FSQA Specialist

Ruprecht-Company; Mundelein (IL); On-site; USD 65,000 - 98,000; Full time

Job summary

Ruprecht-Company is seeking an FSQA Specialist to establish and continuously improve FSQA programs, ensuring the facility stays audit-ready and compliant with SQF and regulatory standards.

The role focuses on supplier approval, CAPAs, internal audits, and QMS support, with opportunities to drive continuous improvement and cross-functional collaboration across QA, procurement, and operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Biology, Chemistry or related field preferred.
• 3+ years of relevant work experience in the food industry, preferably cooked/RET operations.
• Knowledge of GMPs, SPC, HACCP, OSHA, USDA regulations.
• Possess: HACCP or PCQI Certification, SPC Certification.
• Experience with SQF and Traceability tools.

Responsibilities

• Develop & execute an effective supplier approval program.
• Review supplier documentation for compliance and logs.
• Audit internal SQF systems and assist with customer audits.
• Investigate customer complaints and initiate CAPAs.
• Monitor KPIs: Hold/Disposals, environmental monitoring, deviations.

Skills

GMP Knowledge

Food Microbiology

Audit and Compliance

Problem Solving

Communication Skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Biology, Chemistry or related field

HACCP or PCQI Certification

SPC Certification

Tools

TraceGains

SafetyChain

Repositrak

Job description

Description

This position reports to the FSQA System Manager and is part of the FSQA structure. The function of an FSQA Specialist is to establish, maintain & continuously improve FSQA programs. This individual will be a critical part of ensuring our facility maintains always compliance & stays in an audit ready state.

Role and Responsibilities

Supplier Approval Program

• Develop & execute an effective supplier approval program
• Upload, review supplier documentation for compliance
• Partner with Procurement to request new documentation as needed
• Reviews & logs incoming COAs, escalates out of specification results to management
• Review & verify incoming/outgoing goods inspection data
• Conducts audits of suppliers if necessary, including 3rd party storage facilities
• Submits non-conformances to suppliers & manages corrective action close out

Customer Complaint & CAPAs

• Assign risk rating to customer/consumer complaints
• Assists in or Performs investigations of complaints, providing effective corrective actions
• Performs periodical review of data, identifying key trends with action plans for improved performance

Auditing: Internal, Customer, and GFSI

• Conducts routine internal facility & SQF systems audit
• Assigns action items or internal CAPAs and follows up with close outs
• Assists System Manager in SQF preparation & audit execution
• Attends and assists in customer audits
• Completes CAPA close outs from audits as assigned

Support Quality Management System

• Create & Modify submission forms
• KPI monitoring and report out: Hold/Disposals, Customer/Consumer complaints, Environmental Monitoring, Deviations, etc.
• Continuous improvement of QMS system and data collections

HACCP

• Assist in HACCP updates as needed e.g. new product launches, new equipment onboarding
• Assist with validations to support HACCP as needed
• Record verification
• Conducts Foreign Material investigations
• Training as needed

Other routine Tasks

• Production Floor & In house lab support
• Environmental Monitoring Scheduling & Site Updates
• Employee Locker inspections

Performs other duties as assigned

Supervisory Responsibilities

• N/A this position is not a people management role

Requirements

Preferred Qualifications and Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Biology, Chemistry or related field preferred
• 3+ years of relevant work experience in the food industry, preferably in cooked/RET operations
• Knowledge of GMPs, SPC, HACCP, OSHA, USDA regulations, and Food Microbiology
• Posses: HACCP or PCQI Certification, SPC Certification
• Experience with SQF
• Experience with Tracegains, Safetychain and Repositrak
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite

Core Competencies, Knowledge, and Skill Requirements

Candidates should be self-starters with a strong work ethic and the ability to prioritize their workload to ensure timely issue resolution. In addition, this individual should possess the following skills:

• Communications: Exhibit honest and clear communication, both orally and written, for effective teamwork. Treat everyone equally with respect- listen to others and make them feel valued. Where customer decisions or food safety is a concern, communicate on a higher level.
• Time Management & Organization: Organize and prioritize your own actions efficiently and manage a variety of tasks simultaneously. Be flexible and react favorably to multiple priorities, changing schedules and daily assignments while paying attention to detail. Demonstrate a sense of urgency and focus on actions, while multi-tasking.
• Team Commitment: Handle conflict in a mature manner to establish trust with coworkers and encourage team collaboration. Understand the people and departments and support team decisions.
• Problem Solving:?Think ahead when information is not always available- use all your senses and resources as tools. Understand the relationship between issues and processes and use logical reasoning.?

Work Environment and Physical Requirements

The work environment alternates between a cold production setting with concrete floors and an office. This position requires the team member to:

• Periodically work in cold temperatures (38 degrees)
• Handle cold, wet, and frozen product throughout the day
• Visually identify and evaluate product
• Tasting of Product
• Occasionally sit for an extended period of time
• Occasional weekend/holiday or extended hours

Food Safety

Kilcoy has adopted the SQF System for food safety management and is under continuous USDA meat & poultry jurisdiction. All Kilcoy team members are responsible for food safety and quality requirements. Team members will be regularly informed, trained, and held accountable for managing food safety and regulatory expectations within their work areas. Team members should notify their department management about any food safety issues or concerns to be adequately addressed.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.