Food Safety & QA Technologist

Position Summary

As part of our Food Safety & Quality Assurance team, you will play an important role in ensuring our products meet the highest standards. You will perform routine sanitation checks, enforce HACCP and USDA regulations, and use your technical expertise to track products from start to finish—identifying issues and driving corrective actions when needed. You will be responsible for monitoring quality in your area, from grading products and documenting results to overseeing sanitation, temperatures, GMPs, and more.

Working closely with production teams, you’ll help resolve issues, investigate root causes, and improve processes. You’ll also support quality programs through training and performance assessment.

• Quality Verification – Conduct routine inspections including process, metal detection, cooking, and chilling to ensure products meet all quality standards, identify out‑of‑spec products, interpret customer specs, and collaborate with teams to correct issues quickly.
• Quality Improvement – Drive continuous improvement by addressing deficiencies, identifying root causes of failures, and supporting QA programs such as training, spec reviews, and initiatives to enhance product quality and reduce waste.
• Food Safety & HACCP Compliance – Help develop and enforce HACCP programs, monitor critical control points, and ensure food safety protocols are followed throughout the production process.
• Regulatory & Sanitation Oversight – Ensure USDA regulatory requirements are met, assist with food safety documentation updates, and perform pre‑op sanitation checks while guaranteeing proper cleaning and sampling procedures.
• Communication & Training – Report food safety issues, recommend corrective actions, and support plant training on deficiencies.
• Leadership – In the absence of key personnel, step in or delegate responsibilities as needed.

• High school diploma or general education degree (GED). For internal candidates with 4+ years of experience, the company may waive the educational requirement.
• Demonstrated knowledge of quality assurance principles, food science, meat processing, and USDA regulations.
• Experience creating, interpreting, and maintaining technical documents, reports, and manuals.
• Proficiency in office software and ability to interpret and follow instructions in various formats.
• Ability to complete required forms in English and read/write in English.
• Experience with monitoring equipment, data analysis, and regulatory/customer inquiry responses.
• Effective written and verbal communication across teams and stakeholders.

• Associate’s degree.
• Ability to collaborate in a fast‑paced, dynamic environment while maintaining a respectful, team‑oriented attitude.

• Office and plant setting with wet or humid conditions, extreme cold and heat, exposure to fumes, airborne particles, and chemicals.
• Noise level moderate to loud in production area; occasionally lift/move up to 50 pounds.
• Requires frequent standing, walking, use of hands, reaching with arms, stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling; needs vision for close and distance work.
• Exposed to temperatures ranging from 30–80°F while working in warm and cold areas simultaneously.

• Relocation package available.

Smithfield is an equal opportunity employer committed to workplace diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, gender identity, protected veteran status, status as a disabled individual, or any other protected group status or non‑job characteristic as directed by law. If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment selection process, please call us at 757‑357‑1595.