Quality & Food Safety Lead

Position Summary

Reporting to the Quality and Food Safety Manager and Supervisor, the QA Lead will oversee quality control activities, ensuring tasks are adequately performed to ofi, customer and regulatory food safety and quality standards. They will be responsible for communication, data collection, and specialized tasks to enhance food safety throughout the facility. Quality Assurance Lead will also verify compliance to company food safety and hygiene protocol. Non-compliances discovered in any of these areas are to be communicated to the QFS Supervisor and/or QFS Manager.

Responsibilities

• Inspect the production and packaging processing area in accordance with current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) guidelines and ofi's Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Support Leads and Production Supervisors in quality compliance.
• Lead key QA assignments to ensure continued growth and progress of quality objectives.
• Be proficient in collecting Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), Enterobacteriaceae (EB) and Allergen protein swabs. Use protocols to determine areas to swab and report results in electronic files and/or verbal.
• Responsible for weekly GMPs updates.
• Ensure proper hygiene is practiced by all employees (procedures, attire, etc.).
• Initiate non-conforming tags for raw and packaging materials, as needed.
• Lead training, training tasking and provide quality direction to line workers on quality practices to meet third party and ofi's regulatory policy.
• Enforce safety guidelines to ensure compliance.
• Interact professionally with other employees, customers, and suppliers.
• Work effectively as a team lead contributor on all assignments.
• Work independently while understanding the necessity for communicating and coordinating work efforts with other employees and departments.
• Participate in shift transition meetings.
• Ensure that facilities follow all Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), and Global Food Safety Initiatives (GFSI: SQF) guidelines including developing a Food Safety Culture.
• Assists with documentation such as Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP) revisions, audit compliance and quality metrics, as needed.
• Perform assignments, duties, and special projects as assigned by the QA Supervisor or QA Manager.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• High School Diploma is required; Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology or related field is preferred.
• Two (2) years of relevant experience in quality assurance is required.
• Ability to read and accurately interpret company and client part coding is required.
• Knowledge of food safety fundamentals including GMPs is required.
• Good verbal and written communication skills are required.
• Ability to read and interpret work order instructions and other records/checklists utilized during production is required.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office (Excel, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, etc.) is required.
• Good attention to details is required.
• The role is performed on site at a facility that regularly processes tree nuts. Employees in this position will routinely work in areas where tree nuts and related allergens are present and may be exposed by contact or in the air. Reasonable accommodations may be available to enable qualified individuals to perform the essential functions of the role.