Quality Assurance Technician

About the Role

Conducts visual and analytical procedures to ensure the integrity of raw materials, works in process, finished goods, and associated production processes to guarantee a safe, high-quality product. Documents inspection results to maintain compliance with document control and record-keeping requirements. Prepares quality reports for internal and third-party audit reviews and troubleshoots issues to ensure final products or processes meet company standards.

Responsibilities

• Assure production is producing product within specification and notify QA Supervisor and Production when specifications are not met.
• Follow metal detector and magnet procedures, and CCP requirements based on the HACCP system to reduce the risk of physical, chemical, or biological contamination.
• Monitor or verify Critical Control Points and/or Critical Quality Control Points.
• Enforce Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and sanitation procedures to reduce contamination risks during inspection and manufacturing.
• Verify compliance with food safety fundamentals or prerequisite programs in manufacturing, warehouse, and building areas.
• Participate in investigations of customer complaints and verify corrective actions for quality and food safety issues.
• Act with urgency, diligence, and attention to detail in enforcing food safety and quality practices; escalate potential issues to management.
• Provide feedback and updates to standard operating procedures and analyze data to recommend improvements to the quality system.
• Audit individuals for GMP compliance by inspecting their person and document/escalate findings; reinforce GMP conditions through inspection and address failures directly.
• Stop any food safety or quality failures immediately, including placing product on HOLD and halting production when necessary; report incidents to leadership.
• Troubleshoot laboratory measuring equipment to ensure accuracy of results.
• Provide suggestions to production staff on correcting or improving results to meet specifications.
• Identify conditions impacting food safety and product quality, ensuring consumer safety and satisfaction; communicate findings to supervisors and production.
• Reject all non-conforming products regardless of financial impact.
• Provide viable processes and direction for re-workable or salvageable product.
• Deem product unusable for destruction when necessary, accepting financial impact.
• Stop production and place machines/areas on QA HOLD/Rejection, accepting financial impact.
• Make frequent decisions with direct impact on consumer safety, using good judgment and critical thinking.
• Influence the importance of food safety and quality across the organization.
• Manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.

Skills

• Critical thinking and decision-making with financial and safety impact.
• Ability to enforce standards and compliance with state and federal regulatory requirements.
• Strong attention to detail and urgency in addressing food safety and quality issues.
• Ability to troubleshoot equipment and provide actionable feedback to production teams.
• Effective communication and escalation of issues to leadership.
• Experience in auditing and inspecting processes for compliance with GMPs and food safety standards.