QA Director I - Prepared Foods

JBS Foods • Ankeny, IA

18h

About The Position

JBS Prepared Foods is seeking an accomplished, strategic quality leader to direct quality assurance, food safety, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement across its Prepared Foods business unit. The role develops and executes enterprise-wide strategies that support regulatory compliance, protect company brands, and advance operational excellence. It partners with Operations, Engineering, R&D, Supply Chain, Sales, Procurement, and executive leadership, and serves as a senior subject matter expert on quality and food safety.

The position may be based near one of the listed locations—Council Bluffs, Ottumwa, Moberly, Columbia, Elkhart, Booneville, Tupelo, Ankeny, or Perry—or at the JBS Corporate Office in Greeley, Colorado. Travel to plants and headquarters may reach 75% of the time.

The role leads quality and food safety teams and programs across multiple facilities, including quality systems, product specifications, inspection and testing, performance metrics, corrective and preventive actions, food safety programs, audit readiness, incident response, and continuous improvement. It also supports product innovation and commercialization, and represents JBS Prepared Foods with regulators, customers, suppliers, auditors, industry associations, and other stakeholders.

The posted base salary range is $130,000–$160,000. The position is eligible for the company’s annual bonus plan. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage beginning after 60 days; paid sick leave, vacation, and six company-observed holidays; a 401(k) with company match beginning after the first year of service; and learning and development opportunities.

Requirements

• At least 6 years of progressive leadership experience in Quality Assurance and Food Safety within the food manufacturing industry.
• Deep knowledge of USDA requirements, HACCP, GMPs, SSOPs, environmental monitoring programs, and GFSI standards.
• Demonstrated success leading regulatory inspections, customer audits, and third-party certification programs.
• Experience leading quality and food safety programs in a multi-plant prepared foods or protein manufacturing environment.
• Strong leadership, organizational, and change management capabilities.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
• Ability and willingness to travel up to 75% of the time to plants and headquarters, and as business needs dictate.
• Ability to perform the functions of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Food Safety, Quality Assurance, or a related field.
• At least 3 years of leadership experience managing multi-site quality and food safety programs.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the strategic vision, goals, and roadmap for Quality Assurance and Food Safety across the Prepared Foods organization.
• Lead, mentor, and develop quality and food safety professionals while fostering accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.
• Partner with executive leadership to align quality and food safety initiatives with business objectives.
• Provide direction for cross-functional initiatives involving Operations, Engineering, R&D, Procurement, and Supply Chain.
• Serve as the company's senior subject matter expert on quality and food safety.
• Establish, maintain, and improve quality systems, product specifications, standards, and procedures for products, ingredients, and packaging.
• Oversee inspection, sampling, analytical testing, and verification programs to ensure company, regulatory, and customer compliance.
• Monitor and report KPIs and quality metrics to support improvement and decision-making.
• Ensure effective corrective and preventive action processes throughout the organization.
• Lead development, implementation, and enhancement of HACCP, sanitation programs (SSOPs), GMPs, environmental monitoring programs, and GFSI-recognized certification schemes.
• Ensure compliance with USDA, customer, and other applicable regulatory requirements.
• Maintain readiness for regulatory, customer, and third-party audits across facilities.
• Lead responses to food safety incidents, product quality concerns, recalls, and crisis management activities as needed.
• Use data analytics and trend analysis to identify quality, food safety, and operational improvement opportunities.
• Drive enterprise-wide continuous improvement initiatives to reduce defects, improve process control, and strengthen food safety culture.
• Stay current on regulations, technologies, industry trends, and best practices to evolve quality systems and programs.
• Support innovation and commercialization by incorporating quality and food safety requirements into new product development.
• Serve as the primary liaison with USDA, state regulatory agencies, industry associations, and other external stakeholders.
• Maintain productive relationships with customers, suppliers, auditors, and regulatory officials.
• Represent JBS Prepared Foods at industry events, professional organizations, and customer engagements as needed.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage beginning after 60 days of employment.
• Paid sick leave, vacation, and six company-observed holidays.
• 401(k) with company match beginning after the first year of service, subject to the company vesting schedule.
• Eligibility to participate in the company's annual bonus plan.
• Continuous learning opportunities and learning and development programs supporting professional growth and career development.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director