Associate Manager Quality Assurance

The J.M. Smucker Company; Orrville, Northern (OH, KY); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

The J.M. Smucker Company in Orrville, OH is seeking an Associate Manager, Quality Assurance to ensure co-manufactured products meet FDA and JMS quality standards through oversight of external facilities and QA programs.

You will audit co-pack partners, support R&D during start-ups and launches, maintain production documentation, and lead cross-functional quality initiatives across Prodika, ETQ, TraceGains, SharePoint, and Centric.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science or related scientific field.
• 2–3 years of quality/food safety experience in a food manufacturing plant.
• Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (human or animal food) or HACCP experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support co-pack/co-man partnerships by auditing, managing relationship, and seeking continuous improvement opportunities.
• Support R&D teams during on-site production start-ups, trials, and commercialization activities to ensure quality and food safety expectations are met.
• Maintain current, accurate, and copacker documentation to support TraceGains requirements.
• Manage, share, and update Prodika specification systems to ensure product information remains accurate, complete, and aligned with business needs.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to advance innovation, transformation projects, portfolio changes, and other strategic business initiatives.
• Contribute to additional quality assurance projects and business priorities as needed – complaint management, ETQ Holds, scorecard ownership, and other activities pertinent to achieving high co-pack/co-man standards.

Skills

Quality Assurance

Food Safety

Project Management

Cross-functional Collaboration

Strong Communication

Problem Solving

Excel

Proactive Attitude

Education

Bachelor's in Food Science

Tools

ETQ

Prodika

SharePoint

TraceGains

Centric

Job description

**Your Opportunity as the Associate Manager, Quality Assurance**This role ensures co-manufactured, co-packed, and repacked products meet FDA and JMS quality and food safety standards through effective oversight of external manufacturing facilities, personnel, and QA and operational programs.**Location:**Orrville, OH**Work Arrangements:**Monday to Friday - Hybrid**In this role you will:*** Lead and support co-pack/co-man partnerships by auditing, managing relationship, and seeking continuous improvement opportunities.* Support R&D teams during on-site production start-ups, trials, and commercialization activities to ensure quality and food safety expectations are met.* Maintain current, accurate, and copacker documentation to support TraceGains requirements.* Manage, share, and update Prodika specification systems to ensure product information remains accurate, complete, and aligned with business needs.* Partner with cross-functional teams to advance innovation, transformation projects, portfolio changes, and other strategic business initiatives.* Contribute to additional quality assurance projects and business priorities as needed – complaint management, ETQ Holds, scorecard ownership, and other activities pertinent to achieving high co-pack/co-man standards.**What we are looking for:**Minimum Requirements: * Bachelor's degree is required in Food Science or related scientific degree* Minimum 2-3 years of quality/food safety experience in food manufacturing plant environment* Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (human or animal food) or HACCP experience is preferredAdditional skills and experience that we think would make someone successful in this role:* Solid working knowledge of quality assurance, food manufacturing, food safety, processing, packaging, and distribution* Strong ability to work in cross-functional & team-oriented environment with multiple disciplines* Proven capabilities in project management* Better Process Control School Certified* Self-starter; take charge, positive & proactive attitude* Ability to lead several projects altogether and concurrently* Detail & process oriented with strong problem-solving skillsets + Strong computer skills (Excel, Word, PowerPoint); other systems desired (ETQ, Prodika, SharePoint, TraceGains, Centric, etc.)* Ability to communicate clearly within the organization and externally* Excellent written and verbal communication skills* High emotional intelligence and ability to work with ever changing conditions* Position may require up to 40% travel annually