Quality Assurance Manager

Quality Assurance Manager – Food & Beverage Manufacturing

Location: Niles, IL

We are seeking an experienced Quality Assurance Manager to lead quality and food safety operations at an established food and beverage manufacturing facility. This is an excellent opportunity for an established quality leader to develop their team, strengthen quality systems, and partner cross-functionally to support operational excellence and continued growth.

The ideal candidate brings strong experience in food safety, regulatory compliance, quality management systems, and team leadership within a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Quality team, providing direction, coaching, and support to ensure consistent execution of quality and food safety standards.
• Oversee food safety programs, quality assurance processes, and regulatory compliance across manufacturing operations.
• Maintain compliance with applicable FDA, HACCP, SQF, GMP, and other relevant food safety and quality requirements.
• Lead internal and external audits, manage corrective actions, and ensure audit readiness.
• Partner with Production, Maintenance, and Sanitation teams to investigate quality issues, identify root causes, and implement effective corrective and preventive actions.
• Analyze quality data, identify trends, and drive continuous improvement initiatives to reduce defects, improve consistency, and strengthen process controls.
• Support the implementation and ongoing improvement of quality procedures, documentation, training, and standard operating practices.
• Help scale quality processes and team capabilities as production operations expand.

Qualifications

• Experience leading quality assurance and food safety functions in food or beverage manufacturing.
• Strong knowledge of HACCP, FDA regulations, GMPs, and food safety and quality management systems.
• Experience with SQF and/or other recognized food safety or quality audit programs preferred.
• Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop quality personnel.
• Experience managing audits, investigations, root cause analysis, and corrective and preventive actions.
• Strong analytical, organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams in a fast-paced production environment.

If you are a hands-on quality leader who enjoys developing people, strengthening food safety systems, and driving measurable improvements in manufacturing, we welcome the opportunity to connect!

To learn more, please reach out directly or apply to start a conversation!