Food Quality & Safety Leader – QA Manager

Watershed-Foods; Gridley (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical: PPO or HSA

401K with company match

Paid holidays & PTO

Tuition reimbursement

Uniform and boots

Employee Assistance Program

Chaplain Program

Volunteer days

Referral bonuses

Job summary

Watershed-Foods is seeking a senior QA leader to oversee the daily operations of the Quality Assurance Department in our Illinois facility. You will guide the team in implementing and maintaining food safety and quality programs, ensuring compliance with GFSI schemes and customer requirements, and driving CAPA investigations.

The role requires extensive QA/QC experience, PCQI and SQF familiarity, and the ability to manage cross-functional teams across shifts.

Qualifications

• BS degree preferred in Biology, Microbiology, Food Science and/or 5+ years in Quality Assurance or Quality Control role.
• SQF Practitioner Certification or willing to obtain once hired in 6 months
• PCQI certification or willing to obtain in 6 months once hired
• Management experience is a must; this has a larger department that spans multiple shift
• Strong knowledge of and experience with GFSI schemes and food certifications

Responsibilities

• Oversee the daily activities and schedule of the Quality Assurance Department, ensuring coverage per shift and coaching staff as needed.
• Ensure QA department is staffed, organized, and trained to meet standards and goals.
• Manage the execution of food safety and quality management systems, processes, and procedures.
• Ensure all quality checks are completed and corrective actions taken for non-conformance.
• Perform PCQI reviews of Production, Sanitation, and QA records within 7 business days.
• Identify and analyze Non-Conforming Product and Equipment issues including reporting, tracking, and vendor CAPAs.
• Oversee Environmental Monitoring Program and EMP to ensure regulatory and customer requirements.
• Provide training to QA and Production staff on systems, policies, procedures, and core processes.
• Lead Internal Auditing Team and oversee CAPA & investigations; close corrective actions within 15 business days.
• Prepare quality documentation and reports by collecting and trending data for analysis.
• Support investigation of customer complaints or quality issues with 24h initial responses and 5-day finalization.

Job description

Watershed-Foods is seeking a senior QA leader to oversee the daily operations of the Quality Assurance Department in our Illinois facility. You will guide the team in implementing and maintaining food safety and quality programs, ensuring compliance with GFSI schemes and customer requirements, and driving CAPA investigations.

The role requires extensive QA/QC experience, PCQI and SQF familiarity, and the ability to manage cross-functional teams across shifts.