QUALITY ASSURANCE TECHNICIAN

Summary

The primary responsibility of this position is to ensure raw product meets specification prior to being processed for its assigned use. At Pilgrim’s, Safety Is A Condition, which means the safety of our team members comes first – always.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Monitor and document HACCP, SSOPs and/or GMPs.
• Conduct equipment inspection throughout the processing day.
• Calibrate scales and/or thermometers daily.
• Perform metal detector checks to identify foreign material.
• Conduct appropriate quality checks and rechecks as specified by the type of raw and finished product, including but not limited to AQL attribute defects, piece counts, and ratios.
• Check oven and/or freezer exit temperatures of cooked product.
• Ensure accuracy of packaged product weight through random sampling and calculating over‑fill/under‑fill percentage and percent over‑count.
• Ensure proper bag seal, box end labels and case coding is being used.
• Collect samples for food safety and quality assurance testing.
• Perform process control checks to ensure production specifications are being followed.
• Identify nonconforming raw and finished product and ensure product is retained or put on hold until final disposition is made by management.
• Communicate with supervisors upon discovery of out‑of‑specification products, and follow established procedure for handling out‑of‑specification products.
• Perform other related duties as assigned to support production demands as may be specified by customer or client.

Qualifications

Education and/or Experience: Less than high school education; or up to one month related experience or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience. Basic math and computer skills required.

License and Certification: The employee must pass a math test.

Training Requirements/Methods: All employees must attend employee and safety orientation prior to performing duties. After orientation, a supervisor will further orient the employee to the workplace, introduce coworkers, demonstrate work assignments, and explain ingress and egress procedures. A training buddy may be assigned for additional support. Employees must also complete training on basic principles of HACCP, SSOP, and GMP.

Training Responsibilities: Personnel representatives, safety director, supervisors, and lead workers may be responsible for training and indoctrination.

Method of Tracking Employee Progress: The supervisor is accountable for tracking employee progress and performance.

Exit Training for Measuring Training Effectiveness: A probationary period is assigned to evaluate employee effectiveness and performance. At the end of this period the supervisor evaluates job performance using current forms and procedures, rating the employee on essential duties, attendance, interaction with co‑workers and management, attitudes, and work actions. Unacceptable performance is documented on corrective action reports; otherwise the employee may be eligible for a wage increase according to company policies.

Physical Demands

The employee is regularly required to stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle, or feel, and reach with hands and arms. Frequent talking and hearing, climbing or stooping are also required. Occasionally the employee may sit. The role regularly involves lifting and/or moving up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required include close vision, color vision, and depth perception.

Work Environment

The employee works in an environment that is regularly cold, wet, and/or humid, with moving mechanical parts. Occasional exposure to electrical shock and vibration may occur. Noise levels are usually very loud. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Protective Equipment

• Hair net
• Beard net (if necessary)
• Gloves
• Smock
• Slip‑proof boots
• Waterproof aprons
• Ear protection