Intermediate Quality Assurance Technician

Intermediate Quality Assurance Technician

This position partners cross‑functionally with Operations, Maintenance, Warehouse, and Management to ensure food/feed safety, quality, regulatory, and customer requirements are consistently applied throughout the manufacturing process. The Quality Assurance Technician serves as a key resource on the production floor, supporting quality systems in real‑time to drive First Pass Quality, product compliance, material yield, and operational efficiency. This is a highly visible plant‑support role requiring significant time on the manufacturing floor.

Candidates must be comfortable working in a fast‑paced production environment and interacting with employees at all levels of the organization.

Hours: Monday – Friday, 7:00 AM – 3:30 PM.

Pay: $24.00 per hour.

Weekly work may include weekend work, overtime, and schedule flexibility based on plant and business needs.

• Support quality assurance and food/feed safety programs in real‑time on the production floor.
• Spend approximately 60‑70% of the workday in production and ingredient handling areas.
• Collect and review ingredient, in‑process, finished product, and retained samples for testing and evaluation.
• Assist with ingredient and finished feed evaluations to determine compliance with quality standards and specifications prior to use in production or release for shipment.
• Perform routine laboratory testing and maintain quality records.
• Verify product specifications, formulations, labels, lot codes, sequencing, and manufacturing requirements.
• Assist in investigating quality concerns, customer complaints, process deviations, and non‑conforming products.
• Monitor and maintain tag inventory to ensure adequate supply for production.
• Verify correct tags and labels are available and utilized for production runs in accordance with product specifications and regulatory requirements.
• Provide quality guidance and support to production employees and supervisors.
• Support regulatory, customer, and internal audit activities.
• Monitor compliance with food/feed safety programs, prerequisite programs, and quality management systems.
• Assist with inventory verification, product holds, releases, and quality‑related documentation.
• Support training initiatives related to quality and food/feed safety.
• Other duties as assigned by management.

• High School Diploma or GED.
• Minimum one (1) year of experience in manufacturing, quality assurance, laboratory, food, feed, or related industry.

• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and make sound decisions.
• Demonstrated teamwork, collaboration, and willingness to support fellow Quality Assurance team members while maintaining a positive and professional work environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, SAP, and REPETE and other business systems used to support quality, production, and inventory management activities.
• Ability to work cross‑functionally with Operations, Maintenance, Warehouse, and Management teams.
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks in a fast‑paced environment.
• Strong problem‑solving and continuous improvement mindset.

• Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science, Animal Science, Biology, Chemistry, Quality Assurance, or related field.
• Experience in food, feed, or manufacturing environments.
• Experience with ERP systems such as SAP, JD Edwards, or Oracle.
• Understanding of GMPs, HACCP, Preventive Controls, and food/feed safety programs.
• Experience supporting audits and regulatory inspections.

• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds.
• Frequent walking, standing, bending, stooping, kneeling, climbing stairs, reaching, pushing, pulling, and lifting.
• Ability to access production equipment, ingredient areas, and elevated work platforms.
• Ability to work while wearing required personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Ability to work in environments with dust, noise, moving equipment, and varying temperatures.
• Ability to work in both indoor and outdoor conditions as needed.
• Ability to spend extended periods on the manufacturing floor rather than at a desk.

Manufacturing facility with exposure to dust, noise, temperature fluctuations, and production equipment. Regular interaction with production employees, supervisors, maintenance personnel, and management.