Quality Assurance Assistant Manager

Your Opportunity as the Assistant Quality Assurance Manager

The Assistant Quality Assurance Manager works closely with the Quality Assurance Manager to manage site Quality and Food Safety systems, develop strategic plans, and integrate the Quality Pillar with Autonomous Maintenance (AM), Planned Maintenance (PM), and Focused Improvement (FI) pillars. This role requires strong daily interaction with operations, sanitation, maintenance, engineering, and technical teams, as well as collaboration with other site and network Quality and Food Safety leaders.

The Assistant Quality Assurance Manager role at the Emporia Hostess Manufacturing Plant is a key development position designed to build the next generation of Quality leadership within J.M. Smucker. This role is intentionally structured as a phased development assignment, with a strong Food Safety & Sanitation focus during the first 18–24 months, followed by a balanced Quality Assurance and Food Safety role moving forward. This role was created to strengthen sanitation leadership, elevate quality system maturity, and intentionally build future QA leadership capability at the Emporia site.

During the initial development phase, the Assistant Quality Assurance Manager will spend approximately 70% of their time leading sanitation and hygiene programs and 30% supporting quality systems. As capability, system ownership, and leadership maturity are demonstrated, the role will evolve to an approximate 50/50 split between Sanitation and Quality leadership. The individual in this role is being developed to assume a future Quality Assurance Manager role within the J.M. Smucker organization.

Location: 1525 Industrial Rd, Emporia, KS 66801 (Hostess Manufacturing Plant)

Work Arrangements: 100% on-site. Day Shift. Tuesday-Saturday 8am-5pm. Flexibility required. Willingness to work off shift (including nights, weekends, and/or holidays) and flow to the work as needed.

In This Role You Will

• Be a visible, trusted leader on the manufacturing floor who shapes the site’s food safety and quality culture every day and makes a real impact on how products are made
• Take on a high‑ownership leadership role with a clear development path, designed to prepare you for a future Quality Assurance Manager position within J.M. Smucker
• Lead and maintain accountability for site food safety and sanitation systems, including environmental monitoring, Master Sanitation Schedule execution, and sanitation planning, with accountability for prioritization and resource alignment
• Own sanitation prioritization, downtime tradeoffs, and risk-based decision making across the site, balancing food safety, quality, cost, and operational needs
• Own the strategy, governance, and phased implementation plan for the transition of food-contact equipment cleaning responsibilities, including risk assessment, milestones, and cross-functional alignment.
• Serve as a key quality and sanitation system owner for the site, influencing cross‑functional decisions, escalating risks, and ensuring alignment when quality or food safety is at risk
• Set expectations and make day‑to‑day decisions related to sanitation and quality system execution, escalating risks and tradeoffs appropriately to site leadership
• Drive cross‑functional alignment with Operations, Maintenance, and Engineering by setting quality and sanitation expectations, identifying risks, and ensuring follow‑through on agreed actions
• Build and lead teams through coaching, training, and engagement, helping people grow while holding high standards for execution and accountability
• Play a key role in ensuring consumers receive safe, high‑quality, defect‑free products every day
• Own quality and food safety investigations, including root cause determination, corrective and preventive action strategy, and effectiveness verification, while delegating execution activities as appropriate.
• Set expectations for quality and food safety training effectiveness, partnering with the training function to ensure programs remain current and impactful
• Learn and apply best‑in‑class Quality systems while progressively taking on greater ownership of Quality and Food Safety programs
• Use Quality Pillar, Quality Assurance Key Elements, SPC, and PQM tools to strengthen systems, eliminate losses, and improve performance
• Help integrate the Quality Pillar with Autonomous Maintenance, Planned Maintenance, and Focused Improvement to drive plant‑wide results
• Actively contribute as a core member of the site Quality Pillar Team and collaborate with Quality leaders across the network
• Serve as the site owner and primary interface for sanitation system readiness during regulatory, corporate, and third-party audits, coordinating cross-functional support and delegating preparation activities as appropriate.
• Develop strong business judgment by prioritizing work based on risk and impact, and communicating clearly with peers and leadership
• Grow your leadership capability, technical depth, and confidence as you expand your scope and prepare for the next level of Quality leadership
  
  

Minimum Requirements

What we are looking for:

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Minimum of 3 years of operational experience in a manufacturing or distribution environment
• Minimum of 2 years of demonstrated leadership experience with the ability to direct and engage teams
• Proven people and organizational development skills
• Ability to work effectively with coaching and guidance while demonstrating ownership and accountability
• Experience using problem-solving tools, including root cause analysis and data‑driven decision making
• Experience with prioritizing work based on business impact and communicate priorities effectively
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Word
• Willingness to work flexible hours, including off‑shifts and weekends, as required
  
  

Additional skills and experience that we think would make someone successful in this role:

• Bachelor’s degree Food Science, Microbiology, Engineering or a related technical field preferred
• Experience with statistical analysis and PQM tools to analyze complex data and drive improvement plans
• Familiarity with modern digital tools, including Microsoft Copilot or similar AI‑enabled productivity tools, to support data analysis, documentation, and continuous improvement work
• Experience with Prodika and SharePoint data management systems
• Working knowledge of Food Safety, Food Defense, FSMA Preventive Controls, PCQI principles, Quality 19 Key Elements, and BRC auditing
• Demonstrated high potential and desire to grow into a future Quality Assurance Manager role
  
  

Work Environment: This job operates in a manufacturing environment. The noise level in the work environment and manufacturing sites can be high.

Physical Demands

• Regularly required to talk and hear.
• Frequently required to stand; walk; use hands and fingers to handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms.
• Occasionally required to sit; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl.
• Able to lift objects up to 50 pounds frequently.
• May push and pull heavy objects.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
  
  

The Right Place for You

We are bold, kind, strive to do the right thing, we play to win, and we believe in a strong community that thrives together. Our culture is rooted in our Basic Beliefs, and we believe in supporting every employee by meeting their physical, emotional, and financial needs.

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