Food Manufacturing QA Technician (1st Shift)

Kettle Cuisine; Lynn (MA); On-site; USD 24,796 - 28,929; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits package

Annual discretionary bonus program up to 5%

Job summary

A leading food manufacturer in Lynn, MA, is seeking a Food Manufacturing Quality Assurance Line Technician. This full-time role emphasizes enforcing food safety and quality systems, alongside conducting audits and inspections in a fast-paced environment. The ideal candidate possesses strong attention to detail, communication skills, and a basic understanding of food safety principles and regulations. Competitive hourly pay and comprehensive benefits are offered.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of food manufacturing experience preferred.
• Experience with USDA & FDA requirements.
• Ability to communicate in English (Spanish preferred).

Responsibilities

• Perform routine tests on food contact surfaces.
• Conduct daily checks on production line sanitation.
• Investigate quality and food safety issues.

Skills

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Mathematical skills

Food safety knowledge

Ability to work in a fast-paced environment

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

Microsoft Office

Allergen specific swab kits

Job description

• Location: Lynn, MA
• Position Type: Full-Time
• Shift: 1st
  
  

Delicious Food and Meaningful Careers

At the heart of our company is a deep passion for creating fresh, healthy, and artisan-quality food that brings people together. We honor the craft of artisan cooking—using scratch-made stocks, hand-chopped herbs, and only the highest-quality ingredients—complemented by cutting-edge technology. This allows us to deliver consistently safe, exceptional products on a large scale.

But it’s not just about the food. Our culture is built on principles that shape how we grow, both as individuals and as a team. One of our core values, Honoring Development, guides us to actively seek out, celebrate, and nurture one another’s talents, strengths, and interests. By fostering each other’s growth, we strengthen our relationships and capabilities, driving both personal and professional success.

We also believe in Honoring Each Other. We surround ourselves with passionate people who share our love for great food. Through mutual respect and collaboration, we create an environment where employees are empowered to thrive, building trusting, and rewarding relationships with our clients, partners, and one another.

If you're looking for a place where your skills, passion, and ideas can flourish, we invite you to explore the opportunities available within our dynamic and supportive team.

Job Summary

The Food Manufacturing Quality Assurance Line Technician is a full-time position responsible for enforcing food safety and quality systems (HACCP, SQF, GMPs) and company policies within a food manufacturing facility. Key responsibilities include continuous monitoring of procedures, performing quality checks and tests on in-process and finished products, completing daily documentation and data entry, listing detailed quality issues in a report, and conducting operational and pre-operational inspections and sanitation verifications. Requires basic math, computer (Microsoft Office) and food safety knowledge, strong attention to detail and communication skills (English required, Spanish preferred), and the ability to work a full-time schedule, including Saturdays, in a busy fast paced manufacturing environment.

Duties and Responsibilities

The role is critical for preventing defects and ensuring food is safe for consumption, which involves:

• Testing and Inspection: Performing routine tests on the environment and food contact surfaces of processing equipment, raw materials and finished product (e.g., viscosity, allergens swabs, ATP swabs, weight, color).
• Monitoring Production: Conducting daily checks on the production line and verifying sanitation procedures. Using Allergen specific swab kits, ATP and visuals.
• Compliance and Auditing: Ensuring adherence to regulations such as GMP and HACCP, assisting with audits, and maintaining accurate records for traceability.
• Corrective Action: Investigating quality and food safety issues, managing non-conforming products, and implementing corrective actions to address deviations.
• Risk Management: Identifying potential safety risks within the plant and ensuring appropriate corrective actions are taken to mitigate them.
• Monitor production personnel to ensure that a consistent quality product is being manufactured.
• Support SQF program requirements by enforcing compliance on the production floor.
• Participate in GMP audits for KPI metrics.
• Help maintain the retain samples of finished products program.
• Ensure the continuous production of products consistently with established specifications.
• Assist with document failures and ensure that maintenance personnel are notified of any equipment failures.
• Perform process check throughout the preparation, cooking, filling, packaging labeling integrity and sensory checks.
• Monitor HACCP critical control points.
• Calibrate test equipment such as thermometers, ATP units and temperature loggers.
• Drive factory GMP Standards.
• Assist with the Food Safety Training Program.
  
  

Additional Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

• Good communication skills-written and oral.
• Ideal candidate will possess 2+ years food manufacturing experience.
• Excellent follow-through including ability to reason through critical issues.
• Ability to communicate with employees at all levels of the organization.
• Good knowledge of the Food Manufacturing Industry and of Quality Assurance methodologies.
• Should have experience with USDA & FDA requirements.
  
  

Required Skills

• High school diploma or GED required.
• Requires one - three years of relevant experience.
• On-the-job training of 3-6 months.
• Basic math and computer skills.
• Basic data entry, formatting of documents and time/temperature graphs, creating basic templates.
  
  

Responsibility

• Works with little supervision, but work is reviewed. Exercises discretion within area of responsibility.
• Position has little to no contact with customers.
• Position has little or no impact on revenue, actions and results are subject to review or inspections.
  
  

Working Conditions

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a Quality Assurance Manufacturing Technician encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

Physical Demands/Efforts

• Work requires occasional physical exertion including some lifting of objects weighing up to 25 pounds.
  
  

Mental & Visual Demands

• Work performed by this position requires considerable mental concentration to effectively execute complex tasks.
• Work occasionally requires some degree of visual effort for periods of time.
  
  

Work Environment and Hazards

• Employee works in a manufacturing setting with frequent exposure to heat/cold, dust, or other factors that may require protective equipment and still pose a hazard.
• This position has infrequent exposure to hazards that could result in injury and loss of time at work.
• Travel is not required for this position.
  
  

Americans with Disabilities Act

Kettle Cuisine complies with all aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and state disability laws. This means we will not discriminate against qualified individuals with a disability in any phase of the employment relationship including application for employment, hiring, promotions and/or advancement opportunities, termination, compensation, training and any other conditions or privileges of employment.

Core Values

Kettle Cuisine takes the utmost pride in its people, products and reputation. Each employee is expected to understand and live our Core Values every day.

Honor Food – We create and produce the best tasting, safest, all natural recipes that strive for perfection in every batch, from bench to kettle

Honor Each Other – We seek to develop trusting, respectful and mutually rewarding relationships with all our team members and business partners

Honor Development – We recognize and nurture each other’s talents, strengths and interests in order to further strengthen and grow our team

Honor Innovation – We continually strive for creative and sustainable ways to achieve excellence

Pay Range for Food Manufacturing QA Technician

The Food Manufacturing QA Technician base pay range $18-21 USD/hourly. The listed salary range represents Kettle Cuisine’s good faith estimate for this position and represents the minimum and maximum for new hire salaries for the Lynn, MA location only. Ranges will be reviewed on a regular basis. An employee’s rate of pay within the range is determined by their qualifications, relevant experience, and demonstrated performance over time. In addition to those factors, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider internal equity of our current team members as a part of any final offer. Hiring at the maximum of the range would not be typical to allow for future and continued salary growth. The Food Manufacturing QA Technician position is eligible for our comprehensive benefits package and is eligible for the annual discretionary bonus program up to 5%. Kettle Cuisine and all its legal entities comply with all federal, state, and local minimum wage laws.