QA Manager

Overview

The Quality Assurance Manager leads the plant operations team in assessing all matters pertaining to product quality, food safety, and regulatory compliance and is seen as the senior technical leader at the production facility. They oversee all quality assurance and food safety activities within the manufacturing plant to ensure compliance with company standards, regulatory requirements, and customer expectations. This role involves developing, implementing, and maintaining quality management systems, managing audits and inspections, and leading a team of QA professionals to ensure product safety, consistency, and excellence. The Quality Assurance Manager plays a critical role in fostering a culture of continuous improvement and driving initiatives to enhance food safety and quality performance across the plant. As a key member of the plant management team, this individual assists the plant manager in providing quality and food safety leadership to employees. The QA Manager will participate/lead projects in conjunction with Corporate QA/Food Safety Management team.

Responsibilities → What You'll Do

· Ensures compliance to quality, food safety and HACCP support programs; assures conformity to all company, customer and government standards.

· Develop, implement, and oversee food safety and quality programs, including HACCP, GMPs, and other regulatory requirements (e.g., FDA, USDA, FSMA).

· Develops and implements programs, policies, procedures, and work instructions for quality and food safety assessment and improvement.

· Monitor production processes to ensure adherence to quality standards and address any deviations or non-conformances.

· Oversee the internal and external audits, including customer and third-party certification audits (e.g., SQF, BRC, ISO 22000).

· Oversee the quality control testing, documentation, and reporting to ensure compliance with specifications.

· Identify facility and team training need to develop QA staff and production teams on food safety, quality protocols, and regulatory compliance and develop/deploy accordingly.

· Recommends and/or develops orientation and training programs for quality, food safety, GMP training. Assist members of the plant team in training as appropriate. Trains and instructs plant employees in recommended quality assurance testing and general housekeeping practices and advises on equipment design; confirms these procedures are being maintained.

· Oversee the corrective action process to ensure timely communication to consumers/customers and that robust investigation and plans are put into place to ensure no repeat issues arise.

· Collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive continuous improvement initiatives and ensure process optimization.

· Maintain up-to-date knowledge of food safety regulations and industry standards, ensuring the plant remains compliant and audit ready.

· Initiates, leads, and participates in various process improvement initiatives to identify and mitigate risk, improve process reliability and efficiency, and drive continual improvement in performance against key quality and food safety metrics.

· Makes recommendations and decisions involving food safety issues and quality issues having significant potential business impact to corporate and plant management.

· Coordinates plant quality and food safety audits (internal and third party). Works with plant manager to assign audit responsibilities to various members of the plant team.

· Serves as a key technical resource in plant and as a liaison between corporate R&D, Tech Services and plant operations.

· Leads the resolution of non-conformance issues/quality problems at plant facilities, warehouses, and in the market. Works with plant management team to develop corrective action plans and communicates plans to QA management, sales, marketing, other plant facilities and the customer as appropriate.

· Reports on key Quality Indicators to plant and corporate management and provides recommendations as needed.

· Quality and food safety strategy design and execution for plant

· Establishes facility goals and objectives that align with corporate and plant goals. Coordinate with managers and supervisors to execute goals against strategy.

· Conduct ongoing team development through identified gaps, IDP process, and performance management.

· Supports and/or leads special projects as assigned by the Regional Quality Manager or Director.

· Conduct Behavior Based Observations (BBO) as assigned.

· Identify and deploy methods to improve processes to reduce waste, improve productivity, improve quality and/or consistency.

Qualifications → What You'll Bring

· Bachelor’s degree in food science, microbiology, chemistry, biology, or a related field (required) or 10-15 years of experience in progressive roles in quality and/or food safety, at least 5-7 years of leadership experience overseeing teams in a manufacturing or quality assurance setting, and proven track record of implementing successful quality systems, resolving compliance issues, and driving continuous improvement.

· Advanced certifications or a master’s degree in food safety or quality management (preferred).

· 6-8 years of experience in quality assurance, food safety, or a related role in the food manufacturing industry.

· Previous experience in supervisory or team leadership role.

· PCQI certified.

· In-depth understanding of HACCP, GMPs, SQF, and other food safety management systems.

· Knowledge of regulatory requirements (e.g., FDA, USDA, FSMA, or local food safety laws).

· Experience handling regulatory inspections (e.g., FDA, USDA) and third-party audits (e.g., SQF, BRC, or FSSC 22000).

· Familiarity with laboratory testing techniques and equipment (e.g., microbiological and chemical analysis).

Competencies

The successful candidate will put our values into practice every day:

Hunger​. I come ready, pay attention, and refuse to settle for getting by when getting better is possible.​

Respect​. I know my people by name, show up for them as humans, and never make anyone feel small.​

Courage​. I say the hard thing, own my mistakes, and carry my team’s voice forward.​

Humility​. I ask before I assume, learn from those around me, and lead with curiosity over ego.

Working Condidtions/Environment

Work in a laboratory 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 is regularly exposed to moving machines and handling of hazardous testing and sanitation chemicals. The noise level in the lab is moderate and loud in the plant. Hairnets, beard nets (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.

About Us

The Marzetti Company manufactures and sells specialty food products. Our retail brands include Marzetti, New York Bakery, Sister Schubert’s and Bachan’s, in addition to exclusive license agreements with Olive Garden, Chick-fil-A, Buffalo Wild Wings and Texas Roadhouse. Our foodservice business supplies sauces, dressings, breads, and pasta to many of the top restaurant chains in the United States.

At Marzetti, our mission is to Make Every Meal Better. We are a spirited blend of tradition and innovation—real people crafting real flavor. We’re not just a team; we’re a promise—a commitment to craft, care, and create a legacy.