Innovation QRC Quality Lead - Food Safety

HireTalent - Staffing & Recruiting Firm; Hershey (PA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

HireTalent - Staffing & Recruiting Firm is seeking a QRC Specialist: Innovation in Hershey, PA to support a fast-growing innovation portfolio in protein and functional foods. You will help enable speed to market while ensuring food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance across NPD initiatives.

You will work cross-functionally with R&D, Operations, Engineering, Packaging, and Commercial teams to drive early-stage innovation and agile product development in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience in food quality, food safety, or a related field.
• Strong knowledge of HACCP, GMPs, FDA regulations, and food safety standards.
• Experience in food manufacturing environments.
• Experience supporting new product development and product lifecycle processes.
• Understanding of diverse manufacturing processes (e.g., dairy, confectionery, snacks, grains, nuts, extrusion, etc.).
• Ability to identify, troubleshoot, and resolve complex quality issues.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the QRC lead for innovation projects, ensuring food safety and quality considerations are integrated into development and execution.
• Support front-end innovation, joint ventures, and new product initiatives in protein and functional food categories.
• Conduct Quality Design Reviews and communicate key learnings across regional teams.
• Lead ingredient and packaging approval processes, including supplier and material assessments.
• Develop and maintain food safety, quality, and regulatory documentation.
• Perform quality system assessments across suppliers, manufacturing sites, and distribution networks.
• Provide on-site support during product trials and production runs.
• Investigate and resolve quality issues in collaboration with manufacturing, logistics, and distribution teams.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulations, industry standards, and internal policies.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to implement best practices, technologies, and global standards.
• Support inclusion of quality and regulatory requirements in supplier and partner agreements.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives using audit data, KPIs, and benchmarking.

Skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

HireTalent - Staffing & Recruiting Firm is seeking a QRC Specialist: Innovation in Hershey, PA to support a fast-growing innovation portfolio in protein and functional foods. You will help enable speed to market while ensuring food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance across NPD initiatives.

You will work cross-functionally with R&D, Operations, Engineering, Packaging, and Commercial teams to drive early-stage innovation and agile product development in a dynamic environment.