Qa Technician

About the role

This position focuses on ensuring product safety and quality in a food production environment by applying HACCP and GMP principles, monitoring raw materials and production processes, performing inspections and sampling, and maintaining accurate documentation and adherence to standard operating procedures.

The QA Technician works on the 3rd shift from 8:00 PM to 4:30 AM, Monday through Friday, with occasional Sunday hours, in a food production setting with high care, ready-to-eat, and savory production areas. The role involves walking between production lines, collecting samples, performing inspections, and supporting sanitation activities under supervision.

Responsibilities

• Apply HACCP principles to daily quality assurance activities, ensuring food safety standards are consistently met.
• Follow Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) throughout the production areas to maintain a safe and hygienic environment.
• Inspect raw materials to verify quality, safety, and compliance with established specifications before use in production.
• Conduct routine inspections on production lines, including high care, ready-to-eat, and savory areas, to identify and address quality issues.
• Perform quality reviews on production lines, documenting findings and communicating results to relevant departments.
• Operate and monitor metal detectors on production lines to ensure products are free from foreign materials.
• Follow and enforce Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) related to quality, sanitation, and safety across all production areas.
• Perform cleaning and sanitation tasks using the 7 steps of cleaning to maintain equipment and facility hygiene.
• Calculate concentration levels of chemical cleaners to ensure correct usage and effectiveness while maintaining safety standards.
• Conduct microbiological testing activities, including sampling and swabbing, to monitor and verify sanitation effectiveness.
• Collect samples from different production lines and areas for testing, ensuring proper handling, labeling, and documentation.
• Complete and maintain accurate documentation of inspections, sampling, test results, and cleaning activities.
• Communicate effectively with production, sanitation, and quality teams to coordinate activities and resolve quality or sanitation issues.
• Follow established HACCP, GMP, and SOP guidelines at all times and report any deviations or non-conformances.
• Support continuous improvement efforts in quality and sanitation processes by providing feedback and participating in problem-solving.

Requirements

• High school diploma or higher level of education.
• Demonstrated knowledge of HACCP principles and their application in a food production environment.
• Working understanding of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and their role in maintaining product safety and quality.
• Experience with inspections and sampling in a production or quality assurance setting.
• Ability to perform microbiology-related tasks such as sampling and swabbing for testing purposes.
• Proficiency in following and applying Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for quality and sanitation.
• Ability to calculate and verify concentration levels of chemical cleaners accurately.
• Strong attention to detail when reviewing production lines, documentation, and test results.
• Effective communication skills to interact with multiple departments, including production, sanitation, and quality.
• Ability to work a 3rd shift schedule from 8:00 PM to 4:30 AM, Monday through Friday, with occasional Sunday hours.
• Bilingual communication ability.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in microbiology, HACCP, inspection, and sampling within a food or manufacturing environment.
• Background in cleaning and sanitation processes, including swabbing and verification of cleaning effectiveness.
• Experience working in production roles with an interest in transitioning toward quality or sanitation responsibilities.
• Ability to follow detailed procedures and guidelines consistently in a fast-paced environment.
• Comfort working under the guidance and supervision of sanitation and quality leadership.
• Strong interpersonal skills to build positive working relationships across departments.

Pay

The pay range for this position is $20.00 - $22.00/hr. 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.

Benefits

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may include the following for eligible employees:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital insurance.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available.
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents).
• Short and long-term disability.
• Health Spending Account (HSA).
• Transportation benefits.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation, or Sick Leave).

Schedule

• 3rd shift: 8:00 PM to 4:30 AM, Monday through Friday.
• Occasional Sunday hours as needed.

Work Environment

This is a fully onsite position in Carson, CA, based in a food production setting with three distinct production areas: high care, ready-to-eat, and savory. The role requires adherence to all safety, hygiene, and protective clothing requirements appropriate for a food manufacturing environment. Work is primarily performed on the production floor around operating equipment.

This is a Contract to Hire position.