Quality Assurance Manager

The Quality Assurance Manager is accountable for execution and health of the location Quality and Food Safety Management System. This role provides technical and people leadership for product quality, food safety, regulatory compliance, customer requirements, and daily quality execution at the facility. The position is expected to create visibility tracking from start to finish, ensure objective evidence exists for required work, verify root cause and corrective action discipline, and build standard work accountability across the Quality team. 

As a key member of the plant leadership team, the Quality Assurance Manager partners with Operations, Sanitation, Maintenance, R&D, Customer Quality, Regulatory, and Corporate Quality/Food Safety to prevent issues, escalate risk, support customer needs, and drive continual improvement. The role leads or supports site projects, audits, Management Review, Quality Improvement Plans, and performance routines that improve quality, food safety, consistency, and execution reliability.

We kindly request that recruitment agencies and staffing firms refrain from submitting unsolicited resumes to our company. Any resumes sent without a prior agreement and access to proper submittal into the ATS will be considered the property of The Marzetti Company, and we reserve the right to contact those candidates without any obligation to pay a fee.

Essential Functions / Primary Accountabilities: 

• Lead the site Quality and Food Safety function, including the Quality team, Quality Management System, Food Safety Plan/HACCP, FSMA, GFSI/customer requirements, and regulatory compliance. 

• Set clear expectations for Quality execution by defining ownership, standard work, required evidence, escalation expectations, and follow-up routines for the team. 

• Serve as the site technical leader for Quality and Food Safety decisions, including product disposition, nonconformances, deviations, customer complaints, holds, rework, audit findings, and significant quality events. 

• Build a proactive Quality culture through daily presence on the floor, coaching, problem solving, and partnership with Operations, Sanitation, Maintenance, R&D, Corporate Quality, and site leadership. 

• Drive RC/CA discipline and continuous improvement by ensuring issues are fact based, true countermeasures are implemented, actions are completed on time, and effectiveness is verified. 

• Own audit readiness, Management Review, Quality performance metrics, customer/regulatory audit support, and timely closure of commitments. 

• Develop team capability through training, performance feedback, development planning, and accountability for consistent daily execution. 

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Qualification Requirements: 

• BS or BA degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Microbiology, Chemistry, Biology, or related science/technical field required.  

• Minimum 5 years of Quality and Food Safety experience in food manufacturing required; experience in, ready-to-eat, and dressing/sauce manufacturing preferred. 

• Minimum 3-5 years of experience leading, coaching, and developing plant Quality teams required. 

• Demonstrated knowledge of HACCP/food safety plan requirements, FSMA preventive controls, GMPs, sanitation/SSOPs, environmental monitoring, allergen controls, and corrective action systems. 

• Experience with GFSI-benchmarked standards such as BRCGS, SQF, FSSC 22000, or equivalent food safety schemes, BRCGS preferred. 

• PCQI certification; HACCP certification, internal auditor training, and/or other relevant Quality/Food Safety certifications preferred. 

• Strong working knowledge of product requirements, process controls, specifications, testing programs, documentation practices, and customer/regulatory expectations. 

• Ability to lead cross-functional problem solving, make sound decisions under time pressure, communicate risk clearly, and influence teams outside of direct reporting lines. 

• Strong organizational skills with demonstrated ability to manage priorities, assign ownership, follow up on commitments, and close actions through objective evidence. 

Work in a laboratory, office, and manufacturing environment where the employee is regularly required to speak, read, sit, stand, walk, reach, lift, grasp, and bend. Requires some lifting of moderately heavy items such as test equipment and product cases. The employee may be exposed to moving equipment, wet/slippery surfaces, temperature changes, and handling of testing or sanitation chemicals. The noise level in the lab is moderate and loud in the plant. Hairnets, beardnets if facial hair exists, earplugs, safety glasses, and steel-toed/slip-resistant shoes are required in the plant in accordance with company GMP and safety standards.