Quality Manager – Food Manufacturing

Quality Manager – Food Manufacturing (SQF, GMP, Lab, Leadership)

Melrose Park, Illinois

Local candidates preferred

Why This Role Is a Great Opportunity

This is a high-impact plant-level Quality leadership role where you will truly own the quality function rather than simply manage it.

You will join a stable, growing organization that has expanded significantly from $20 million to over $100 million in revenue. The company continues to invest in growth, including expansion of second-shift operations, creating an excellent opportunity to build, influence, and elevate the quality organization.

You will have direct visibility to senior leadership, including the Director of Operations and company President, with minimal bureaucracy and a strong ownership culture.

This is a role where your voice matters, your decisions shape production quality daily, and your leadership directly impacts food safety, customers, and plant performance.

What You Will Lead and Own

You will report directly to the Director of Operations, who has been with the company for more than 20 years, and lead a hands-on Quality organization including:

• Quality Coordinators
• Quality Technicians, including second-shift coverage
• Small in-house laboratory team
• R&D and Product Development support focused on culinary work, product studies, and new product introductions

Total team size: Approximately 6–8 direct reports across Quality, Lab, and R&D support.

You will also play a key role in developing employees, training production teams, and strengthening quality capabilities across the plant.

What You Will Do

Food Safety, Compliance & SQF Leadership

• Own and maintain the plant SQF certification and Quality Management System.
• Ensure compliance with GMP, food safety, and regulatory standards.
• Lead internal, customer, and third-party audits from preparation through completion.
• Partner cross-functionally to maintain audit readiness and long-term compliance.

Laboratory & Product Quality

• Oversee laboratory operations, instrumentation, and physical testing.
• Ensure accurate testing of raw materials, in-process materials, and finished products.
• Manage calibration schedules, laboratory equipment, and spare parts inventory.
• Support product validation and new product introductions.
• Collaborate with R&D on product trials, culinary work, and product development.

Customer Quality & Corrective Actions

• Serve as the primary quality contact for customers.
• Investigate customer complaints and lead corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
• Complete customer quality questionnaires and support customer audits.
• Lead root cause analysis and drive corrective actions across departments.
• Maintain professional, timely communication with customers.

Continuous Improvement

• Drive quality improvements using data and performance metrics.
• Improve first-pass quality across production.
• Develop and maintain quality procedures and standard work.
• Partner with Operations and Maintenance to improve process stability.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, and develop the Quality team.
• Train new and existing employees on quality systems and food safety.
• Build accountability and strengthen the plant's food safety culture.
• Effectively communicate and work with production employees at all levels, including Spanish-speaking team members.

Operational Leadership

• Support Quality department budgets.
• Manage laboratory resources and supplies.
• Ensure appropriate staffing and quality support across multiple shifts.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in food science, Chemistry, or related field.
• 3 years of Quality leadership or supervisory experience.
• Experience in food manufacturing.
• Hands-on experience with SQF and GMP systems.
• Laboratory testing and quality control experience.
• Experience leading audits and corrective action programs.
• Strong customer-facing communication skills.
• Demonstrated success developing and leading teams.
• Ability to effectively communicate with and lead a workforce that includes Spanish-speaking employees. Spanish proficiency is a plus but not required.

What Makes This Different

• Own the Quality function for the entire plant.
• Direct exposure to executive leadership.
• High autonomy with minimal bureaucracy.
• Opportunity to build and shape the Quality organization.
• Growing company expanding its second-shift operations.
• High visibility across Operations and Leadership.
• Excellent career path toward future Director of Quality opportunities.
• ture Quality Director opportunities