safety. Build Quality Systems. Help Launch a Growing Manufacturing Operation.

Tamarack Foods is seeking an experienced Quality Assurance Manager to lead food safety, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance at our growing food manufacturing facility in Americus, Georgia.

Direct USDA experience in ready-to-eat food manufacturing is required for this position.

Candidates must understand USDA inspection requirements, HACCP systems, sanitation controls, product disposition, regulatory documentation, and the food-safety risks associated with RTE production.

This is a hands-on leadership opportunity for a quality professional who has worked in a USDA-regulated RTE manufacturing environment and wants to play an influential role in strengthening systems, developing employees, and supporting operational growth.

The Quality Assurance Manager will establish and maintain quality standards, oversee the daily work of the Quality Assurance team, and ensure products are manufactured safely, consistently, and in compliance with USDA, SQF, customer, certification, and company requirements.

• Serve as the facility's subject-matter expert for USDA requirements governing ready-to-eat food manufacturing.
• Ensure the facility consistently meets USDA inspection, documentation, sanitation, labeling, process-control, and product-safety requirements.
• Maintain a state of USDA, SQF, customer, and third-party audit readiness throughout the facility.
• Ensure all processes and procedures protect the safety, quality, legality, and integrity of finished RTE products.
• Exercise and delegate authority to place products on hold or stop production when USDA, food-safety, sanitation, GMP, HACCP, SQF, or quality requirements are not being met.
• Communicate effectively and professionally with USDA inspection personnel regarding RTE operations, regulatory findings, corrective actions, and supporting documentation.
• Promote a strong culture of food safety, accountability, continuous improvement, and regulatory compliance.
• Lead Preserved Identity Programs and support related USDA, customer, certification, and third-party audits.

• Direct the Quality Assurance team in monitoring and verifying:

• Incoming ingredients, packaging, and other materials.
• Product formulations and processing procedures.
• RTE production and conversion processes.
• Facility and equipment conditions.
• Employee adherence to established food-safety requirements.
• Finished-product quality, safety, and regulatory compliance.

• Ensure compliance with product specifications, process sheets, standard operating procedures, sanitation standard operating procedures, HACCP plans, USDA label approvals, and company policies.
• Verify that RTE products are manufactured according to applicable USDA requirements and validated food-safety controls.
• Maintain and oversee Preserved Identity Programs, including Gluten-Free, Hormone-Free, Antibiotic-Free, and other applicable product claims.
• Serve as the primary contact for the Gluten-Free Certification Organization and continuously maintain and improve the facility's gluten-Free program.
• Ensure pest-control inspections and GMP audits are completed according to established company standards.

• Review pre-operational and operational SSOP results to confirm cleaning and sanitation activities meet established standards and USDA requirements.
• Verify that sanitation controls appropriately address the elevated food-safety risks associated with ready-to-eat production.
• Ensure USDA, GMP, SQF, SSOP, HACCP, and applicable FSMA programs are properly implemented, documented, maintained, and updated.
• Identify potential food-safety or regulatory risks and partner with operational leaders to implement timely corrective and preventive actions.
• Collaborate with the Director of R&D and Technical Services and the Regulatory Specialist, when applicable, to create, revise, and maintain SOPs, SSOPs, HACCP plans, USDA programs, GMP policies, and other controlled documents.
• Support investigations and corrective actions involving USDA noncompliance records, sanitation findings, product holds, foreign-material concerns, labeling issues, and other RTE food-safety risks.

• Lead, coach, schedule, and develop employees within the Quality Assurance department.
• Ensure QA employees and production associates…