Quality Assurance Manager

Industry: Food and Beverage Manufacturing

Schedule:

Full-time, on-site

This is a hands‑on plant leadership role requiring strong technical knowledge of low‑acid aseptic processing and the ability to build accountability across quality, operations, maintenance, sanitation, and supply chain.

• Lead the site’s quality assurance, food safety, sanitation, laboratory, environmental monitoring, and regulatory compliance program.
• Maintain compliance with FDA Low‑Acid Canned Food requirements, FSMA Preventive Controls, GMPs, applicable PMO requirements, customer standards, and GFSI certification requirement.
• Develop, implement, and continuously improve HACCP, preventive controls, allergen control, food defense, environmental monitoring, and sanitation program.
• Maintain process documentation and verification records for critical control points, preventive controls, commercial sterility, and preserved product validation.
• Oversee quality and food safety requirements for low‑acid aseptic processing, UHT systems, filling equipment, and related manufacturing processes.
• Manage finished‑product release, product hold and disposition, nonconforming materials, traceability, and recall readiness.
• Review batch records, deviation reports, laboratory results, corrective actions, and product‑release documentation.
• Lead investigations related to customer complaints, quality deviations, process failures, and product nonconformance.
• Facilitate root‑cause analysis and implement effective corrective and preventive actions.
• Manage and verify cleaning validation for blending, filling, CIP, and SIP systems to control microbial and cross‑contamination risk.
• Oversee laboratory testing, including microbiological, chemical, and physical analyses.
• Monitor testing related to pH, Brix, commercial sterility, yeast, mold, total plate count, preservative concentrations, and other finished‑product specifications.
• Maintain allergen controls, label verification, lot‑code accuracy, shelf‑life programs, and product traceability.
• Lead internal audits, mock recalls, customer audits, regulatory inspections, and third‑party certification audits.
• Manage supplier quality requirements, incoming‑material specifications, supplier verification, and applicable foreign‑supplier programs.
• Partner with R&D, operations, engineering, supply chain, and commercial teams during new‑product development and commercialization.
• Establish product specifications, quality requirements, and food safety validation plans for new products and processes.
• Develop and deliver training related to food safety, sanitation, GMPs, quality systems, and regulatory compliance.
• Lead, coach, and develop the site quality team, including laboratory and quality technicians.
• Provide visible quality leadership on the production floor and reinforce a culture in which food safety and quality are shared operational responsibilities.
• Maintain accurate quality records and product‑disposition activity within the company’s ERP and quality management system.

• Must hold a Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, Biology, or a related technical discipline.
• Must have at least 10 years of quality assurance or food safety experience within beverage, dairy, juice, or another highly regulated food manufacturing environment.
• Must have at least four years of experience leading a plant‑level quality function or supervising quality and food safety employees.
• Direct experience with low‑acid aseptic beverage manufacturing is strongly preferred.
• Experience with dairy, plant‑based beverages, coffee, creamers, juice, or other shelf‑stable beverage products is highly valuable.
• Strong knowledge of FDA 21 CFR Part 117, applicable Low‑Acid Canned Food requirements, GMPs, HACCP, preventive controls, and GFSI standards.
• Working knowledge of commercial sterility, UHT processing, pasteurization validation, CIP/SIP validation, environmental monitoring, and laboratory management.
• Experience managing product release, quality holds, deviations, nonconforming material, CAPA, and customer complaint.
• Experience supporting FDA inspections, customer audits, and third‑party certification audits.
• Strong…