Plant Quality Manager II

Leprino Foods Company•Lubbock, TX

7d•Onsite

About The Position

Within our brand new state-of-the-art 600-person manufacturing facility in Lubbock – Leprino is seeking a Plant Quality Manager II (Senior Manager-level) to lead plant-based quality execution across daily operations! We take pride in our vision to be "world's best", it is why we work harder, invest more, and continually innovate. What You’ll Do: Lead all plant-based Quality Control (internally referred in Leprino as Quality Execution) functions in one of the largest and most advanced cheese & dairy ingredient facilities in the world (processing over 8 million pounds of milk daily). Own the plant’s food safety, sanitation, and regulatory compliance systems, including HACCP, SQF, Kosher/Halal, environmental monitoring, and microbiological laboratory oversight. Serve as the senior quality voice in cross-functional leadership at Greeley, building strong ties with Production, Engineering, and Global Quality to ensure consistent standards and rapid issue resolution. Direct audit readiness and execution (regulatory, corporate, and customer) and drive CAPA programs for root cause analysis and preventive action. Oversee sanitation programs, pest control, recall preparedness, and traceability systems for a facility that produces mozzarella, whey, and high-value dairy proteins. Develop, mentor, and inspire a quality team — including supervisors, specialists, and lab staff — through targeted training, coaching, and recognition programs. Manage the Quality department budget and performance metrics, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency without compromising compliance or product integrity. Promote and model a plant-wide food safety culture, embedding continuous improvement into daily operations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, or a closely related field.
10+ years of progressive quality leadership in large-scale, regulated food manufacturing (dairy, beverage, pharma preferred).
5+ years directly managing people leaders (supervisors or above) in a plant quality environment.
Expertise in HACCP, SQF, FSMA, food safety systems, microbiology labs, sanitation programs, and statistical process control.
Proven success leading audits (regulatory and customer) and managing CAPA systems.
Comfortable working in a 24/7 manufacturing environment and engaging on the production floor with employees at all levels.

Nice To Haves

Direct dairy or cheese manufacturing experience.
Experience with multi-product facilities that produce both commodity and high-value ingredient streams.
Background in advanced utilities or sustainability systems (CHP, wastewater reuse, biogas/anaerobic digesters) that impact food safety and quality.
Strong track record of building cross-functional partnerships with Production, Engineering, and Corporate QA/QE.
Advanced degree (MS, MBA) or professional certification in Quality, Food Safety, or Regulatory Affairs.

Responsibilities

Lead all plant-based Quality Control functions
Own the plant’s food safety, sanitation, and regulatory compliance systems
Serve as the senior quality voice in cross-functional leadership
Direct audit readiness and execution and drive CAPA programs for root cause analysis and preventive action
Oversee sanitation programs, pest control, recall preparedness, and traceability systems
Develop, mentor, and inspire a quality team
Manage the Quality department budget and performance metrics
Promote and model a plant-wide food safety culture