Food Safety and Quality Assurance Technician

AeroFarms, the commercial leader in Vertical Farming is building the largest indoor vertical farm in the world in Danville Virginia! (We already have the Guinness world record for this in 2022 – this new farm is 4 times the output of that farm!) This flagship greenfield facility will service our growing customer base in the Mid-Atlantic Region once operational in 2022. This is an opportunity to help with the scaling of one of the most exciting AgTech Companies in the world (We won #1 spot in the Global Food Tech 500 list – 3 years in a row!)

At AeroFarms we are Non-GMO and use zero herbicides, fungicides, pesticides of any kind, along with using 95% less water compared to conventional agriculture and can grow the best leafy greens 365/24/7 without worrying about seasons!

The world needs our help. By 2050, there will be 9 billion people on the planet with less arable land than ever before. We need a solution to cultivate more using less and define the future of farming for generations to come. In 2004, AeroFarms began transforming agriculture with humans and our planet at the forefront. 

In 2022 AeroFarms is embarking on rapid growth in North America, with 20 current patents, 60 pending patents, and 200 invention disclosures, AeroFarms agriculture technology continues to grow unprecedented sustainable products, delivering elevated flavor, taste, experience, quality, access, and unmatched nutrition to you. 

Here’s how we’re growing the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity: 

• Researching and understanding plants to be better, more intuitive farmers 

• Elevating local communities by increasing access to nutritious, high-quality, consistent, and safe products in a way that’s better for you and the planet 

• Protecting and sustaining our environment for future generations 

• Pioneering consistent, and scalable indoor vertical farming food safety & traceability practices, and manufacturing standards 

• Building and deploying state-of-the-art automated indoor vertical farms across the country using the latest technological advancements available today. 

• Investing in our AeroFarms humans and fostering our diverse company culture of inclusion, equity, excellence, teachability and curiosity 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPX7ZS0wqWI 

As AeroFarms approaches our next phase of explosive growth, we seek out creative, motivated humans who will join us in disrupting industry standards and lead the way in vertical farming, artificial intelligence, and plant biology breakthroughs to solve, and tackle global issues. 

If a team of 200 intellectually curious and caring humans, expansive global operations, and our change-the-world mission resonates with you, apply today: 

We have: 

• An incredible ‘change-the-world’ company with the eyes of the world focused on our success. 

• A team of motivated, intellectually curious individuals to support you. 

• The backing of impressive firms like Goldman Sachs, IKEA, Prudential, and other leading venture funds. 

Job Description:

The Food Safety Technician is Responsible for monitoring and documenting all food safety programs. Job functions may include but not limited to the following: 

• Responsible for monitoring product safety throughout the manufacturing process and ensuring the products meet AeroFarms’ standards and specifications. 

• Support compliance, monitoring, and trending of key programs including but not limited to GAP/GMP, Pest Prevention, Internal Auditing, Microbiological, and Environmental Monitoring. 

• Report food safety and quality non-conformances and deviations to Food Safety Supervisor. Placing the product on hold and further evaluation. 

• Enforce GMP and Food Safety policies to ensure that AeroFarm’s quality standards are always maintained. 

• Monitor's food safety alerts on an ongoing basis; and effectively communicates to all functional departments on food safety information and updates. 

• Generate value for AeroFarms by anticipating, analyzing, solving, and preventing problems. 

• Perform Pre-Operational Inspections before start-up and report any inadequacies to the Food Safety Supervisor. 

• Complies with enforcement of all GMP policies, documentation, and record-keeping following company standards. 

• Special assignments upon request from the Sr. Manager, Food Safety and Quality Assurance 

• Ensure that all testing programs are consistent, and procedures are followed. 

• Communicate with Production when Critical Control Points (CCP) are out of control. 

• Ensure that all paperwork (documentation) is complete and accurate for each shift and each day. 

• Communicate all deficiencies and issues to the Director of FSQA. 

• Conduct product and packaging inspections 

• Enforce GMP and Food Safety policies to ensure that AeroFarms quality standards are maintained at all times. 

• Assist in the training of FSQA programs to staff. 

• Perform some basic in-house lab tests (product sampling, kosher testing, shelf-life evaluation) 

You have:

• B.S. in Food Science, Chemistry, or related field 

• 1-2 years of experience in a food manufacturing environment or lab and knowledge of food safety 

• Proficient computer skills required. Experience operating in a Windows environment, managing files, and handling data. 

• Strong interpersonal skills, including conflict resolution. 

• Ability to work in a challenging and fast-paced environment with changing practices. 

• Ability to work in a cold environment (<34F) for long periods. 

• Ability to lift to 50 lbs.

• Ability to walk, bend, and climb stairs. 

Personal Attributes

• Collaboration - we know we cannot fix the worlds problems as an individual, we have to work together as a team to make that happen. Teamwork is how we get there! 
• Communication - we are a small company (in relative terms -– 200 employees), we work well together because we communicate well with each other. You must demonstrate why our mission is important to you: everyone who works at AeroFarms has a strong link to the mission: we want to hear why it means something to you!
• Agility - What we do has never been done before: we are an innovation company, there is no right or wrong way to do things, we constantly develop how we operate, we can always elevate what we are doing and never claim to have it right. 
• Accountability - we don’t micromanage, we hire individuals who know what they need to do and can do so with minimal direction and take ownership of their projects and deadlines. 
• Respect - We are already starting our journey scaling around the world: we want our team to represent every kind of individual out on plant earth and we need to respect different people, different ideas, different cultures etc. We can learn so much from each other, but respect is key
• Empowerment - we provide an environment for growth and development: we need your help to develop our business, we will help you develop in your career, and sky is the limit given our growth plans!! 

Pay for this position is $18.00/hour. AeroFarms offers benefits that include enrollment in 401k, Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance, PTO, and more.