Lead Technician, Quality

Smurfit Westrock plc; Mississauga; On-site; CAD 62,000 - 103,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits and Pension

Job summary

Smurfit Westrock plc is seeking a Quality Control Lead to support daily quality, food safety, and compliance activities on the tube manufacturing floor. You will drive a culture of quality, oversee audits, and assist the Quality Manager with the QMS/FSMS programs.

The role requires a bachelor’s degree in a related field, 1+ year in food-safety systems, and experience with ISO9001:2015, cGMP, GFSI, and HACCP. Moderate travel may be required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality, Food Science or related field.
• Minimum 1 year of experience managing food safety systems in manufacturing.
• Experience with ISO9001:2015, cGMP, GFSI and HACCP required.
• Strong written, verbal and electronic skills; proficient in data analysis and reporting.
• Proficient MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Responsibilities

• Review and communicate quality concerns, trends and production issues.
• Support production teams in maintaining quality standards and customer specs.
• Conduct routine quality, GMP, and housekeeping inspections.
• Manage admin tasks: complaints, deviations, CAPAs, audits and document control.
• Lead product trials, material evaluation, data collection, and report writing.
• Maintain FSMS, HACCP plan and related food safety documents.
• Support traceability, mock recalls, and recall readiness activities.
• Lead internal audits and provide written summaries of findings.

Skills

Quality control

GMP compliance

HACCP

Quality assurance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Quality, Food Science, or related field

Tools

MS Office

Job description

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) is the go-to leader and partner of choice in sustainable packaging. We are dedicated to creating efficient and scalable paper and packaging solutions to help solve complex packaging challenges. Guided by our values of safety, loyalty, integrity and respect, we are committed to delivering meaningful value for shareholders, customers, employees and the communities where we operate.

Job Summary:

We are seeking a motivated and experienced Quality Control Lead to support the daily execution of quality, food safety, and compliance activities within our tube manufacturing facility. This role provides frontline quality leadership, coordinates day-to-day quality operations, supports production teams, and ensures compliance with customer, regulatory, GMP, and GFSI requirements.

The Quality Lead Hand serves as the primary quality resource on the production floor, driving a culture of quality, food safety, accountability, and continuous improvement while supporting the Quality Manager in maintaining an effective Quality Management System (QMS) and Food Safety Management System (FSMS).

The ability to speak and understand Italian would be considered an asset.

Job Responsibilities:

• Review and communicate quality concerns, trends, and production issues.
• Support production teams in maintaining compliance with quality standards and customer specifications.
• Conduct routine quality, GMP, and housekeeping inspections.
• Manage administrative responsibilities as assigned. Includes but is not limited to: Customer Complaints, Internal Deviations, Supplier Deviations, Corrective and Preventative Actions, Document Control and Audits.
• Manage assigned product trials, raw material evaluation, conduct tests, gather data, evaluate and summarize results, write technical reports and help develop work instruction, test methods and procedures as needed.
• Write and maintain the FSMS, HACCP plan and related food safety documents.
• Support traceability exercises, mock recalls, and recall readiness activities.
• Ensure compliance with all quality procedures, work instructions, GMP requirements, and customer specifications.
• Participate in and lead internal audits and provide written summary reports on findings.
• Participate in external audits, including developing a written response and appropriate Corrective Actions.
• Assist with compiling monthly quality performance, metrics, trends and reports.
• Conduct training for associates. Includes cGMP training, new employee orientation training and other training as assigned.
• Maintain the program for FSC/SFI/PEFC including tracking, supplier letters and audits as needed.
• Submit samples and colour standards as requested by the customer.
• File and organize retains and records as needed.
• Swab the facility to maintain the environmental monitoring program.
• Other duties as assigned

Job Requirements:

• Minimum secondary school diploma
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Quality, Food Science, or related field.
• Minimum 1 year of experience managing food safety systems within a manufacturing environment.
• Experience with ISO9001:2015, cGMP, GFSI and HACCP
• Strong written, verbal and electronic skills to include training, data analysis and written reports
• Good computer skills with experience using MS Office (Word, Excel and PP)
• Experience with GFSI is required
• Limited travel may be required

Why work for Smurfit Westrock:

• Benefits and Pension from first day of hire with up to 7% company pension match
• Culture based on integrity, respect, accountability and excellence
• Comprehensive training with numerous learning and development opportunities
• A career with a global packaging company where Sustainability, Safety and Inclusion are business drivers and foundational elements of the daily work.

This posting is for a new job vacancy. The salary range for this position is $61,500 - $102,500. The range listed is the expected pay for roles in Ontario, Canada. Your pay will be based on factors such as your skills, experience, and education. The application window is expected to close by October 15, 2026.

As part of our commitment to accessibility for all people with disabilities, Smurfit Westrock will, upon the request of the applicant, provide accommodation during the recruitment process to ensure equal access to applicants with disabilities. Please contact Smurfit Westrock, Human Resources about your needs, and we will consult with you to ensure suitable accommodation is provided. For all feedback on equity and accommodation needs, please contact Human Resources.

Candidates are required to undergo a drug screening after receiving a conditional job offer, but before starting employment.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by state or federal law.