Dairy Quality Hold & Release Supervisor

Leprino Foods; Lubbock (TX); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Leprino Foods seeks a Quality Supervisor at our brand new 600-person facility in Lubbock, TX to lead product hold, release, and disposition activities. You’ll ensure food safety, product integrity, and customer compliance while partnering with plant leaders to resolve issues and strengthen traceability.

You will guide QA decisions from incoming materials to finished products, mentor hourly staff, and help implement robust hold workflows and corrective actions for ongoing process improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in food science, dairy science, microbiology, chemistry, or a closely related field, or equivalent relevant industry experience.
• Five or more years of quality or food safety experience in a regulated food manufacturing environment.
• One or more years of experience leading, training, mentoring, or coordinating the work of others.
• Working knowledge of HACCP, SQF, sanitation programs, and food safety compliance systems used in plant operations.
• Working knowledge of food safety systems, product disposition processes, and product release documentation.
• Experience supporting product investigations, non-conformance reviews, or corrective action efforts.

Responsibilities

• Lead hold and release decisions across the plant, from incoming ingredients and packaging to finished dairy products.
• Review product data, lab results, and documentation to decide whether product moves forward, is reworked, downgraded, or removed from inventory.
• Build and maintain hold and release workflows that protect product quality, food safety, and customer confidence.
• Write, update, and reinforce plant procedures tied to product grading, traceability, testing, and certificate of analysis requirements.
• Coordinate microbiological and chemistry testing by creating work requests, reviewing sampling plans, and confirming accurate reporting.
• Guide product segregation, labeling, and disposition activities when product falls outside specification.
• Partner with plant teams to complete trace exercises and strengthen lot control across materials and finished goods.
• Support root cause investigations involving food safety, product quality, or recurring process issues. Help build corrective actions that stick.
• Coach and develop hourly quality team members through training, feedback, mentoring, and day-to-day support.
• Communicate unusual product conditions, quality concerns, and significant hold events to plant leadership and corporate quality partners.
• Review staffing plans, assign daily priorities, and help the team stay organized during changing production demands.

Skills

Leadership

Training & mentoring

Food safety knowledge

HACCP/SQF knowledge

Product disposition knowledge

Regulatory compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree in food science/dairy science/ microbiology/chemistry or related

Master's degree (preferred)

Job description

Leprino Foods seeks a Quality Supervisor at our brand new 600-person facility in Lubbock, TX to lead product hold, release, and disposition activities. You’ll ensure food safety, product integrity, and customer compliance while partnering with plant leaders to resolve issues and strengthen traceability.

You will guide QA decisions from incoming materials to finished products, mentor hourly staff, and help implement robust hold workflows and corrective actions for ongoing process improvements.