Quality Assurance Technician
About the role
The Quality Assurance Technician inspects finished products, verifies processing activities, and evaluates both finished goods and work in progress to support continuous improvement in quality and efficiency.
Responsibilities
- Perform inspections of finished products and work in progress to confirm they meet quality specifications and customer requirements.
- Complete and review all required quality assurance paperwork and electronic records accurately and on time.
- Conduct routine floor audits of production and packaging areas to verify correct product composition, specifications, storage, packaging, labeling, and coding.
- Assist with completion of compliance checks for production runs at scheduled frequencies, including weights, case checks, label verifications, case verifications, product coding requirements, and customer-driven testing.
- Monitor facility activities with daily inspections and document findings in accordance with quality and food safety programs.
- Inspect, review, and complete pre-operational swabbing and quality program records on a daily basis.
- Report quality-related failures or potential food safety issues to quality and department leadership and document follow-up actions.
- Absorb and execute sales and customer sample request programs.
- Initiate hold procedures for products manufactured out of specification and communicate product status and disposition to affected departments.
- Initiate defective material reports for vendor-supplied products that do not meet specifications or cannot be used.
- Execute environmental monitoring, product testing, chemical testing, and glass inspections throughout the facility.
- Complete accurate data entry for laboratory and production results in the appropriate systems.
- Support continuous improvement of day-to-day operations to maximize product quality and operational efficiency.
- Perform additional duties and responsibilities as assigned by leadership to support the overall quality program.
Essential Skills
- High school diploma or equivalent.
- Basic understanding of quality assurance principles and practices.
- Experience or strong interest in quality assurance within a food manufacturing environment.
- Knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and food safety concepts.
- Ability to conduct inspections, audits, and quality checks in a food production setting.
- Strong attention to detail with a focus on accuracy in documentation and recordkeeping.
- Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and as part of a collaborative team.
- Good written and verbal communication skills.
- Willingness to learn and adapt to new procedures, systems, and technologies.
- Physical ability to stand for most of the shift and lift more than 20 pounds.
- Comfort working on an overnight shift schedule.
Additional Skills & Qualifications
- Associate’s degree in Food Science, Biology, Chemistry, or a related field preferred.
- Prior food manufacturing quality assurance experience is a strong plus.
- Experience in food manufacturing, food safety, or food production environments.
- Familiarity with ERP systems such as Deacom, RedZone, or similar platforms.
- Fluency in Spanish is a plus, especially in a bilingual production environment.
- Demonstrated ability to follow established procedures and quality standards.
- Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive approach to identifying and resolving quality issues.
Work Environment
This role is based on a manufacturing floor environment, with frequent movement between mixing and blending rooms and the production floor. The position requires spending the majority of the shift on your feet, with moderate noise levels typical of a production facility. The shift runs from 10:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., Monday night through Saturday morning, and includes a shift differential for third shift. Overtime may be available based on business needs, which can include a rotating weekend schedule, most likely on Saturdays. The facility operates in a bilingual environment with both Spanish- and English-speaking team members. The work involves handling quality testing equipment, performing environmental and product testing, and lifting items over 20 pounds as needed.
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Hopkins, MN.
Pay And Benefits
The pay range for this position is $20.00 - $24.00/hr.
Requirements
Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:
- Medical, dental & vision
- Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
- 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)
About Actalent
Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.
San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.