Assistant Food Safety & Quality Assurance Manager

Position Overview As the Assistant Food Safety and Quality Assurance Manager, you’ll play a key role in ensuring our products meet the highest standards of safety and quality. You’ll oversee sanitation checks, ensure compliance to HACCP and USDA regulations, and use your technical expertise to track product flow and implement preventive and corrective actions when needed. Your work will directly impact our ability to deliver safe, delicious products to customers and consumers every day. Key Responsibilities Quality & Food Safety Compliance: You ensure all food safety, quality, and regulatory programs are being followed and documented properly—providing the proof needed to show we’re producing safe, wholesome products. You verify USDA compliance through sound, science-based decisions, lead investigations into product issues, take corrective actions, and support audits and USDA system assessments. Continuous Improvement & Risk Prevention: You proactively work with FSQA and Operations teams to prevent HACCP, SSOP, and product/process failures. Through training, quality planning, and strong process controls, you help drive continuous improvement and ensure product consistency and safety. Process Control & Problem Solving: You assess raw materials, conduct production tests, collect and analyze data, and troubleshoot issues with upstream processes. You collaborate with multiple departments to address process control needs and optimize yield, safety, and quality. Sanitation Oversight & Micro Response: You manage the sanitation program, including writing regulatory documents, verifying sanitation effectiveness through micro sampling, and responding to negative shelf-life or micro data. You lead GMP and sanitation audits, train staff, and work closely with USDA to ensure high sanitation standards. SQF & Team Leadership: You maintain and reassess the SQF Quality Plan, ensuring compliance with all relevant sections and adapting to changes in production. You communicate system updates, manage FSQA personnel performance and schedules, and ensure your team supports the ongoing integrity of the SQF system. Qualifications Bachelor’s degree from an accredited four‑year college or university and 3+ years of relevant experience in the food industry; or equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience acting as a lead by providing training, coaching or mentoring to less experienced staff or through managing a process or project. Technical knowledge and regulatory compliance experience with microbiological testing of meat and poultry products, USDA, FSIS, HACCP, SSOP requirements. Knowledge of QMS systems, SAP, and various database and inventory software tools. Strong written and verbal communication skills with ability to address inquiries from regulatory agencies, customers, and internal stakeholders. Decision-making, problem-solving, and responsiveness to quality and compliance issues in a timely manner. High standard of documentation and compliance. Ability to work in a fast‑paced, team‑oriented environment with professionalism and adaptability. Willingness to travel up to 10% and work extended hours or weekends as needed. Other Skills That Make You Stand Out USDA/HACCP certification. SQF Certified Expert. Knowledge and understanding of quality assurance principles, food science and meat processing, SPC and statistics. Bilingual skills. Physical Demands & Work Environment The physical demands described here are representative of those an employee should possess to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee may encounter while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Office and plant setting. The plant environment will include wet or humid conditions, extreme cold and heat, working near moving mechanical parts, exposure to fumes or airborne particles, and chemicals. Noise level is usually moderate but can be loud in the production area. Occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision includes close vision, distance vision, and ability to adjust focus. Frequently required to stand; walk; use hands to handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and talk or hear. Equal Employment Opportunity Smithfield is an equal opportunity employer committed to workplace diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, gender identity, protected veteran status, status as a disabled individual or any other protected group status or non‑job characteristic as directed by law. If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment selection process, please call us at View phone number on click.appcast.io. #J-18808-Ljbffr Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp