Manager, Quality; Springfield

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Full Time Springfield, KY, US

Salary Range: $ To $ Annually

At Bluegrass Ingredients, we believe exceptional products start with exceptional people. As a growing ingredient manufacturer, we are building a team of agile thinkers, problem solvers, and doers who take pride in quality, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

We are committed to creating an environment where employees feel supported and valued. If you are looking for a company where your work matters, Bluegrass Ingredients may be the right place for you.

The Quality Manager is responsible for overseeing the Bluegrass Ingredients Quality Assurance programs, sanitation management, and regulatory compliance activities at the Springfield, KY manufacturing facility and warehouse. This role ensures that all products meet established quality and food safety standards while maintaining compliance with SQF, USDA, FSMA, FDA, and customer-specific requirements.

• Lead plant-level and corporate quality initiatives to ensure compliance with company standards, customer expectations, and regulatory requirements.
• Provide technical guidance on quality systems, HACCP, preventive controls, and sanitation programs.
• Analyze trends in customer complaints, nonconformances, and audit findings to identify root causes and drive the implementation of the corrective action through continuous improvement at the site.
• Provides strategic direction and oversight to the Plant QA Supervisor.
• Reviews and approves key QA decisions at the plant level, including product releases, nonconformance dispositions, and corrective actions.
• Sets clear expectations and KPIs (e.g., audit scores, hold/release accuracy, sanitation verification rates, complaint trends).

• Develop, implement, and monitor the Master Sanitation Schedule for the site.
• Supervise sanitation supervisor to ensure effective cleaning and verification programs.
• Audits, pre-operational inspections and verification activities conducted by QA Supervisor and Production Supervisor to ensure sanitary conditions before production are adequate.
• Review and approve sanitation chemical usage, SSOPs, and validation documentation in alignment with all regulatory governing bodies.
• Standardize data entry procedures and ensure consistency and accuracy across plants.

• Support plant‑level audit preparations, including SQF, USDA, FDA, USDA, and customer audits.
• Coordinate pre‑audit readiness checks, mock audits, and post‑audit corrective action follow‑ups.
• Maintain documentation and records required for regulatory and customer compliance.
• Serve as a key liaison with regulatory inspectors and customers during audits and inspections at plant.

• Provide coaching, mentoring, and performance feedback to Plant QA and Sanitation teams.
• Lead plant‑wide QA meetings and promote a culture of food safety and accountability.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional departments (R&D, Operations, Maintenance, Supply Chain) to ensure alignment with quality and sanitation goals.

• Bachelor’s degree in food science, Microbiology, or equivalent combination of education and relevant work experience may be considered.
• 5 or more years of progressive Quality Assurance experience in food manufacturing (preferably dairy, spray drying, or ingredient processing).
• Strong knowledge of GMPs, HACCP, USDA, SQF, FSMA standards, and sanitation principles.
• Experience managing sanitation programs and leading audit preparations.
• Hands‑on experience with ERP Quality modules (Batch Master, Sage, or SAP).
• Excellent leadership, communication, and training skills.
• Ability to travel to company facilities as required (approx. 5‑10%).

• Audit readiness and score improvements.
• Reduction in customer complaints and nonconformances.
• ERP QA data accuracy and system compliance.
• Sanitation validation results and compliance with MSS.
• Training completion and QA staff…