Quality Assurance Manager | Food Manufacturing

Quality Assurance Manager

Heartline Staffing is recruiting a Quality Assurance Manager for an onsite food manufacturing operation in Cabot, Vermont. This leadership position is responsible for food safety and quality systems within a 24/7 manufacturing operation, ensuring products meet customer specifications and established food safety and quality targets.

The Quality Assurance Manager leads the plant's QA function with direct management of the QA Supervisor and Plant Sanitarian and indirect supervision of laboratory technicians. This position oversees food safety and quality programs, regulatory compliance, laboratory operations, audits, product testing, quality documentation, corrective actions, and continuous improvement.

Compensation: $96,000–$106,000 annual salary, partial relocation assistance.

Work arrangement:
Onsite in Cabot, Vermont 05647, 24/7 manufacturing operation, ability to work flexible hours when required.

Role:

• Lead food safety and quality systems for the manufacturing plant.
• Manage the QA Supervisor and Plant Sanitarian directly with indirect supervision of laboratory technicians.
• Oversee laboratory testing of raw milk, manufactured products, and plant samples.
• Maintain Plant Lab operations including staffing, scheduling, testing, supplies, equipment, and facilities.
• Maintain a Certified State Lab for Producer Testing.
• Maintain and implement HACCP, SQF, and GMP quality assurance programs, quality controls, testing, and guidelines.
• Ensure regulatory compliance with Food Safety and Quality programs including PMO, GMP, Food Defense, and Pest Control programs.
• Provide employee training on hygienic product handling, HACCP, SQF, GMP, and other sanitary requirements.
• Oversee customer and regulatory audits and certifications including SQF, FDA, USDA, State ratings, Kosher, and Halal.
• Lead corrective action plans and responses resulting from audits and certifications.
• Serve as the site's SQF Practitioner.
• Lead and promote the facility's Food Safety Culture.
• Manage Hold, Release, Rework, and Reject programs for cheese and cultured products, including final disposition determination.
• Develop, maintain, and implement facility QA policies and procedures.
• Update the Plant Recall manual annually and complete mock recalls and traceability exercises.
• Manage consumer and customer complaint programs, including root-cause investigations, data tracking and trending, and communications.
• Maintain the Pathogen Environmental Monitoring program and CAPAs for out-of-specification results.
• Manage in-process and finished-product testing and report results that do not meet quality standards.
• Track and support plant key performance indicators and manufacturing/operational metrics.
• Schedule, lead, and report regular plant inspections.
• Provide technical support and implement continuous improvement processes with interdepartmental teams.

Benefits:
Medical insurance, dental insurance, retirement, paid time off.

Requirements:

Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a scientific field.

Required:

5+ years of experience in a food manufacturing/dairy environment, minimum 5 years in a management and/or senior supervisory role, excellent understanding of microbiology, food science, HACCP, and SQF or equivalent experience, strong analytical skills and experience implementing and administering Quality Assurance metrics and key performance indicators, excellent computer skills including Windows, Excel, and Word, ability to interpret and implement regulatory rulings, strong leadership, problem-solving, communication, and interpersonal skills, working knowledge of sanitation operations and current and developing sanitation techniques, ability to work flexible hours when required.

Preferred: HACCP, PQCI, and SQF certifications, previous continuous improvement and/or project management experience.