Associate Manager Quality Assurance

Your Opportunity as the Associate Manager, Quality Assurance    This role ensures co-manufactured, co-packed, and repacked products meet FDA and JMS quality and food safety standards through effective oversight of external manufacturing facilities, personnel , and QA and operational programs. Location:  Orrville, OH   Work Arrangements:  Monday to Friday - Hybrid   In this role you will:     Lead and support co-pack/co-man partnerships by auditing, managing relationship, and seeking continuous improvement opportunities. Support R&D teams during on-site production start-ups, trials, and commercialization activities to ensure quality and food safety expectations are met. Maintain current, accurate, and copacker documentation to support TraceGains requirements. Manage, share, and update Prodika specification systems to ensure product information remains accurate, complete, and aligned with business needs. Partner with cross-functional teams to advance innovation, transformation projects, portfolio changes, and other strategic business initiatives. Contribute to additional quality assurance projects and business priorities as needed – complaint management, ETQ Holds, scorecard ownership, and other activities pertinent to achieving high co-pack/co-man standards.

Minimum Requirements:  Bachelor's degree is required in Food Science or related scientific degree Minimum 2-3 years of quality/food safety experience in food manufacturing plant environment Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (human or animal food) or HACCP experience is preferred Additional skills and experience that we think would make someone successful in this role:   Solid working knowledge of quality assurance, food manufacturing, food safety, processing, packaging, and distribution Strong ability to work in cross-functional & team-oriented environment with multiple disciplines Proven capabilities in project management Better Process Control School Certified Self-starter; take charge, positive & proactive attitude Ability to lead several projects altogether and concurrently Detail & process oriented with strong problem-solving skillsets Strong computer skills (Excel, Word, PowerPoint); other systems desired (ETQ, Prodika, SharePoint, TraceGains, Centric, etc.) Ability to communicate clearly within the organization and externally Excellent written and verbal communication skills High emotional intelligence and ability to work with ever changing conditions Position may require up to 40% travel annually  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.  Stay connected with us on  LinkedIn®  We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, age, national origin, disability status or protected veteran status.