3rd - Shift QA Lead

Position Summary

The 3rd Shift QA Lead under the direction of the QA Manager provides on-shift quality and food safety leadership with a focus on food safety and quality verifications, end-of-week sanitation verification, after-hours decision support, and cross-training.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Complete and document production line inspections as needed and sanitation verification during end of week sanitation; release lines/equipment per procedure.
• Conduct ATP and chemical titration checks and initiate corrective action when needed.
• Support maintenance and accuracy of hold program, reviewing hold log daily, reviewing first pass quality issues, assisting production leadership with inspections and rework follow up and decisions.
• Verify CCP/Preventive Controls and escalate significant deviations to the QA Manager.
• Assist the QA Manager in developing, implementing, and maintaining programs required for GFSI (e.g., BRC), customer, and regulatory compliance.
• Support annual document reviews, including SOPs, SSOPs, sanitation procedures, and prerequisite programs.
• Review and verify SSOPs for accuracy, including equipment disassembly/reassembly points, sanitation step sequencing, and chemical usage requirements.
• Review pest control service reports, identify trends, and communicate issues to the QA Manager for follow-up.
• Perform verifications for prerequisite programs, such as: Glass & brittle plastics inspection, thermometer and scale verification checks, chemical concentration/titration verification, color-coding/tool control compliance.
• Provide feedback to improve sanitation practices, environmental monitoring effectiveness, and pre-operational readiness.
• Participate in the review and improvement of HACCP/Preventive Controls verification activities as directed by the QA Manager.
• Support implementation of corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), including root cause documentation and evidence gathering.
• Provide on-shift direction and guidance to the 3rd shift QA Tech.
• Train production and sanitation employees on quality checks, documentation, and procedures.
• Serve as primary QA contact on 3rd shift to minimize escalation to the QA Manager except when situations require it.
• Conduct internal audits/inspections during 3rd shift; communicate findings to the QA Manager.
• Maintain accurate, compliant documentation ready for customer or regulatory review.
• Review food safety and quality data (spreadsheets, logs, etc.), identify nonconformances, trend results and notify the QA Manager of nonconformances.
• Support audit readiness for all 3rd-shift operations and sanitation.
• Support new item trials occurring on 3rd shift.
• Absorb and respond to root cause analysis and corrective actions as directed by the QA Manager.
• Document and update QA Manager on project progress.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required.
• 1-3 years of experience in food manufacturing, food safety, sanitation, or quality required.
• Experience performing basic quality checks, GMP verification, or sanitation/pre-op tasks required.
• Experience working with HACCP principles, CCPs/PCs, or product inspections preferred.
• Experience conducting line inspections, sanitation verification, or documentation review preferred.
• Prior experience in a lead, trainer, or go-to person role strongly preferred (does not need to be formal leadership).
• Experience on 3rd shift or in after-hours operations preferred.
• HACCP certification preferred (or willingness to complete within 6 months).
• Internal Auditor training preferred but not required.
• Working knowledge of GMPs, basic food safety principles, sanitation steps, and allergen controls.
• Ability to perform and document ATP testing, chemical titrations, thermometer/scale checks, and sanitation verifications.
• Ability to read and follow SOPs, SSOPs, cleaning procedures, line inspection forms, and quality logs.
• Basic understanding of HACCP/Preventive Controls and willingness to learn deeper concepts.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to recognize nonconformances in cleanliness, documentation, or product quality.
• Ability to provide clear, respectful coaching to employees.
• Strong organizational skills to track holds, complete logs accurately, and manage nightly tasks.
• Ability to communicate issues clearly during pass-downs, both written and verbal.
• Comfortable using basic computer tools (email, spreadsheets, shared logs).
• Ability to make sound decisions on shift using established procedures and escalation guidelines.
• Works well independently, especially on night shift where leadership support is limited.
• Ability to collaborate with others to resolve issues.