Quality Assurance Technician I - Meat Plant

Job Summary: As a Manufacturing (Mfg) QA Technician I, you will provide support to the Plant to ensure quality and safety requirements are met.

Key Responsibilities & Essential Functions:

Quality Assurance:

• Fosters a positive working environment among diverse teams
• Interacts with all plant personnel to improve quality of products produced
• Provides quality assurance to support all Mfg initiatives
• Trains production team members on safe, quality food manufacturing
• Maintains laboratory in accordance with published 6S standards
• Participates on cross-functional teams within the facility to develop basic preventive and corrective action plans for improving quality of product produced
• Captures customer / supplier feedback; uses content for continuous improvement
• Performs root cause analyses; identifies cost of lost opportunity and the reduction of variation in processes
• Demonstrates understanding of traditional quality cost categories (i.e., prevention, appraisal, internal failure, and external failure)
• Participates in failure mode effects analyses (FMEAs)

Auditing / Testing:

• Audits, inspects, and tests products to ensure compliance with all quality standards and HACCP plans
• Audits process controls to ensure product quality and food safety standards are within control limits and Plant standards
• Tests finished product, work-in-process, and raw materials against specifications to determine quality status, including chemical, microbial, or physical testing
• Performs floor checks to ensure control on non-conforming products; communicates findings to appropriate personnel
• Participates in warehouse audits where applicable

The responsibilities and essential functions outlined above describe the general nature and level of work assigned to this position. This is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and skills required. Duties and responsibilities may be modified at any time based on business needs. Employees may be required to perform other job-related tasks as requested by their supervisor, subject to reasonable accommodations.

Qualifications & Key Requirements:

Work Experience:

• 0 years of experience
• Experience or coursework in food science, quality management, or other sciences - Required

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Working familiarity with standard laboratory equipment to perform laboratory tests and exams - Required
• Working familiarity with basic statistics - Required
• Understanding of the application of the evolution of quality, quality fundamentals, and root cause analysis - Required
• Organization skills - Required
• Math skills ( , -, *, /) - Required
• Critical thinking skills - Required
• Verbal / written communication and presentation skills - Required
• PC skills, including MS Office - Required
• Bi-lingual (English - Spanish) skills a plus - Required
• Ability to learn / apply H-E-B quality and OSHA safety requirements, including behavior-based safety - Required

Education:

• A related degree or comparable formal training, certification, or work experience - Required

Licenses/Certifications:

• Completion of H-E-B certification as an ASQ Quality Improvement Associate CQIA - Required

Physical Demands & Working Conditions:

• Travel by car or plane with overnight stays
• Regularly lift up to 20 lbs
• Occasionally lift 20 lbs
• Work extended hours and rotating schedules
• Maneuver through the facility and perform functions of the job, with or without accommodation (standing, stooping, bending, etc.)
• Work in wet, cold, or hot, environments, depending on Plant location, where temperatures are as listed below:
  • Bakery and Tortilla: 80-100 degrees F
  • Floral: temperature-controlled environment that ranges from 32-42 degrees F
  • Ice Cream: (-)40 to 80 degrees F; certain areas in a wet environment
  • Meat: routinely 30-45 degrees F in a cold and wet environment; occasionally (-)20 or 85 degrees F in certain areas
  • Milk: routinely 60-80 degrees F in a wet environment; occasionally 38 degrees F in certain areas, 110 degrees in other areas
  • Snacks: temperature-controlled environment that ranges from 80-100 degrees F

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a Partner encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Last revised: 1/1/2017