Lab Manager / QA Food Safety Manager PCQI Required

Job Description

Job Description

Lab Manager / QA Food Safety Manager — PCQI Required

Hands-On Working Manager Role

We are seeking a hands-on Lab Manager / QA Food Safety Manager to support food safety, quality, laboratory, and audit readiness in a food manufacturing facility. This is a working manager role with a small QA/lab team. The successful candidate will be expected to lead programs and also be directly involved in daily testing, documentation, sample coordination, production support, and follow-up.

This is not a primarily office-based or supervisory-only role; the Lab Manager is expected to be actively involved in daily lab, QA, documentation, sample shipment, and production-support activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor daily HACCP, GMP, prerequisite program, food safety, and quality activities. 
• Serve as a organized point of contact and control for pre- and post-audit preparation, documentation, communication, and follow-up for BRC, C-TPAT, Organic, customer, and third-party audits.
• Serve as PCQI and participate as a lead member of the Food Safety, Food Defense, and HACCP teams. 
• Oversee and perform daily lab activities, including sampling, testing, documentation, corrective actions, and review of results. 
• Interpret laboratory, microbiological, and chemical data to support product release and food safety decisions. 
• Coordinate customer samples, outside lab submissions, sample labeling, paperwork, and sample shipments. 
• Support raw material receiving, in-process checks, finished product specifications, quarantine decisions, and corrective actions. 
• Maintain product specifications, food safety documentation, policies, procedures, work instructions, BRC records, and training records. 
• Support BRC/GFSI and customer audit preparation, audit facilitation, and follow-up documentation. 
• Assist with customer complaints, corrective/preventive actions, and related investigations. 
• Maintain lab supplies, equipment, records, and practical budget controls. 
• Support sanitation verification, environmental monitoring, pathogen testing, pest control, and other site compliance programs as needed. 
• Provide food safety and quality training to employees. 
• Work closely with production to support food safety, quality, yield, and customer requirements. 

Requirements

• HACCP certification required.  
• PCQI training required.  
• Experience in food manufacturing, food safety, QA, or laboratory work required. 
• Working knowledge of GMPs, HACCP, Preventive Controls, food chemistry, microbiology, and audit programs. 
• BRC or GFSI experience preferred. 
• Strong documentation, organization, communication, and problem-solving skills. 
• Willingness to perform hands-on lab, sample shipment, documentation, and production-support tasks. 
• Comfortable working in a small-team environment where priorities may change throughout the day. 

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is practical, detail-oriented, and comfortable moving between the lab, production floor, documentation, audits, and customer requirements. This person can help lead the food safety system while also handling the daily work needed to keep the lab and QA function running.

Compensation: $90,000 – $100,000 annually, depending on experience. Candidates with strong food manufacturing QA/lab experience, HACCP certification, PCQI training, and BRC/GFSI audit experience may be considered at the higher end of the range. Bonus eligibility may apply to Annual Bonus eligibility ranges from 4% to 10% of base salary .