Production Manager with Quality Assurance (QA) experience for our Kent, WA plant.
The Production Manager will be responsible for leading and strengthening the food safety and quality assurance programs for the Company's Washington-area food manufacturing operation. This role will be instrumental as we endeavor to establish a fully automated plant mirroring or Texan plant.
As the
Production Manager you will ensure that our products and services meet established quality standards through systematic oversight and process improvement. This position will oversee quality and food safety systems supporting both fresh/refrigerated products and Ready-to-Eat (RTE) products, with particular emphasis on developing, implementing, validating, and continuously improving the plant's food safety management systems. You will report directly to the Plant manager.
You will be a
hands-on leader who can evaluate current operations, identify gaps, establish practical systems and procedures, train employees, verify execution, and maintain documentation demonstrating ongoing compliance.
You will work closely with Production, Warehouse, Purchasing, Maintenance, Operations, and other corporate departments to ensure that food safety, quality, regulatory, and company standards are consistently implemented.
Successful candidate will need to lean into the process and roll up their sleeves as we move to the next level of automation in this plant.
Key Responsibilities
1. Food Safety & Quality Management Systems
- Lead the development, implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the plant's food safety and quality assurance programs.
- Maintain and improve programs including HACCP / Food Safety Plans, SSOPs, sanitation programs, SOPs and Work Instructions, GMPs, allergen control, supplier and Ingredient Controls, traceability and lot control, recall and mock recall programs, preventive controls, environmental monitoring, product hold and release procedures, Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA)
- Ensure food safety and quality programs are practical, properly documented, and consistently executed on the production floor.
2. RTE Food Safety Program
- Lead the development and implementation of appropriate food safety controls for Ready-to-Eat products.
- Evaluate product and process flow to identify biological, chemical, physical, and allergen hazards.
- Establish and verify appropriate preventive controls, CCPs, critical limits, monitoring procedures, and corrective actions.
- Oversee controls related to: cooking and thermal processing, cooling, post-lethality handling, cross-contamination prevention, environmental sanitation, time and temperature control, product storage
- Verify that required records are completed accurately and consistently.
3. Regulatory & Audit Readiness
- Ensure plant operations comply with applicable federal, state, and local food safety requirements.
- Lead preparation for regulatory inspections, third-party audits, customer audits, and certification activities.
- Serve as a primary plant contact for food safety and quality matters involving regulatory agencies, auditors, customers, and technical consultants.
- Coordinate corrective actions arising from inspections or audits and ensure timely closure.
- Support the Company in establishing and maintaining systems necessary for applicable USDA and/or FDA regulatory requirements and certifications.
4. Plant Assessment & Gap Analysis
- Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the plant's existing food safety and quality systems.
- Review product flow, production processes, facility conditions, sanitation practices, employee practices, documentation, food safety programs, quality controls
- Develop a prioritized Gap List and Corrective Action Plan identifying responsible parties, deadlines, and verification requirements.
- Periodically reassess plant conditions and measure improvement.
5. Sanitation & Environmental Controls
- Establish and verify effective sanitation procedures for production equipment, utensils, processing areas, warehouse areas, and employee work practices.
- Work with Production and Sanitation teams to establish appropriate cleaning frequencies, methods, chemicals, verification procedures, and records.
- Conduct sanitation inspections and pre-operational inspections.
- Develop environmental monitoring programs where appropriate based on product and regulatory risk.
- Investigate sanitation failures or environmental findings and implement corrective actions.
6. Quality Control & Product Standards
- Develop and maintain product quality standards and specifications.
- Establish appropriate incoming material, in-process, and finished-product inspection programs.
- Monitor product quality issues
- Investigate product defects, customer complaints, returns, and recurring quality issues.
- Identify root causes and implement corrective and preventive actions.
7. Traceability, Recall & Lot Control
- Ensure ingredients, packaging materials, work-in-process, and finished goods can be properly traced through the Company's systems.
- Maintain effective lot coding and traceability procedures.
- Conduct periodic mock recalls and evaluate traceability performance.
- Work with Production, Warehouse, Purchasing, and IT/ERP teams to identify and correct gaps affecting traceability or food safety records.
8. ERP & Production Data Compliance
- Verify that production and warehouse processes accurately capture information required for food safety, quality, traceability, and inventory control.
- Periodically audit ERP and production records for:
- Lot numbers
- Production dates
- Expiration/use-by dates
- Ingredient consumption
- Finished-goods production
- Product holds
- Inventory movements
- Traceability information
- Work with Production, Warehouse, and IT teams to correct process or data-control weaknesses.
The Production Manager is responsible for verification of process and data compliance but does not replace the operational ownership of Production, Warehouse, Accounting, or IT.
9. Documentation & Record Control
- Establish standardized QA and food safety forms and records.
- Ensure required records are completed accurately, reviewed, properly retained, and readily available for audits or regulatory review.
- Maintain document control for policies, SOPs, forms, specifications, and food safety plans.
- Eliminate unnecessary paperwork while ensuring documentation is sufficient to demonstrate effective implementation.
10. Training & Food Safety Culture
- Develop and conduct food safety, GMP, sanitation, HACCP, allergen, and QA training as appropriate.
- Ensure employees understand not only required procedures but also the reasons behind critical food safety controls.
- Verify training effectiveness through observation, audits, and follow-up.
- Promote accountability and a strong food safety culture throughout the plant.
11. Internal Audits & Continuous Improvement
- Establish and conduct routine internal audits covering food safety, sanitation, quality, documentation, and process compliance.
- Track findings and corrective actions to completion.
- Identify recurring problems and recommend systemic improvements rather than relying only on individual corrections.
- Develop meaningful QA and food safety KPIs and provide regular reports to management.
12. Cross-Functional Collaboration
Required Qualifications:
- Experience in start-up food manufacturing environment with quality assurance and food safety experience.
- Strong working knowledge of HACCP, GMPs, sanitation, preventive controls, traceability, recall, and food manufacturing QA systems.
- Experience developing and implementing food safety programs rather than solely maintaining existing programs.
- Strong documentation, investigation, root-cause-analysis, and corrective-action skills.
- Ability to perform hands-on tasks on the production floor, including lifting, moving, and positioning materials as part of the manufacturing process.
- Strong change management, communication and cross-functional leadership skills.
- Ability to work early morning hours before factory operations begin. Approximately 4:30am local time as they ramp in the first several months.
- Ability to travel to our Texas plant for training.
Preferred
- Experience in a start-up food manufacturing environment with (ready to eat) RTE food manufacturing.
- Experience with USDA-regulated food manufacturing environments.
- PCQI certification.
- HACCP certification.
- Experience preparing facilities for USDA, FDA, customer, or third-party audits.
- Experience establishing environmental monitoring programs.
- Experience implementing or improving ERP-based lot traceability systems.
- Experience building QA systems for a growing food manufacturing organization.
Be our partners and enjoy these with us:- Salary ranges: $100,000 - $120,000 per year, depending on experience, scope, and
qualifications - Comprehensive Medical insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance
- Paid Sick leave: 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours
- Paid Time off
- Paid Holidays
- 401k retirement plan
- Employee Discount Programs
- Opportunities for growth and career advancement
