What are the responsibilities and job description for the Food Safety & Quality Assurance Senior Manager in Meat Plant position at Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed?
Senior Quality Assurance Manager
Location: Becker, Minnesota
Company: Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed®
Employment Type: Full-Time
Join the Regenerative Food Movement
At Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed, we're not just producing grass fed beef, we're improving the U.S. food system. Our mission is simple but powerful: to nourish soil, plants, cattle, and people by holistically grazing cattle for their lifetime. We believe agriculture can be a force for healing by restoring ecosystems, supporting family farms, improving animal welfare, and producing nutrient-dense food people can trust. [thousandhi...grazed.com], [thousandhi...grazed.com]
We're seeking an experienced Senior Quality Assurance Manager who shares our commitment to excellence, stewardship, and continuous improvement. This leader will play a critical role in protecting the integrity of the Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed brand by ensuring the highest standards of food safety, quality, regulatory compliance, and customer satisfaction.
About the Role
The Senior Quality Assurance Manager is responsible for leading all quality assurance and food safety functions across our fresh beef processing operations. This position partners closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement, and Executive Leadership to ensure every product reflects the values and standards our customers expect from a regenerative agriculture pioneer.
This is a highly visible leadership opportunity for someone who believes that food safety, product quality, animal welfare, environmental stewardship, and consumer trust are inseparable.
What You'll Do
Food Safety & Regulatory Leadership
- Lead and maintain the facility's Food Safety and Quality Management System.
- Ensure compliance with USDA-FSIS regulations, customer requirements, and internal standards.
- Manage HACCP, SSOP, GMP, environmental monitoring, traceability, recall readiness, and food defense programs.
- Serve as the facility SQF Practitioner and quality systems leader.
- Build and strengthen a proactive food safety culture throughout the organization.
Protect the Integrity of the Brand
- Ensure products consistently meet Thousand Hills quality specifications and customer expectations.
- Oversee programs that verify product integrity across receiving, fabrication, grinding, packaging, storage, and distribution.
- Partner with co-man suppliers and operations teams to maintain the high standards expected of regenerative, 100% grass-fed beef products. [manuals.plus], [manuals.plus]
Lead Audits & Compliance
- Serve as the primary contact for USDA, customer audits, certification bodies, and regulatory agencies.
- Lead audit preparation, execution, corrective actions, and continuous improvement efforts.
- Maintain SQF and other applicable certifications.
Develop People & Culture
- Lead, coach, and mentor quality assurance personnel.
- Promote accountability, collaboration, and operational excellence.
- Deliver training programs that reinforce food safety and quality ownership at every level of the organization.
Drive Continuous Improvement
- Use data and analytics to identify quality risks and improvement opportunities.
- Lead root cause investigations and corrective action initiatives.
- Reduce waste, improve consistency, and enhance product performance.
- Collaborate across departments to improve operational effectiveness while maintaining the highest food safety standards.
Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Animal Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, or related field.
- Minimum 8 years of progressive food safety and quality assurance experience in meat processing.
- Minimum 5 years of leadership experience managing quality teams.
- Strong working knowledge of USDA-FSIS regulations, HACCP, GMPs, SSOPs, and preventive controls.
- Experience leading SQF or other GFSI-recognized certification programs.
- HACCP Certification.
Preferred
- Experience in fresh beef processing and working with value-added co-mans
- SQF Practitioner certification.
- PCQI certification.
- ASQ or related quality certifications.
- Experience supporting premium branded food products.
What Makes You a Great Fit
You're more than a quality leader. You're a steward of standards.
You believe that:
- Food safety is non-negotiable.
- Quality begins long before processing starts.
- Continuous improvement drives long-term success.
- Strong teams create exceptional outcomes.
- Agriculture can improve both human and environmental health.
You'll thrive here if you're energized by building systems, leading people, solving problems, and contributing to a mission larger than yourself.
Compensation & Benefits
Compensation
$80,000 - $95,000 annually plus annual performance bonus opportunity.
Compensation will be based on experience, qualifications, certifications, leadership accomplishments, and fresh meat processing expertise.
Why Thousand Hills?
Since 2003, Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed has challenged conventional thinking and built a nationwide network of regenerative grass fed beef producers committed to improving land, animals, and human health through holistic grazing. Today, the company works with approximately 50 like-minded family farms and supports regenerative grazing practices across hundreds of thousands of acres.
If you're looking for an opportunity to combine technical excellence with meaningful purpose, we'd love to meet you.
Join us in regenerating the future of food.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $80,000.00 - $95,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Employee discount
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
Salary : $80,000 - $95,000