Quality Manager – Food Manufacturing (SQF, GMP, Lab, Leadership)
Melrose Park, Illinois (Fully Bilingual – Spanish/English)
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 is continuing to invest in growth, including expansion of second shift operations, creating a strong 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 coverage on second shift
- Small in-house laboratory team
- R and D and product development support resource focused on culinary work, product studies, and new product introductions
Total team size is approximately 6 to 8 direct reports across Quality, Lab, and R and D support.
You will also play a key role in developing people, training bilingual teams, and strengthening quality capability across production.
What You Will Do
Food Safety, Compliance, and SQF Leadership
- Own and maintain the plant SQF certification and Quality Management System
- Ensure full compliance with GMP, food safety, and regulatory standards
- Lead internal, customer, and third-party audits from preparation through completion
- Partner across departments to ensure audit readiness and long-term compliance
Lab and Product Quality Oversight
- Oversee laboratory operations including instrumentation and physical testing
- Ensure accuracy and reliability of raw materials, in-process materials, and finished goods testing
- Manage calibration schedules, lab equipment performance, and spare parts inventory
- Support product validation and new product introduction activities
- Collaborate with R and D on product trials, culinary work, and new product development initiatives
Customer Quality and Corrective Action Ownership
- Serve as the primary quality interface for customer quality managers
- Investigate and resolve customer complaints with structured corrective action plans
- Complete customer quality questionnaires and support customer audits
- Lead root cause analysis and corrective and preventive action execution across departments
- Ensure timely, professional communication with external customers
Continuous Improvement and Process Excellence
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives using data, trends, and customer feedback
- Improve first pass quality performance across production lines
- Develop and maintain standard work instructions and quality procedures
- Partner with operations, maintenance, and leadership to improve process stability and product consistency
Leadership, Training, and Team Development
- Lead, coach, and develop a bilingual English and Spanish speaking quality team
- Conduct training for new hires and ongoing staff development
- Build quality capability across production teams and shifts
- Foster accountability and a strong food safety culture on the plant floor
Operational Ownership
- Support budget and spending controls for the Quality function
- Ensure proper allocation and maintenance of lab resources and supplies
- Manage staffing coverage and capability development across shifts
What We Are Looking For
- Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Chemistry, or related field
- 3 or more years of quality leadership or supervisory experience
- Strong background in food manufacturing environments
- Hands-on experience with SQF and GMP systems
- Experience with laboratory testing, instrumentation, and quality control
- Proven experience managing corrective actions and audits
- Strong communication and customer facing skills
- Demonstrated ability to train and lead teams
- Bilingual English and Spanish required
What Makes This Different
- True plant level ownership of the Quality function
- Direct exposure to executive leadership including CEO and President
- High autonomy with minimal bureaucracy
- Opportunity to build and shape the quality organization
- Growing company with expansion underway, including second shift growth
- Strong leadership visibility and influence across operations
- A career accelerator toward future Quality Director opportunities