Customer Quality Service Specialist

Steuben Foods Inc.; Town of Elma (NY); On-site; USD 63,000 - 68,000; Full time

Job summary

Steuben Foods Inc. in Elma, NY is seeking a Customer Quality Service Specialist to support customer quality requirements, product commercialization, and ongoing product changes within our food manufacturing operation.

This position serves as a key connection between customers and internal teams, helping ensure formulations, specifications, documentation, and quality requirements are established and maintained.

Qualifications

• Associate degree or higher in a related field with strong project management experience.
• Experience in quality assurance, customer quality, or product commercialization.
• Food/beverage manufacturing familiarity preferred.

Responsibilities

• Support food safety and quality activities for new customers, new products, and commercialization.
• Coordinate customer quality requirements and audit support, including SQF.
• Communicate with customers by email, phone, and meetings on formulations and changes.
• Review and approve specification packets and coordinate changes with internal teams.
• Collaborate with Quality, Manufacturing, Business Development, Procurement and others to prepare new products for production.
• Manage commercialization processes, timelines, and deliverables.
• Identify roadblocks and drive resolution with internal and external teams.
• Gather and analyze lab data to establish or update product specifications and ranges.
• Prepare data summaries, trends, and analyses for internal teams and customers.
• Support production by ensuring formulations and specs are correctly translated for manufacturing.
• Create and maintain product models, BOMs, quality specs, and ERP data.
• Support product setup in Protean and SAP and maintain PERs and commercialization docs.
• Utilize project management systems to track tasks and deadlines.
• Maintain controlled documents and assist with manufacturing documentation updates.
• Assist with traceability and mock recall exercises as needed.
• Participate in stage-gate activities from pilot to production.
• Attend customer meetings and new customer introductions as needed.
• Prepare commercialization status and KPI reports.
• Follow food safety, quality, sanitation, and safety requirements; keep area clean.

Skills

Project management

Quality assurance

Customer quality

Product commercialization

Microsoft Excel

SAP

Protean

ERP systems

Education

Associate degree in Business, Science, Food Science, Quality, or a related field

Tools

Protean

SAP

Job description

Position:Customer Quality Service Specialist

Location: Elma, NY

Job Id:1253

# of Openings:1

Steuben Foods is a leading aseptic food and beverage manufacturer in the United States, proudly operating as a longstanding family-owned business. With roots firmly planted in Western New York, we are committed to providing our customers with superior aseptic products in a safe, clean, and efficient workplace environment. Our dedication to excellence in food safety and quality, innovation, and continued growth has propelled us to become a trusted name in the industry.

Schedule: Monday–Friday, with weekends as needed

Position Summary

We are seeking a Customer Quality Service Specialist to support customer quality requirements, product commercialization, and ongoing product changes within our food manufacturing operation.

This position serves as a key connection between customers and internal teams, helping ensure product formulations, specifications, documentation, and quality requirements are accurately established and maintained. The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, comfortable managing multiple projects, and able to communicate effectively with customers and cross-functional teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Support food safety and quality activities related to new customers, new products, and product commercialization.
• Coordinate and execute customer quality requirements and support audit requirements, including SQF.
• Communicate directly with customers through email, phone, and meetings regarding product formulations, specifications, commercialization projects, and requested changes.
• Review and approve specification packets and coordinate approved changes with appropriate internal departments.
• Collaborate with Quality, Manufacturing, Business Development, Procurement, and other departments to ensure new products and product changes are successfully prepared for production.
• Coordinate the commercialization process and help maintain clear project stages, timelines, responsibilities, and deliverables.
• Identify potential roadblocks affecting customer projects and work with internal and external teams toward resolution.
• Gather and analyze laboratory and product data to help establish or update product specification ranges.
• Prepare data summaries, trending information, and statistical analyses for internal teams and customers.
• Support Manufacturing by ensuring customer formulations and finished-product specifications are accurately converted and communicated for production.
• Create and maintain product models, resource codes, bills of material (BOMs), quality specifications, and other product information within company ERP systems.
• Support product setup and maintenance within Protean and SAP.
• Create and maintain Product Engineering Records (PERs) and related commercialization documentation.
• Utilize project management systems to track projects, tasks, deadlines, and accountability.
• Maintain controlled documents and assist with updates to manufacturing and operational documentation.
• Support traceability and Mock Recall exercises as required.
• Assist with commercialization stage-gate activities from successful pilot production through production trials and commercial production.
• Participate in customer meetings and new customer introductions as needed.
• Prepare and maintain commercialization status reports, project management reports, KPI reporting, and other quality documentation.
• Follow all company food safety, quality, sanitation, and workplace safety requirements.
• Maintain a clean and sanitary work area.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Associate degree in Business, Science, Food Science, Quality, or a related field preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in project management, quality assurance, customer quality, product commercialization, or a related field.
• Food or beverage manufacturing experience strongly preferred.

Skills & Knowledge

• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work effectively with both customers and internal teams.
• Excellent organizational and project-management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, changing priorities, and deadlines.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to analyze data, identify trends, and use findings to support continuous improvement.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Excel and reporting/presentation software.
• Experience working with ERP or manufacturing systems; Protean experience is a plus.
• SAP experience is preferred but not required.
• Understanding of food manufacturing regulations, ingredients, formulations, specifications, and quality requirements preferred.
• Ability to identify and utilize the appropriate resources to resolve problems and keep projects moving forward.

Pay Range: $62,500 - $68,000

Steuben Foods is committed to equal employment opportunity. We recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.