Senior Quality Assurance Specialist

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced FSQA professional, Senior QA Specialist, SQF Coordinator, or SQF Practitioner who is ready to take greater ownership of food safety systems and build toward future leadership.

This is an individual contributor position with no direct reports
. It is not intended to be a traditional QA Manager role. Instead, the successful candidate will serve as a key technical resource within the plant, own important food safety programs, work closely with senior FSQA leadership, and provide functional guidance and training across departments.

For a high-performing individual who demonstrates strong technical knowledge and leadership ability, there is potential for progression into an FSQA Manager position as the organization continues to develop.

As the site SQF Practitioner
, you will play a central role in maintaining and continuously improving the facility’s food safety and quality systems.

• Serve as the site SQF Practitioner
  , maintaining the SQF system and supporting the transition to SQF Edition 10
  .
• Lead gap assessments, program updates, corrective action follow-up, and certification audit readiness.
• Coordinate key food safety programs, including the Food Safety Team, HACCP Team, Recall Team, FSQA training, and internal audit programs
  .
• Serve as a primary FSQA resource during SQF, Organic, Kosher, customer, third-party, and regulatory audits and inspections
  .
• Maintain compliance with SQF, HACCP, GMPs, FSMA, Food Defense, Food Fraud, Organic, Kosher, and customer requirements
  .
• Conduct routine monitoring, verification, documentation review, and internal facility audits.
• Support and maintain the Food Safety Plan, Food Defense Plan, Food Fraud Program, Recall Plan, allergen controls, sanitation programs, shipping and receiving protocols, and related procedures.
• Investigate food safety, quality, sanitation, GMP, audit, regulatory, and customer issues.
• Participate in root cause analysis and corrective/preventive action (CAPA) activities and ensure actions are followed through to closure.
• Coordinate FSQA training and maintain accurate training and compliance records.
• Partner closely with Operations, Sanitation, Maintenance, Warehouse, Supply Chain, R&D, and QA
  .
• Maintain organized, accurate, and audit-ready FSQA documentation.
• Spend meaningful time on the manufacturing floor coaching employees, reinforcing expectations, and promoting a strong food safety culture.

The ideal candidate has developed a solid technical foundation in food safety and quality and is now ready for broader responsibility and visibility.

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, or another related technical discipline
  .
• Minimum 3 years of food safety and quality assurance experience within food manufacturing
  ; 5+ years is preferred.
• Previous experience serving as an SQF Practitioner and leading or supporting SQF certification audits.
• Working knowledge of HACCP, GMPs, sanitation, allergen controls, traceability, recall, food defense, food fraud, CAPA, and applicable food safety regulations
  .
• Knowledge of Good Laboratory Practices and basic microbiological/laboratory practices.
• Experience with root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Strong documentation, organization, communication, and follow-through skills.
• Ability to work effectively across departments and influence others without having direct reporting authority.
• Comfortable working hands-on in a manufacturing environment rather than primarily from an…