QA Assistant Manager

Company Name: Meduri Farms

Company Profile: Since 1984 Meduri Farms has grown to become a premier supplier of specialty dried fruits to food manufacturers around the world. Our operations are located 60 miles southwest of Portland in Oregon's agriculturally fertile Willamette Valley, Dallas, OR 97338

Job Description: This high visibility position is responsible to administer and help maintain MFI Food Safety & Quality Management System and Supplier Compliance program. Quality Assurance Supervisor will focus on planning, coordinating, directing, evaluating, and overseeing day-to-day quality assurance activities, food safety initiatives, and staff performance. This position oversees all Quality technicians for all 3 facilities and business units. The Quality Assurance Assistant Manager reports to the QA / R&D Manager.

Responsibilities:

The QA assistant manager main responsibility is to support and safeguarding product quality, ensuring regulatory compliance, and leading continuous improvement in all quality-related aspects of the organization.

• Support the implementation and maintenance of the company's quality assurance systems and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with national and international standards and legislation.
• Stay updated on industry standards and government regulations pertaining to product safety and quality.
• Oversee compliance with certifications such as ISO, HACCP, or other relevant standards.
• Champion HACCP program and training.
• Conduct internal audits to ensure compliance with quality specifications and standards.
• Support and attend third-party audits and inspections.
• Address any findings from audits and ensure that corrective actions are implemented.
• Participate in plant inspection, testing, and evaluation of products.
• Track and trend Product on Hold reports.
• Track and trend and analyses Quality issues.
• Supervise the testing of new and existing products to ensure they meet pre-determined criteria.
• Collaborate with Internal affairs and document control specialists to maintain the documentation process and ensure all data and records are accurately maintained.
• Manage and maintain control documents such as SOPs, formulas, and batch records.
• Provide ongoing education and training to QA staff and other employees about key quality issues and industry practices.
• Collaborate with other departments (such as R&D, manufacturing, and supply chain) to integrate quality assurance into all aspects of the business.
• Handle customer complaints and non-conformances, conducting root cause analysis and implementing corrective actions. Track and evaluate trends. Responsible for conducting initial quality investigations.
• Prepare reports on QA activities, performance, and risks for upper management.
• Identify potential areas of quality-related risk and develop strategies to mitigate these risks.
• Support to Ensure that product recalls and crises procedures are up to date.

Employment Requirements:

*Bachelor or A.S. degree in Food Science, Agribusiness, Biology or Chemistry preferred, or related field, with 2 years of experience.

*Knowledge of HACCP, GMP's, Food Safety standards, and understand third-party audits.

*Problem solving capacity outside the scope of basic training and great communication skills.

*Aptitude to apply rules and reason to develop innovative and progressive processes.

*PC skills with MS Office Suite, ERP system, Outlook

*Knowledge of GFSI benchmarks and Quality Systems (ISO 22000, ISO 9001 helpful)

*Prior food laboratory experience using instruments such as colorimeter, pH meter, moisture analyzer, refractometer, etc.

Job Location: Dallas, OR

Company Industry: Food Manufacturing

Job Role: QA Assistant Manager

Employment Status: Full-time / Salary

Annual Salary Range: Depending on Experience

Reports to: QA/RD Manager