Quality Control Lead

Job Summary:

Opportunity to work for a long-standing Chicago food manufacturer with a family-oriented culture. You will work with a respected brand, play a key role in food safety and quality initiatives, lead and mentor others, and grow your career within an organization known for promoting from within.

You will lead and support daily quality control operations in a food manufacturing environment to ensure product quality, food safety, and regulatory compliance. Serve as the primary resource for QC technicians, oversee inspections and testing activities, maintain documentation, and drive continuous improvement initiatives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Monitor production quality, food safety programs, HACCP controls, CCPs, GMPs, and sanitation activities.

• Perform and oversee product, ingredient, packaging, environmental, and allergen inspections.

• Maintain quality records, investigate nonconformances, and support corrective actions.

• Develop, update, and manage SOPs, work instructions, and quality documentation.

• Train, coach, and provide daily guidance to QC technicians.

• Report quality metrics (KPIs) and collaborate with Production, Sanitation, Maintenance, and Warehouse teams.

• Support internal audits, customer audits, and regulatory inspections.

• Promote a culture of food safety, compliance, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications:

• 3+ years of Quality Control or Food Safety experience in food manufacturing.

• Prior leadership or QC experience with team coordination responsibilities.

• Strong knowledge of HACCP, GMPs, cGMPs, FDA/USDA regulations, and food safety programs.

• Experience with inspections, testing, environmental monitoring, allergen control, and document management.

• Excellent communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• SQF Practitioner or internal audit experience.

• Experience supporting FDA/USDA inspections and customer audits.

• Experience in frozen food manufacturing.

• Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.

• Experience tracking and reporting quality and food safety KPIs.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Downers Grove, IL.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $27.00 - $32.00/hr.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: • Medical, dental & vision • Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital • 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available • Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) • Short and long-term disability • Health Spending Account (HSA) • Transportation benefits • Employee Assistance Program • Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Downers Grove,IL.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Jul 14, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on click.appcast.io for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.