Quality Assurance Lead - Weekday Night Shift

Utz Quality Foods, Inc; Kings Mountain (NC); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision plans

Employer 401k match and profit sharing

Job summary

Utz Quality Foods, Inc. is seeking a Quality Assurance Technician Lead at our Kings Mountain, NC facility. You will lead QA activities, perform product testing, and ensure adherence to food safety and quality standards across daily operations.

You will train and support QA Technicians, oversee audits, and coordinate testing while maintaining lab equipment and compliance with GMP and SQF programs.

Qualifications

• Strong communication skills across departments.
• Solid math skills with PPE safety awareness.
• Prior QA or food safety experience; leadership preferred.
• Willingness to wear PPE and safety shoes.

Responsibilities

• Conduct in-process and finished product QC tests and document results.
• Verify sanitation via pre-op checks and ATP testing.
• Identify non-conformances, hold products, investigate root causes, assist corrective actions.
• Maintain calibration of lab equipment and stocked supplies.
• Generate daily/monthly audits to ensure GMP and sanitation compliance.
• Train and mentor QA Technicians and production staff.
• Set up and maintain testing equipment; coordinate inbound testing.
• Enter QA data into databases and report trends to management.
• Coordinate with vendors on compliance issues and complaints.
• Assist with audits: SQF, Organic, NGMP, GFCO; improve SOPs.

Skills

Leadership

Quality Assurance

Communication

Teamwork

Calibration

Tools

QA equipment

Lab calibration

Job description

Are you passionate about food safety and quality? Do you have an eye for detail and the leadership skills to guide a team in a fast-paced environment? If so, Utz Quality Foods wants you to join our team as a Quality Assurance Technician Lead at our King's Mountain, NC manufacturing facility!

In this role, you'll perform product testing and inspections while leading and supporting the QA team to ensure our products meet the highest standards of food safety and quality. You'll be hands-on in daily operations while also overseeing training, equipment, compliance programs, and audits.

Rotating Work Schedule:

• Week 1: Monday to Thursday, 6:00 PM-6:30 AM
• Week 2: Monday to Wednesday, 6:00 PM-6:30 AM (Schedule repeats weekly)

Responsibilities:

• Conduct in-process and finished product quality control tests, documenting results accurately.
• Verify sanitation effectiveness through pre-op inspections, equipment checks, and ATP testing.
• Identify and document non-conformance issues, place product on hold when necessary, investigate root causes, and support corrective actions.
• Maintain organization and calibration of lab equipment, ensuring supplies are fully stocked.
• Generate daily and monthly audits to confirm compliance with GMP and sanitation standards.
• Train, mentor, and provide technical support to QA Technicians and production associates.
• Set up, calibrate, and maintain existing and new testing equipment.
• Coordinate testing of purchased products, managing inbound testing records and reports.
• Enter QA attribute data into databases, track trends, and communicate results to management.
• Interact with vendors and equipment representatives regarding compliance issues and complaints.
• Oversee compliance programs such as SQF, Organic, NGMP, and GFCO, and assist with third-party audits.
• Audit QA Standard Operating Procedures and recommend improvements.
• Ensure shift coverage, including arranging replacements during absences.

Requirements:

• Strong communication skills - ability to collaborate with other departments both in person and in writing.
• Strong basic math skills and safety awareness when handling chemical solutions and test samples. Solid organizational, communication, and teamwork skills with the ability to work across all levels. Basic computer skills for entering, tracking, and analyzing quality data. Prior QA or food safety experience required; leadership or training experience strongly preferred. Mechanical aptitude helpful but not required.
• Willingness to wear non-slip shoes and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).

Continuously Pursuing Excellence!

Here at Utz, we have a passion for exciting and delighting consumers with delicious snack foods made from high quality ingredients. After over a century with a strong family heritage, our diverse portfolio of brands includes Utz, Zapp's, Boulder Canyon, and On the Border. Our associates are the reason for the success of this company, so it is important we provide a supportive, caring and inclusive environment that offers opportunities for career growth and advancement. We also help take care of our associates by providing benefits, resources, and programs that ensure they live their healthiest lives. Our full-time benefit package includes medical, dental, and vision plans, an employer match 401k, profit sharing plan, employee stock purchase plan and much more. Join our world class team and help us become the fastest growing pure-play U.S. snacking company of scale!

Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.