Quality Tech/Foreign Material Analyzer

Summary:
This position supports food safety and quality through performance of the quality technician and analysis of foreign material.  Serves as technical support for foreign material analysis, products, packaging, raw materials, and food safety quality systems on your respective shift. Ensure proper documents are completed for regulatory, GFSI, and customer requirements.  Evaluate product, conduct product testing, complete internal audits, inspect sanitation work, verify critical & preventive controls, hold non-conforming materials, participate in continuous improvement activities, and investigate food safety incidents, supplier, & customer complaints. 

Essential Duties:

• Conduct foreign material and metal analysis using a highly sophisticated metal composition analyzer, digital microscope, and software program.
• Collect samples of metal and other potential foreign materials throughout the facility to build a library of materials to help quickly identify sources of contamination. 
• Serve as quality technical expert of food safety & quality policy, procedure, product & process compliance.
• Lead quality program compliance during shift for activities such as internal auditing, holds of non-conforming materials, food safety inspections, swabbing (environmental, allergenic and/or ATP), and retain sample program.
• Evaluate bakery products and packaging for conformance and managing nonconformances through the hold process, including moisture testing, weighing, measuring, tasting, smelling, visual inspection, assessing physical characteristics, comparison to standard, investigation, corrections, and recording issues and events.
• Work directly with operators and plant leadership to support and guide the shift through safety & quality issues and escalate to management as appropriate.
• Verify monitoring activities throughout the plant for GMPs, CCPs, preventive controls, quality controls, and absolute safety compliance throughout the plant.
• Partner with operations leaders to ensure compliance to GMPs, food safety plan requirements, absolute safety needs, sanitation effectiveness, and records maintenance.
• Provide thorough communication to oncoming shifts and leaders.
• Perform incident investigations related to nonconforming products, raw material, supplier noncompliance, and CCP & preventive controls deviations.
• Analyzes key product and process variables/attributes to understand process capability, identify process drift, and effects on finished product quality.
• Participate in meetings as needed for root cause analysis for corrective and preventive actions, improvement projects, operations, and planning. 
• Complete data entry of food safety incidents, issues on shift, documentation errors, and other records as needed. 
• Review receiving, processing, production, and shipping documents for compliance to policy/ procedure.
• Provide on-the-job training of new-hire technicians, as needed.
• Maintain housekeeping of work areas and Quality Lab.

• Conduct foreign material and metal analysis using a highly sophisticated metal composition analyzer, digital microscope, and software program.
• Collect samples of metal and other potential foreign materials throughout the facility to build a library of materials to help quickly identify sources of contamination. 
• Serve as quality technical expert of food safety & quality policy, procedure, product & process compliance.
• Lead quality program compliance during shift for activities such as internal auditing, holds of non-conforming materials, food safety inspections, swabbing (environmental, allergenic and/or ATP), and retain sample program.
• Evaluate bakery products and packaging for conformance and managing nonconformances through the hold process, including moisture testing, weighing, measuring, tasting, smelling, visual inspection, assessing physical characteristics, comparison to standard, investigation, corrections, and recording issues and events.
• Work directly with operators and plant leadership to support and guide the shift through safety & quality issues and escalate to management as appropriate.
• Verify monitoring activities throughout the plant for GMPs, CCPs, preventive controls, quality controls, and absolute safety compliance throughout the plant.
• Partner with operations leaders to ensure compliance to GMPs, food safety plan requirements, absolute safety needs, sanitation effectiveness, and records maintenance.
• Provide thorough communication to oncoming shifts and leaders.
• Perform incident investigations related to nonconforming products, raw material, supplier noncompliance, and CCP & preventive controls deviations.
• Analyzes key product and process variables/attributes to understand process capability, identify process drift, and effects on finished product quality.
• Participate in meetings as needed for root cause analysis for corrective and preventive actions, improvement projects, operations, and planning. 
• Complete data entry of food safety incidents, issues on shift, documentation errors, and other records as needed. 
• Review receiving, processing, production, and shipping documents for compliance to policy/ procedure.
• Provide on-the-job training of new-hire technicians, as needed.
• Maintain housekeeping of work areas and Quality Lab.
• All other duties as assigned.                             

Qualifications
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to satisfactorily perform each essential duty. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

• Knowledge of in-process and finished product specifications.
• Experience in laboratory settings using technical and analytical instrumentation and software.
• Able to effectively work alone and in a team environment.
• Collaborative and strong interpersonal skills are necessary to align multiple discipline responses.
• Demonstrated problem-solving skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Able to assert product safety risk and concerns in a professional manner to ensure policy/ procedure compliance. 
• Knowledge of GMP compliance expectations
• Strong self-initiating, planning, organization and time management skills.
• Ability to effectively gather information and communication upward within the organization structure and with team peers.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience as quality technician and addressing compliance expectations
• Experience dealing with critical issues and resolution of those issues using proven root cause analysis techniques
• Certifications in the following are highly desirable: SQF, HACCP, PCQI, RCA CAPA, Continuous Improvement, Six Sigma, Food Safety Defense, Sensory Evaluation, and statistical analysis tools

Education and/or Experience

• Required: Minimum high school diploma or GED

• Required: Six months to one-year related work experience or equivalent combination of qualifying education and experience.
• Preferred: Bachelor’s or associate degree, equivalent from two-year college or technical school.

Computer Skills  

• Required: Microsoft products experience preferred – Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Required: Excellent computer skills with multiple software applications and network environment.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to
  • walk, climb steps, stand, sit, stoop, kneel, and crouch
  • read, write and use a computer
  • use hands to grasp, handle and feel
  • reach with hands and arms
  • taste, smell and be in the presence of wheat, soy, egg, milk, and tree nuts
  • be in the presence of various environmental conditions such humid, near hot ovens & inside cold coolers
  • talk and hear
  • lift and maneuver boxes up to 50lbs.   
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and color vision.
• Need to be able to wear hearing, eye, and shoe personal protective equipment.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate. 
• Overtime and weekend work is routinely expected. 
• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. 
• Safety critical position.