Talent Hrizon

Quality Manager

Lafayette, LA Area | Full-Time | On-Site | Food Manufacturing

Our Talent HRizon client, an established food manufacturing company in South Louisiana, is seeking an experienced Quality Manager to lead the facility’s quality, laboratory, sanitation, and food safety activities.

This is a hands-on leadership role in a smaller plant environment. The successful candidate will need to be comfortable working close to the operation, leading a lean team, solving problems directly, and partnering closely with production and plant leadership. This is not a heavily layered corporate quality role.

About the Role

Reporting to the Quality and Food Safety Director, the Quality Manager will lead the facility’s quality and sanitation functions and oversee a local team of approximately eight employees.

The team includes:

• Laboratory employees
• Evening sanitation employees
• A sanitation leader reporting directly to the Quality Manager

The Quality Manager will be responsible for maintaining strong food safety and quality systems while ensuring the facility consistently meets internal standards, customer expectations, and SQF requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day quality, food safety, laboratory, and sanitation activities.
• Maintain and support the facility’s SQF program and related food safety systems.
• Ensure quality and sanitation processes are consistently followed across the operation.
• Lead, coach, and develop quality, laboratory, and sanitation employees.
• Partner closely with production and plant leadership to resolve quality and food safety issues.
• Monitor product quality, process controls, sanitation effectiveness, and compliance requirements.
• Investigate quality issues and help identify practical corrective and preventive actions.
• Support audits, inspections, documentation, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Drive accountability while maintaining strong working relationships across the facility.
• Serve as a visible, hands-on quality leader within the plant.

Who Are You?

You are an experienced food manufacturing quality professional who is comfortable being directly involved in plant operations.

You do not need a large corporate infrastructure around you to be effective. You can prioritize, make sound decisions, develop your team, and work collaboratively with production to maintain strong quality and food safety standards.

You are practical, approachable, accountable, and willing to step into issues rather than manage them from a distance.

What You Bring

• Food manufacturing experience.
• Quality leadership or management experience.
• Strong knowledge and practical experience with SQF.
• Experience leading quality, laboratory, sanitation, and/or food safety employees.
• Practical understanding of plant-level food safety and quality systems.
• Ability to work effectively in a smaller facility with limited layers and resources.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to partner effectively with production, plant leadership, and corporate quality leadership.
• Stable employment history and demonstrated professional progression.
• Willingness to work full-time on-site in the New Iberia, Louisiana area.

Nice to Have

• Experience overseeing both quality and sanitation functions.
• Experience in sauces, seasonings, condiments, or related food manufacturing environments.
• Experience preparing for or participating in SQF audits.
• Familiarity with laboratory testing and quality-control processes.
• Experience improving systems in a growing or resource-conscious manufacturing environment.

The Opportunity

This role is well suited for a Quality Manager who wants meaningful ownership of the operation rather than a narrowly defined corporate position.

Our Talent HRizon client is looking for someone who can build trust with the local team, strengthen quality and sanitation performance, and become a long-term part of the South Louisiana operation.