Food Safety & QA Technologist

Overview As part of our Food Safety & Quality Assurance team, you will play an important role in ensuring our products meet the highest standards. You will perform routine sanitation checks, enforce HACCP and USDA regulations, and use your technical expertise to track products from start to finish—identifying issues and driving corrective actions when needed. You will monitor quality in your area, from grading products and documenting results to overseeing sanitation, temperatures, GMPs, and more. Working closely with production teams, you’ll help resolve issues, investigate root causes, and improve processes. You’ll also support quality programs through training and performance assessment. Your attention to detail ensures our brands—Smithfield, Nathan’s Famous, and others—are delivered safely and with confidence. What You’ll Do Quality Verification: Conduct routine inspections—including process, metal detection, cooking, and chilling—to ensure products meet all quality standards. Identify and act on out‑of‑spec products, interpret customer specs, and collaborate with teams to correct issues quickly. Quality Improvement: Drive continuous improvement by addressing deficiencies, identifying root causes of failures, and supporting QA programs, including training, spec reviews, and initiatives to enhance product quality and reduce waste. Food Safety & HACCP Compliance: Help develop and enforce HACCP programs, monitor critical control points, and ensure food safety protocols are followed throughout the production process. Regulatory & Sanitation Oversight: Ensure USDA regulatory requirements are met, assist with food safety documentation updates, and perform pre‑op sanitation checks—following up to guarantee proper cleaning and sampling procedures. Communication & Training: Report food safety issues, recommend corrective actions, and support plant training on deficiencies. In the absence of key personnel, you’re prepared to step in or delegate responsibilities as needed. What We’re Seeking High school diploma or GED (internal candidates with 4+ years of experience may be exempt). Ability to complete required forms in English and read/write proficiently. Knowledge of quality assurance principles, food science, meat processing, and USDA regulations. Experience creating, interpreting, and maintaining technical documents, reports, and manuals. Proficiency in monitoring equipment, data analysis, and responding to regulatory or customer inquiries with sound, evidence‑based decisions. Strong written and verbal communication across teams and stakeholders. Proficient in office software and able to interpret instructions in various formats. Associate’s degree preferred. Ability to collaborate with others in a fast‑paced, dynamic environment while maintaining a respectful, approachable, and team‑oriented attitude. Physical Demands & Work Environment Employees should be able to stand for prolonged periods, walk, use hands to handle or feel items, reach with hands and arms, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, and talk or hear. The plant environment may include wet or humid conditions, extreme cold and heat, working near moving mechanical parts, exposure to fumes or airborne particles, and chemicals. Noise levels are usually moderate but can be loud in production areas. Occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Exposed to temperatures ranging from 30–80°F. Specific vision requirements: close vision, distance vision, and ability to adjust focus. Benefits Smithfield offers robust, flexible, and affordable benefit plans and programs to support team members and their loved ones, with out‑of‑pocket costs that are on average 20% less than plans offered by other employers. Beyond medical plans, Be‑Well programs provide tools and resources to enhance quality of life at no additional cost, covering areas such as elective surgeries, weight loss, mental health, cancer, kidney disease, diabetes, smoking cessation, asthma, maternity management, and more. Comprehensive training and professional development programs, including LinkedIn Learning, Guild tuition assistance, and Smithfield Scholarship support, nurture career growth. Equal Employment Opportunity Statement 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 veterans 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 View phone number on click.appcast.io. #J-18808-Ljbffr Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp