Director of Quality Assurance for Feed Mills

Pilgrim's; Mount Pleasant (TX); On-site; USD 109,000 - 132,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Vision, Medical, and Dental after 60d

Paid time off

401(k) match

Bonus eligibility

Career development

Better Futures

Job summary

Pilgrim’s is seeking a Director of Quality Assurance - Feed Mills to lead the Animal Food Safety program, regulatory compliance, and third‑party certifications across our mills. The role requires coordinating with complex management, performing audits, and ensuring adherence to FDA, USDA, and company standards.

The position is full-time, on-site, and requires travel up to 30 weeks per year, located within an hour of Pilgrim’s complexes.

Qualifications

• Work related experience in Quality Assurance, Food Safety, FDA and USDA regulation is preferred.
• Work related experience in Quality Assurance methods and 3rd party certification programs is required.
• A degree in Poultry Science or a food safety related field is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Manage each facility’s Animal Food Safety Plan and oversee audits and compliance.
• Develop, implement and maintain 3rd party audit-ready programs for complexes with product claims.
• Assist with FDA/USDA regulatory compliance and update management on changes.
• Manage the Plantraks regulatory dashboard and support SAP usage.

Education

Poultry Science or food safety related field

Tools

Plantraks

SAP

Job description

Director of Quality Assurance - Feed Mills (1 opening)

At Pilgrim’s, Safety Is A Condition, which means the safety of our team members comes first - always.

The selected candidate will need to be located at or within an hour of any of the Pilgrim’s complexes for support purposes. This is NOT a remote position!

Summary/Objective

The Director of Quality Assurance plans and directs activities concerning the maintenance of established Pilgrim’s programs including the Animal Food Safety Program, USDA and 3rd party certification and regulatory programs. The Director of Quality Assurance also supports the Technical Services Division with additional activities as deemed necessary.

Essential Functions

Animal Food Safety

• Manage each facility’s Animal Food Safety Plan ensuring regulatory requirements are achieved. The Director of QA will be responsible for assisting the mill managers in education, implementation and program compliance in addition to record keeping and overseeing internal audits of processes and procedures at specified intervals.
• Enforce Pilgrim’s standards and methods for inspection, testing, and evaluation based on the prescribed requirements of the Animal Food Safety Plan, Quality Assurance Manual and utilizing 6S principles.
• Maintain Pilgrim’s Supplier Verification Program to satisfy the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act. The Director of QA will be responsible for assisting the mill managers in education, implementation and program compliance.
• Conduct routine on-site audits of each feed manufacturing facility to ensure compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements, customer required certifications and company prescribed standards.

Process Verification Programs

• Develop, implement and maintain 3rd party audit-ready programs for complexes with value-added product claims.
• Conduct on-site audits of PVP certified complexes to ensure the integrity of the certified product claims are achieved.
• Attend certification audits to ensure audit deficiencies and corrective actions are completed at the complex level.
• Supports the complex, customers and suppliers to ensure the integrity of all processes related to the customer programs.

Regulatory Compliance

• Assists the Feed Mill Managers in maintaining FDA and other agency requirements.
• Maintains an understanding of pertinent regulatory changes and informs both Senior Management and Feed Mill Management of changes to requirements.

Additional Responsibility

• Manage the Plantraks regulatory dashboard
• Support the feed mills with FDSA, FMIM and SAP

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time position, and hours of work and days are determined by the needs of the facilities. This job will require travel up-to 30 weeks per year and work requires visiting feed mills, hatcheries, grow-out and processing facilities.

Required Education And Experience

Work related experience in Quality Assurance, Food Safety, FDA and USDA regulation is preferred. Work related experience in Quality Assurance methods and 3rd party certification programs for is required. A degree in Poultry Science or a food safety related field is preferred.

Why Work for Pilgrim’s?

• Benefits: Vision, Medical, and Dental coverage begin after 60 days of employment;
• Paid Time Off: sick leave, vacation, and 6 company observed holidays;
• 401(k): company match begins after the first year of service and follows the company vesting schedule;
• Base Salary range of $108,714.00 - $132,086.70
• Incentive Pay:This position is eligible to participate in the Company’s annual bonus plan; the amount of bonus varies and is subject to the standard terms and conditions of the incentive program; and
• Career Development: Our company is dedicated to supporting professional growth by offering continuous learning opportunities and a focus on career growth through various learning and development programs;
• Better Futures

The Company is dedicated to ensuring a safe and secure environment for our team members and visitors. To assist in achieving that goal, we conduct drug, alcohol, and background checks for all new team members post-offer and prior to the start of employment. The Immigration Reform and Control Act requires that verification of employment eligibility be documented for all new employees by the end of the third day of work.

About us

Pilgrim’s is a leading global food company with more than 62,000 team members worldwide. The company processes, prepares, packages, and delivers fresh, frozen, and value-added food products for customers in more than 100 countries. Pilgrim’s operates protein processing plants and prepared foods facilities in 14 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the U.K, the Republic of Ireland and continental Europe.

Our vision

Become the best and most respected company in our industry creating the opportunity of a better future for our team members.

Our core values

Availability, Determination, Discipline, Humility, Ownership, Simplicity, Sincerity

EOE, including disability/vets

EOE, including disability/vets

Unsolicited Assistance

Unsolicited Assistance: Pilgrim'sdoesnot accept unsolicited assistance from any recruitment vendors for any of our open jobs. All resumes or candidate profiles submitted by recruitment vendors or headhunters to any employee at Pilgrim's or via the applicant tracking system, in any form without a valid written request and search agreement previously approved by HR, will be solely owned byPilgrim's. No fees will be paid should the candidate be hired by Pilgrim's because of an unsolicited referral.