QA Manager
Milwaukee, WI
A growing food manufacturing company is seeking an experienced QA Manager to lead quality assurance and food safety initiatives at its Milwaukee-area manufacturing facility. This is a hands-on leadership opportunity for a quality professional who will have ownership of the site’s quality and food safety programs while partnering closely with Operations and plant leadership to strengthen processes, develop teams, and drive continuous improvement.
The ideal candidate will bring strong experience within a protein, meat, poultry, or prepared foods manufacturing environment, along with a solid understanding of USDA/FSIS requirements, HACCP, and food safety systems.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide leadership and overall ownership of day-to-day quality assurance and food safety activities for the manufacturing facility.
- Lead, develop, and hold the QA team accountable for maintaining high standards across quality, food safety, and regulatory compliance.
- Maintain, evaluate, and continuously improve site quality systems, procedures, programs, and documentation.
- Ensure compliance with USDA/FSIS regulations, HACCP requirements, customer standards, and company policies.
- Serve as a key point of contact for USDA inspections, customer audits, third-party food safety audits, and other regulatory reviews.
- Lead investigations, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and preventive actions related to quality issues, non-conformances, and customer complaints.
- Monitor site quality and food safety metrics, identify trends and risks, and develop action plans to address opportunities for improvement.
- Maintain HACCP and other food safety programs, including sanitation, allergen control, environmental monitoring, pest control, and related prerequisite programs.
- Partner closely with Operations and plant leadership to identify risks, resolve issues, and establish sustainable quality and food safety practices.
- Provide training, coaching, and development to QA personnel and plant employees while building accountability around quality and food safety standards.
- Establish and maintain clear expectations for quality performance across the facility.
- Support new product development, process changes, equipment changes, and continuous improvement initiatives from a quality and food safety perspective.
- Lead efforts to ensure the facility remains audit-ready and that corrective actions are effectively implemented, verified, and sustained.
- Communicate quality performance, risks, trends, and recommendations to plant and senior leadership.
- Identify opportunities to strengthen processes, reduce quality risks, and improve consistency across the manufacturing operation.
- Participate in plant leadership discussions and provide an independent quality perspective when evaluating operational decisions and priorities.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, or a related field preferred.
- 6+ years of progressive QA and food safety experience within food manufacturing.
- Experience in meat, poultry, protein, or prepared foods manufacturing strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated experience leading quality programs within a manufacturing facility.
- Strong knowledge of USDA/FSIS regulations and HACCP principles.
- Experience working directly with USDA inspections and regulatory, customer, and third-party audits.
- Experience leading root cause analysis, corrective actions, preventive actions, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Previous experience leading, coaching, and developing QA teams.
- Knowledge of GFSI standards such as SQF or BRC is preferred.
- HACCP, PCQI, SQF, or related certifications are a plus.
- Strong communication, analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to work effectively with QA, Operations, Maintenance, and plant leadership.
- Comfortable working in a hands-on manufacturing environment and spending significant time on the plant floor.
- Ability to assess risk, prioritize issues, and make practical, business-minded quality decisions.
- Strong sense of ownership with the ability to independently lead initiatives and follow through to completion.
What We're Looking For
We're looking for a hands-on quality leader who can take ownership of the site's quality and food safety function while working closely with Operations and plant leadership.
The right candidate will be comfortable setting expectations, developing people, identifying risks, and driving accountability across the facility. They should be able to move between the technical side of food safety and the day-to-day realities of a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
Experience in both larger and smaller food manufacturing environments is valued, particularly for candidates who have strong technical fundamentals but can also operate independently, adapt to changing priorities, and take ownership of broader site-level initiatives.