Manager, Quality Assurance (Columbia, MO) - Chomps
Columbia, MO
About the Job
Who We Are
We're Chomps, the fastest-growing food brand in the U.S. and we're reimagining snacking. Our meat snacks are made using high-quality proteins, no sugar, and real ingredients – because we believe snacking should be simple, delicious, and convenient. Chomps can be found in over 20,000 stores nationwide with a strong e-commerce presence. Our mission is to inspire, educate, and fuel our community with accessible, real food that doesn't compromise on taste.
Traits of a Chompian
If you've been called scrappy, resourceful, and persistent, then you might just be a Chompian. You're a team player who's self-motivated and action-oriented. You're committed to delivering efficiency and accuracy, and you happen to be great at proactive cross-functional communication. You're a critical thinker and a natural problem solver who enjoys details, research, and data. You take initiative and complete ownership of everything you do, and you'll go the extra mile for your team, consumers, and audience. You're hungry to learn with a passion to grow and improve every day. You also take a keen interest in health, fitness, and nutrition. Sound like you? Then we want to meat you.
What You Will Do
We are actively seeking an experienced and motivated individual to join our team as the Midwest Regional On-site Quality Assurance Manager. In this role, you will play a critical part in upholding the quality and safety standards of Chomps products at our manufacturing facilities. Your primary responsibilities will include overseeing daily QA operations, managing quality and food safety investigations, addressing product quality concerns, and ensuring compliance with USDA-FSIS regulations. You will be the key QA presence on the ground, working closely with our operations team and contract manufacturers to guarantee product safety, quality, and continuous improvement.We are looking for someone with strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and a deep understanding of the meat manufacturing industry. This is an exciting opportunity to join a fast-growing team that values excellence in quality and safety.
Responsibilities
On-location QA Oversight at Manufacturing Facilities:
- Work alongside the QA Director to onboard and approve new contract manufacturing facility.
- Travel to manufacturing plants to conduct regular on-site inspections and audits.
- Maintain strong relationships with third-party QA partners while on-site, working with their teams to support start-up and projected business growth.
- Integrate Chomps' quality and food safety standards into contract negotiations, ensuring compliance.
- Work in tandem with Chomps On-Site Contract Manufacturing Manager to achieve production goals, ensure compliance with Chomps quality and food safety standards, USDA-FSIS regulations, and internal company policies.
- Complete preoperational inspections.
- Aide with the development of a sanitation validation program and establish standards for compliance.
Product Quality Continuous Improvement
- Spearhead product quality investigations with contract manufacturers. Identify possible processing errors and improvement initiatives.
- Analyze sensory evaluation dashboards and reporting – share data with all manufacturers to be reviewed in weekly meetings and offer guidance in process/product improvement initiatives.
- Work with R&D and operations teams in the creation of process control and product specification sheets.
- Collaborate with R&D and operations teams to oversee test runs and new product launches, ensuring quality standards are met.
- Draft and deliver quality and food safety investigation reports, including Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA).
Recall and Traceability
- Direct regular mock recall exercises with contract manufacturing and warehousing partners to test and improve the traceability of products and working together as cohesive teams in the event of a recall.
- Perform internal product traceability audits to verify the accuracy and effectiveness of Chomps traceability systems spanning from the purchase of raw proteins to manufacturing, repack, distribution, and customer delivery.
Who You Are
- Minimum of 5 years of experience in quality assurance or operations management/supervisor within the meat manufacturing industry.
- In-depth understanding of HACCP, USDA-FSIS regulations, and GFSI standards.
- Proficiency in raw processing and ready-to-eat meat and poultry production.
- Experience with pre-op inspection, environmental monitoring programs, and GFSI audit requirements.
- Strong knowledge of process flow, risk mitigation, and shelf-life management.
- Expert with CAPA, RCA, and quality management systems.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Self-motivated and autonomous.
- Positive attitude, adaptable to change.
- Ability to travel extensively (50-75%) to various manufacturing and warehousing facilities within the Midwest.
- Located in or within an hour of Mexico, MO.
- Bachelor's degree in food science, microbiology, or related field preferred.
Position: Manager, Quality Assurance
Reports to: Director, Quality Assurance
Location: Remote/Mexico, MO
Type: Full-Time, exempt
Salary Range Opportunity:
- The salary range for this role is $110,000 - $115,000 + 20% annual bonus
Compensation Philosophy & Total Comp:
- Our salary ranges are based on verified market data and our philosophy of paying competitively for our size and industry
- Individual pay rate decisions are based on several factors, including qualifications for the role, experience level, skillset, and balancing internal equity relative to peers at the company
- In addition to base salary, full-time team members receive medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401K 6% match, and monthly reimbursements for wellness and home office.
Other Perks:
- Ability to make an impact: Join a rapidly growing and entrepreneurial-spirited team at a pivotal point to positively impact the food industry.
- Opportunities to grow: Advance within Chomps quickly based on outstanding performance.
- Unlimited PTO and 10 paid holiday days. Hybrid & flexible remote schedule. Chicago office open to those in the area.
- Paid maternity and paternity leave.
- Bi-annual total team in-person activities.
- Company-wide Continual Education budget.
- Unlimited snacks: Enough meat sticks that if you wanted to eat your body weight in them you could (no judgment here).
Our Commitment
Chomps is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. To achieve our mission of making nutritious food more accessible we greatly benefit from a range of perspectives, which comes from diversity of all types, at all levels of the organization. Achieving true diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do and the smart thing for our business.
We're aware of the research showing that historically underrepresented groups are less likely to apply for a job if they don't believe that they meet all of the criteria. Do you hesitate to submit an application because you believe you need to check every box? Please apply anyway with a thoughtful cover letter! We would love to hear from you to discuss how you can help us build a great team at Chomps.
Important Notice:
It has come to our attention that fraudsters have been posing as Chomps employees or recruiters and contacting job-seeking candidates regarding potential job opportunities. These fraudulent messages sometimes include a request for payment and confidential personal information. Please note that the Chomps recruiting process does not include asking candidates for payments or other confidential financial information.If you are applying for a job, you can confirm the legitimacy of a job posting by viewing current open roles: https://chomps.com/pages/chomps-careers. If you have questions please email us at careers@chomps.com
