Food Quality Manager

About the role

The Quality Manager oversees all aspects of quality assurance and food safety within a food manufacturing environment, ensuring that products, processes, and documentation meet regulatory, customer, and internal standards. This role develops and maintains quality systems, leads audits and inspections, manages quality staff, and drives continuous improvement across the organization.

Permanent position based out of Elk River, MN. Fully onsite. Anticipated to close on Sep 29, 2026.

Responsibilities

• Oversee quality assurance, food safety, HACCP, SSOP, GMP, SQF, and regulatory compliance programs, ensuring all required documentation is accurate, timely, and complete.
• Develop, maintain, and update quality procedures, reports, product specifications, sanitation records, maintenance logs, and other quality system documentation.
• Lead, support, and participate in HACCP, SSOP, Food Defense, Quality Team, and company quality meetings, including delivering training and communicating key quality topics.
• Manage internal and external audits, inspections, certifications, verifications, laboratory testing, mock recalls, lot tracking, and product release communication.
• Monitor supplier, cold storage, shipping, receiving, pest control, sanitation, and raw material programs, following up on issues and implementing corrective actions as needed.
• Support label approval processes, UPC creation, carton and bag blueprint review, nutritional documentation, net weight compliance, and product specification accuracy.
• Respond to customer, supplier, cold storage, and USDA concerns, leading timely investigation, resolution, and documentation of product or compliance issues.
• Provide leadership and oversight for QA staff, including the QA Supervisor, managing department supplies and budgets while supporting training, accountability, and overall quality department performance.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to resolve quality and food safety issues and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure ongoing compliance with USDA regulations and GFSI audit requirements, maintaining readiness for regulatory and third-party audits.

Requirements

• Minimum 5+ years of quality assurance experience in food manufacturing or a closely related industry.
• Strong working knowledge of food safety and quality systems, including HACCP, SSOP, GMP, SQF, and Food Defense programs.
• Demonstrated understanding of USDA regulatory compliance and regulatory and GFSI audit processes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Meat Science, Microbiology, Food Technology, Chemistry, Biological Sciences, or a related field preferred.
• Experience in quality control, quality checks, and food safety programs within a manufacturing setting.

Benefits

• Full benefits package, including medical/vision/dental/life insurance, 401(k) with company match, and paid time off.

Pay

The pay range for this position is $80,000.00 - $110,000.00 per year. Individual compensation offered within this range will depend on qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Base salary is one component of a competitive compensation package.

Schedule

Day shift position.