QA Manager

About the Company

For over 60 years, Branding Iron Holdings (“BIH”) has been producing high quality beef and pork products while delivering customized solutions to the food service and retail trade industries. With an eye to the future, BIH has put a strong focus on building internal talent and on leveraging unique product lines and national distribution to drive continued growth. Guided by a strong set of core values (Respect, Integrity and Stewardship), reflecting a culture of servant leadership at every level, BIH’s team works hard to foster a culture that embraces and builds meaningful, long-term relationships with both employees and its customer base. 

Position Summary:

Responsible for establishing a quality assurance system and team that promotes customer satisfaction and that positively impacts the financial performance of our Rochester, Minnesota facility. Champion continuous improvement efforts and defect reduction initiatives to establish and maintain effective Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point program (HACCP); initiate and implement quality improvement activities as appropriate (e.g. Food Quality Safety) to raise the performance of the company’s product lines; develop, validate and maintain Food Safety and Food Quality systems consistent with the SQF Code Level 3 certification requirements. Educate and train employees as to their impact in the quality management system and maintain a food safety culture. 

Responsibilities:

· Develop, implement, manage and integrate a HACCP program for manufacturing. 

· Serve as the primary quality control resource for problem identification, resolution, loss reporting and continuous improvement. 

· Act as USDA liaison.

· Support concurrent engineering efforts by participating in design development projects representing quality assurance and the customer. 

· Design implement and document procedures for process control, process improvement, testing and inspection. 

· Establish and implement metrics (process capability, control charts, measurement quality) for monitoring system effectiveness and to enable managers to make sound product quality decisions 

· Perform root-cause analysis and other problem-solving activities to identify effective corrective actions and process improvements. 

· Establish collection and analysis systems of statistical data to predict trends that will affect improvement of product quality. 

· Analyze customers’ product specifications to establish efficient, cost-effective requirements for ease of manufacture and reproducibility. 

· Develop quality planning methods for all product lines. 

· Develop process certification standards and assist in process certification. 

· Monitor vendor performance and establish criteria and rating system for critical vendors. 

· Review customer purchase orders, contracts and change requests and ensure that the necessary criteria and provisions are included in quality and process plans. 

· Interact with customers to identify opportunities to improve quality and establish feedback with manufacturing and development personnel. 

· Oversee calibration and testing programs. 

· Report to management on quality issues, trends and losses. 

· Review suppliers purchase orders and establish supplier quality requirements. 

· Participate in internal and external quality audits. 

· Interface with supplier and customer quality representatives concerning problems with quality control and assure that effective corrective action is implemented. 

· All other reasonable duties, as assigned

Qualifications

· BS/BA in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, or related fields.

· 5+ years’ experience in QA systems implementation and management.

· 5+ years’ experience in developing, implementation, and maintaining HACCP and Food Safety programs. 

· Broad knowledge of theory and principles of statistics and statistical process control. 

· Experience in designing and implementing quality systems. 

· Diverse knowledge of inspection and control methods, techniques and documentation. 

· Excellent communication skills (written and verbal). 

· Strong computer skills that include quality control applications, word processing, spreadsheets and databases. 

· Thorough understanding of general safety requirements. 

· Travel as needed to customers and other Branding Iron Holdings facilities

Work Environment/Physical Demands: 

· Work performed in an office and factory settings. 

· Exposure to shop environment such as noise, cold, damp environment and allergens. 

· Occasionally required to lift up to 20 lbs. 

· Regularly required to sit, stand, bend, reach and move about facility.

Supervisory Responsibilities: 

· Direct supervision of Quality Supervisor for the Rochester, MN facility.

· Back-up to position in the event of absence will be the Quality Supervisor.

Benefits Overview

Competitive base salary ($90,000- $100,000 annually). Base salary is one component of a competitive compensation package for employees. Full benefits package, including medical/ vision/ dental/life insurance, 401(k) with company match, and paid time off. We take into consideration a variety of factors including, but not limited to, skills, abilities, experience, education, credentials, and internal equity when determining the base salary offered. Roles are eligible for additional rewards including an annual incentive program based on individual and company performance.  

Branding Iron Holdings is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, age, gender identity or expression, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, disability, veteran status, religion, national origin, or any other characteristic protected by applicable equal employment opportunity laws.