QC Technician

Perfetti Van Melle•Loves Park, IL

12d•$21 - $72•Onsite

About The Position

Perfetti Van Melle, one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of confectionery and chewing gum, is seeking a Quality Technician to join their Quality Team in Rockford, IL. This role is responsible for performing incoming material and ingredient testing, as well as in-process testing, to ensure products meet required manufacturing specifications for quality and food safety. The technician will also assist in monitoring and reporting test results and support other Quality Control Technicians with various tasks.

Requirements

Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in a STEM subject.
Previous QC Lab experience in an FDA regulated manufacturing environment.
Experience with lab equipment including but not limited to: HPLC, ICP-MS, liquid and gas chromatography.
Knowledge of Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), testing/sampling methods, QMS, GMPs, HACCP, FDA and OSHA regulations.
Intermediate level knowledge of Microsoft Office, SAP, JDA, and TraceGains.
Experience with quality control activities (e.g. incoming material/finished product testing, release, holds).
Understanding of supplier, material and finished product manufacturing quality requirements.
Ability to interpret raw, packaging and finished product specifications, and make release or reject recommendations/decisions.
Understanding of ISO:9001/FSSC22000 food safety and food defense requirements.
Ability to anticipate potential issues and communicate clearly with internal and external business partners locally and globally.
Ability to collaborate, build relationships and effectively communicate internally and externally.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Ability to multitask, prioritize and meet strict deadlines.
Strong troubleshooting skills and ability to manage difficult and challenging situations.
Ability to independently solve technical problems with limited information and supervision.
Strengths in decision making, analytical and organizational skills.
Ability to independently determine sample sizes, test requirements, and create assessment and rework plans.
Understanding of root cause analysis and ability to determine if corrective and preventive action plans for issue resolution are sufficient.

Nice To Haves

PCQI certification preferred (or ability to obtain certifications).

Responsibilities

Gathering, interpreting, actioning, and reporting on results from various lab equipment.
Inspection and testing of incoming raw ingredients and materials.
Assisting the Food Safety Specialist with consumer complaint monitoring and resolution.
Testing product retains and samples returned from consumers, reporting data, and trending.
Assisting with delivering training for Food Safety related topics such as Allergens, GMPs, CCPs, etc.
Supporting Quality Control Technicians with tasks including first cases and production verification checks, bracketing and initiating Hold and release for nonconforming products, performing GMP audits, and micro sampling.
Supporting Quality and Food Safety continuous improvement initiatives for cost reduction and R&D/Packaging projects.
Working with the local RDQ team to understand customer and consumer requirements and making recommendations on changes or updates to technical specifications.
Facilitating the rework process and collaborating with Operations to ensure documentation is completed, approved, and product is correctly dispositioned in the system.
Escalating as needed for urgent rework items.
Developing and maintaining lab testing processes, procedures, and training the organization to ensure standardization between shifts and functions.
Leading the finished product assessment process by creating test assessment protocols that define sample sizes, test requirements, and accept/reject criteria.