Senior Quality Manager

Maker’s Pride, LLC; Kentwood, Northern (MI, KY); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Maker’s Pride, LLC in Kentwood, Michigan, is seeking an experienced Quality Assurance & Food Safety leader to direct plant QA programs and drive compliance with FDA, USDA, GMP, and 3rd party certifications. You will lead QA and Food Safety teams onsite, coach staff, and apply lean methods and root cause analyses to improve product quality, process reliability, and consumer safety across the facility.

Strong collaboration with operations and commercialization teams is essential to translate

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; post-graduate a plus.
• PCQI and/or HACCP certifications required.
• Strong leadership, communication, and documentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead QA and Food Safety programs including HACCP, QA plans, and compliance.
• Execute internal audits and ensure audit readiness at all times.
• Manage root cause investigations and CAPA activities.
• Mentor QA/FS teams and develop bench strength.
• Collaborate with plant leadership to improve quality culture.
• Oversee regulatory labeling compliance and specs.
• Monitor KPIs and drive continuous improvements.
• Lead customer QA discussions on quality incidents.

Skills

Quality leadership

Lean tools

Root cause analysis

Team coaching

SOP development

Education

Bachelor’s degree in science/business

PCQI Certification

HACCP Certification

Tools

SAP

MS Office

Job description

Grand Rapids - H1, 3061 Shaffer Avenue, Kentwood, Michigan, United States of America

Job Description

Posted Thursday, September 3, 2026 at 5:00 AM

Job Summary

Responsible for leading, maintaining, and executing all aspects of Quality Assurance and Food Safety for the plant. Coach, teach, mentor, and manage the Quality and Food Safety teams onsite. Utilize lean tools and root cause analysis to continuously improve the existing quality system. Ensure all requirements from customers, regulatory, and 3rd party certifications are met and in compliance.

Job Duties

Duties may include, but are not limited to the following

• Manage all Quality and Food Safety programs including HACCP, Food Safety Plans, Food Quality Plans, IA Vulnerability, and Food Defense
• Execute a robust internal audit program to ensure site it always audit ready all the time
• Participate in Hearthside Production System requirements such as Drumbeat, Weekly KPI, Lean Steering Committee, and Tiered Auditing
• Lead Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Corrective Actions/Preventative Action (CAPA) investigations
• Coach, teach, and mentor the QA and Food Safety teams to build bench strength and career paths for employees
• Collaborate with all plant leadership to drive quality culture improvements and consumer complaint reductions
• Coordinate multidisciplinary activities among various team members assuring timely, efficient and cost-effective finality
• Administrate all product specifications and associated floor instructions assuring compliance with regulatory label requirements.
• Ensure food standard compliance with FDA, USDA, OSHA, GMP, and company policy.
• Assess Environmental Monitoring Programs to ensure continued seek and destroy approach to pathogens
• Oversee the Hold and Release program, ensuring proper hold verifications and disposition processes
• Lead Trace and Mock Recall exercises
• Measure and monitor various company KPIs and drive for improvements in key performance areas
• Lead customer QA discussions related to quality or food safety incidents in the plan
• Advise commercialization and production teams on process specifications, process capabilities, and customer requirements to include recipe and sensory
• Support commercialization teams in integrating customer and compliance requirements into internal specifications and critical quality parameters
• SQF Practitioner and PCQI duties
• Trend and analyze data as need to drive improvements in the plant (EMP, Pest Control, Consumer Complaints, etc.)
• Support and oversee all aspects of sanitation, including allergen matrix and control programs, chemical control programs, pest control programs, cleaning validations including all sanitation systems as assigned.
• May perform other functions as needed.

Knowledge of:

• Intentional Adulteration Vulnerability Assessments
• SMART goal setting and team coaching
• Basic RCA and CAPA tools
• 7 Steps of Sanitation

Skilled in:

• Procedure and Standard Work generation
• Demonstrated proficiency in advanced quality statistics, measurement systems analysis
• and continuous improvement required.

Ability to:

• Communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
• Manage multiple projects at a time
• Direct various program activities within the plant
• Influence Quality Culture behaviors
• Recognize food safety & quality gaps and provide a plan to address
• Work collaboratively with all departments
• Ensure collaborative relationships with industry, trade, other associations, regulatory agencies and Hearthside staff.

Proficiency in :

• MS Office Suite, SAP a Plus

• Frequent production environment exposure which includes noise, dust, heat, cold, moving machinery, fork lifts, and slippery floors
• 50% of work in an office setting
• Handle daily employee issues.
• Travel up to +25%

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to use hands and fingers.
• Employee frequently required to sit
• Employee daily required to walk, climb and/or balance.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 25 lbs.
• Walk up to 400 yards to work and break areas.
• Stand, walk and climb stairs on an infrequent basis.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business/science-related field is required; post-graduate degree a plus.
• PCQI Certification and/or HACCP Certification
• Must be detailed-oriented, have strong self-confidence and leadership skills and have excellent oral and written communication skills.

• Sponsorship for work authorization is not available for this position. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are legally authorized to work in the location to which they apply.

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#LI-Onsite

Maker's Pride is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Grand Rapids - H1, 3061 Shaffer Avenue, Kentwood, Michigan, United States of America