Lab Supervisor- Grand Island, NE Food Testing

Lab Supervisor- Grand Island, NE Food Testing

The Laboratory Supervisor, Food Microbiology leads daily operations of the microbiology laboratory, ensuring that pathogen, indicator organism, and shelf-life testing of food products and environmental samples is accurate, timely, and compliant with applicable regulatory and accreditation requirements. This role supervises and develops laboratory staff, maintains the quality system, and serves as the technical point of contact for customers, auditors, and internal stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Laboratory Operations

• Plan and prioritize daily sample flow to meet turnaround-time commitments, including pathogen holds and release testing.
• Oversee testing of food, ingredient, and environmental samples for organisms such as Salmonella, Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7 and STEC, Staphylococcus aureus, coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, yeast and mold, and aerobic plate counts.
• Ensure methods are performed per validated or reference procedures (e.g., USDA FSIS MLG, FDA BAM, AOAC, ISO) using culture-based, rapid, and molecular (PCR) platforms.
• Review and approve test data and reports, verifying accuracy, completeness, and traceability before release.
• Manage media preparation, reference culture maintenance, positive and negative controls, and sterilization and waste decontamination processes.

Quality System and Compliance

• Maintain compliance with ISO/IEC 17025 (or equivalent), GLP, and customer and regulatory requirements; support internal and external audits and inspections.
• Own the laboratory document system: SOPs, method verifications, training records, and data integrity controls.
• Lead investigation of out-of-specification results, positive results, contamination events, and nonconformances; drive root cause analysis and corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
• Manage proficiency testing programs, equipment calibration, verification, and preventive maintenance schedules.
• Enforce biosafety (BSL-2 practices), chemical safety, and good laboratory practices.

People Leadership

• Hire, train, schedule, coach, and evaluate laboratory personnel; maintain competency and training documentation.
• Foster a culture of accuracy, accountability, and food safety.
• Manage staffing, overtime, and weekend or holiday coverage to meet production and testing demand.

Communication and Continuous Improvement

• Communicate results, trends, and risks to plant quality, operations, and management; escalate positive pathogen findings promptly.
• Prepare periodic reports on turnaround time, positivity rates, trends, and KPIs.
• Evaluate and implement new methods, instruments, and LIMS improvements to increase efficiency and reliability.
• Manage laboratory budget, supplies, and vendor relationships.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Microbiology, Biology, Food Science, or a related life science.
• 2+ years of hands-on food or any microbiology laboratory experience.
• 1+ year of lead, supervisory, or training experience (formal or informal).
• Working knowledge of aseptic technique, pathogen testing, and GLP.
• Strong documentation skills and understanding of data integrity principles.
• Ability to work in a BSL-2 environment and handle pathogenic organisms safely.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Sound technical judgment in interpreting microbiological results and troubleshooting method failures.
• Clear written and verbal communication with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Organization and prioritization in a high-volume, deadline-driven setting.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office; comfortable with laboratory software and electronic records.
• Ability to make timely decisions under pressure and to hold others to standards respectfully.