Quality Assurance Technologist, Quality Assurance Technologist

Pilgrim's Europe; Southall; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in food manufacturing is seeking a Quality Assurance Technologist to ensure compliance with food safety standards and enhance quality across the site. This role involves driving technical excellence, managing supplier relationships, and supporting audits. The ideal candidate will possess strong problem-solving skills, relevant certifications, and experience in a technical role within the food industry. Join us to contribute to a culture of safety and quality, ensuring that our products meet the highest standards.

Qualifications

• Experience in Technical/Quality roles within Food Manufacturing environments.
• Experience leading 3rd party audits.
• Proficient in writing reports and risk assessments.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to building a culture of food safety and quality.
• Drive compliance in production areas against Food Safety & Quality Standards.
• Manage supplier complaints and non-conformances.

Skills

Problem Solving

Data Analysis

Communication

Education

Food Safety Level 3

HACCP Certification

Foundational knowledge in Food Safety/Technology

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Join to apply for the Quality Assurance Technologist role at Pilgrim's Europe.

We are currently recruiting a Quality Assurance Technologist to provide technical support and advice to the operational team, ensuring current technical standards and customer requirements are maintained and enhanced where appropriate. The role includes supporting all audits on site to ensure timely and effective communication with auditors.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to building a culture of food safety and quality across the site.
• Reduce hazards, risks, and incidents by promoting the Technical Excellence agenda.
• Embrace “Go for Zero” by promoting positive behaviors, root causing near misses, and coaching teams to manage safety in their areas.
• Track, report, and help improve safety & food safety performance metrics.

Technical Excellence Strategy

• Drive compliance in all production areas against Food Safety & Quality Standards (OPEX MS).
• Promote the Food Safety & Quality Culture model across the site and participate in the rollout of the site plan.
• Be the key contact for production issues such as supplier NCs, positive releases, etc.
• Lead efforts to meet customer & 3rd party standards through factory line walks, inspections, and observations.
• Manage supplier complaints & non-conformances, conducting quarterly reviews with key suppliers to ensure maintained food safety standards.
• Lead technical projects such as hygiene & allergen validations and site claims validations.
• Manage key supplier relationships at the site, e.g., pest control, chemical suppliers.
• Support internal & external audits, ensuring corrective actions are completed on schedule, including mock recalls and traceability exercises.
• Conduct investigations into microbial complaints, ensuring root cause analysis and shared learning.
• Support production trials to ensure product safety and quality criteria are met.
• Train the team in core technical skills such as allergen awareness, Food Hygiene, HACCP, etc.
• Build a high-performing team and participate in training plans aligned with site goals.
• Promote and demonstrate the company's values through ideal behaviors.

OPEX Improvement

• Set, raise, and confirm standards across safety, quality, environmental, and manufacturing processes.
• Utilize data analysis to identify problems, make them visible, and guide decision-making.
• Apply OPEX tools to support root cause analysis in operations.

Deliver value for the business and customers

• Ensure compliance with company and 3rd party standards across the site.
• Lead technical projects such as validations.
• Be the key contact for production issues and supplier NCs to ensure root causes are identified.
• Support projects aligned with site goals.
• Investigate micro complaints to identify root causes and share learnings.
• Maintain strong knowledge of BRC and industry regulations.
• Possess experience in Technical/Quality roles within Food Manufacturing environments.
• Organize and prioritize workload effectively.
• Apply strong problem-solving skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and capable of writing reports and risk assessments.
• Hold Food Safety Level 3 and HACCP certifications.
• Have foundational knowledge in Food Safety/Technology or related disciplines.
• Experience with the 8 Step Problem Solving process.
• Experience leading 3rd party audits.

Seniority level

• Entry level

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Quality Assurance
• Food and Beverage Manufacturing