Quality & Food Safety Technologist

Mars•Reno, NV

1d•$82,748 - $113,779•Onsite

About The Position

This role is a key member of the local R&D/Q&FS plant-based team, directly supporting the manufacturing site. The technologist operates daily in a highly cross-functional environment, partnering with Supply Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, Logistics, and Sanitation teams to ensure standard alignment. To be effective, this role requires a strong degree of peer-leadership and technical courage. The associate must be comfortable asserting authority to halt production lines, reject raw materials, or place finished goods on hold without direct reporting authority. Furthermore, the position acts as a direct communication link between site operations and regional R&D stakeholders, helping to translate complex corporate policies into simple, repeatable operating procedures.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in food science, Microbiology, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related scientific discipline.
2+ years in a food or related manufacturing facility, with hands-on experience in HACCP, food safety management systems, and internal auditing.
Strong ability to lead Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and write clear, audit-ready technical procedures.
High proficiency in Microsoft Office; direct experience with SAP is highly preferred.
Strong technical courage to confidently halt production or hold inventory, alongside excellent communication skills to coach floor operators.
Ability to stand and walk the manufacturing floor for prolonged periods of time, working safely around high-speed machinery in hot, dusty, or noisy plant environments.
Action Oriented: Take swift, decisive action with a high sense of urgency when out-of-specification (OOS) data or process deviations are identified.
Action Oriented: Enthusiastically tackles daily quality challenges on the production floor, proactively working to resolve minor compliance issues before they escalate.
Collaborates: Build strong, trusting partnerships with floor associates, warehouse teams, and sanitation associates to meet shared site safety and quality goals.
Collaborates: Works cooperatively within the local Q&FS team, sharing insights and assisting peers to maintain complete site coverage.
Customer Focus: Treats plant production lines and warehouse logistics as key internal customers, providing them with rapid, accurate hold-and-release decisions and technical feedback.
Customer Focus: Maintains a strong focus on the end-consumer by ensuring every product released meets Mars’ pet food quality and safety standards.
Instills Trust: Gains the confidence and trust of the team by demonstrating absolute honesty, transparency, and consistency in recording compliance data and executing food safety checks.
Instills Trust: Stands firm on quality and food safety standards, representing data accurately and truthfully even under pressure from production deadlines.
Practices Excellence in Quality: Risk & Opportunity Management — Competently identifies and mitigates food safety risks through robust change management and process monitoring.
Practices Excellence in Quality: Product Quality Custodian — Authoritatively guards finished product quality, consumer safety, and brand equity.
Practices Excellence in Quality: Continuous Improvement — Uses trend analysis to drive systemic site-level improvements.

Nice To Haves

Active HACCP, HARPC, or PCQI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individual) certification.
FSSC 22000 internal auditor certification
Technical Writing & QMS Control (Preferred) Drafts clear, legally robust Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that stand up to regulatory audits.

Responsibilities

Ensure all site processes and procedures strictly comply with corporate Mars Quality and Food Safety Standards, Business Unit directives, and regulatory agency regulations.
Serve as a core Food Safety Representative for the site HACCP Team and Food Safety Team, leading and supporting risk assessments for all facility changes (CAB, new products/packaging/processes) and validating Critical Control Points (CCPs).
Manage the site product hold-and-release programs within SAP, NCMGT, and Nexus. Ensuring proper isolation, disposition, and destruction of non-conforming materials and products.
Supports site internal audits and Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) programs to drive continuous system improvements.
Serve as a PRIMP (Product Related Incident Management Process) owner, leading structured root-cause analysis (RCA) sessions and recommending corrective actions.
Works to identify defects and trends in site processes. Develop and/or lead improvement projects in alignment with the Site Q&FS Manager.
Develop and deliver interactive food safety and GMP training modules to build technical capability and a strong quality culture among site associates.
Execute the final release of finished products, ensuring all quality and food safety specifications have been met.
Other Duties: assigned by the Site Quality and Food Safety Manager