Kelly Science & Clinical is seeking seeking a QA Specialist - Dairy and CPG near Evanston, IL.
Direct Hire
Shift: Monday - Friday 8am-5pm
Compensation: $80,000- $90,000/year DOE
Are you a quality-driven expert with a passion for product development and a strong foundation in food safety and regulatory compliance? Join our team as a Quality Assurance Specialist, where you'll play a key role in shaping the future of our innovative, top-quality dairy products. This role offers a unique opportunity to drive impact across product development, regulatory compliance, and customer quality in an exciting and fast-paced environment.
Key Areas of Responsibility:
Product Development
Spearhead formulation work for new and existing projects, manage item specifications, and lead competitive benchmarking.
Support product shelf-life studies and tastings to ensure we deliver the highest-quality products to market.
Regulatory Compliance
Serve as the main point-of-contact for FDA audits, ensuring business unit readiness for FSVP/FSMA regulations.
Coordinate compliance efforts with the Global Audit Team and maintain up-to-date site and supplier documentation.
Support product claims and program certifications to align with all regulatory and customer expectations.
Customer Quality
Manage the end-to-end process of registering, analyzing, and resolving customer complaints, collaborating with the global technical team.
Provide insightful reporting and trend analysis on customer feedback to drive continuous improvement in product quality.
Serve as the liaison for customer inquiries, audits, and technical forms.
Product Quality
Conduct root-cause analyses for product quality issues, work on solutions with internal and external partners, and oversee laboratory testing submissions.
Audit & Risk Management
Lead North American site audits and serve as the quality liaison with key sites.
Ensure third-party vendors meet company standards and contribute to business continuity initiatives.
Key Requirements:
Education: Bachelor's degree in a related field required.
Experience: 4-6 years in quality management, regulatory compliance, and/or product development in a medium to large organization, with a preference for candidates from the CPG or dairy sectors.
Technical Skills: Strong background in HACCP, BRC, FSVP, FSMA, quality audits, and Quality Management Systems (QMS).
Knowledge Base: Expertise in Microbiology and Food Safety, with hands-on experience in sensory evaluation of dairy products or a willingness to learn.
Audit & Problem-Solving Skills: Skilled in supplier and customer audits, with robust decision-making abilities and a proactive approach to quality standards.
Preferred Certifications: FSVP certification (or willingness to obtain within six months of hire).