Assistant Plant Food Safety & Quality Assurance Manager

Smithfield Foods • Clinton, NC

80d

About The Position

As the Assistant Food Safety and Quality Assurance Manager, you’ll play a key role in ensuring our products meet the highest standards of safety and quality. You’ll oversee sanitation checks, ensure compliance to HACCP and USDA regulations, and use your technical expertise to track product flow and implement preventive and corrective actions when needed. Your work will directly impact our ability to deliver safe, delicious products to customers and consumers every day. In this role, you will work closely with both plant and corporate FS/QA leaders, gaining valuable experience in implementing food safety procedures and maintaining compliance with USDA and FDA standards. This is a great opportunity to grow your knowledge, contribute to a collaborative team, and make a meaningful impact in a fast-paced, high-quality food production environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university and 3+ years of relevant experience in the food industry.
• Experience acting as a lead by providing training, coaching or mentoring to less experienced staff.
• Hands-on experience with microbiological testing of meat and poultry products.
• Comprehensive knowledge of USDA, FSIS, HACCP, and SSOP requirements.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to address inquiries from regulatory agencies, customers, and internal stakeholders.
• Proven ability to work in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment.

Nice To Haves

• USDA/HACCP Certification.
• SQF Certified.
• Expert knowledge and understanding of quality assurance principles, food science and meat processing.
• Bilingual skills.

Responsibilities

• Ensure all food safety, quality, and regulatory programs are being followed and documented properly.
• Verify USDA compliance through sound, science-based decisions.
• Lead investigations into product issues and take corrective actions.
• Support audits and USDA system assessments.
• Work with FSQA and Operations teams to prevent HACCP, SSOP, and product/process failures.
• Conduct production tests, collect and analyze data, and troubleshoot issues with upstream processes.
• Manage the sanitation program, including writing regulatory documents and verifying sanitation effectiveness.
• Lead GMP and sanitation audits and train staff.
• Maintain and reassess the SQF Quality Plan, ensuring compliance with all relevant sections.

Benefits

• Comprehensive training and professional development programs.
• Tuition assistance covering English language learning and various certificate programs.
• Smithfield Scholarship Program for employees’ children.
• Education Reimbursement Program for furthering formal education.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees