Quality Specialist (Nights)

Unilever•Independence, MO

23h•$59,300 - $88,900•Onsite

About The Position

Unilever is hiring an onsite Quality Specialist for its Independence, Missouri site, a primarily dry savory operation producing Knorr and Lipton products that also has a tea production operation. This is a backfill role providing dedicated Quality coverage and front-line leadership during the overnight shift. The specialist serves as the on-shift Quality authority, making real-time decisions to protect consumer safety, product compliance, and production continuity when most salaried support is off site. The role upholds factory specifications, standards, and the Quality Management System (QMS), ensuring compliance with sanitation requirements, quality specifications, food safety requirements, current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs), and applicable regulations. The specialist manages Holds, deviations, and upset events; supports Quality Lab Technicians; and partners with Operations, Planning, shift leadership, and day-shift Quality Systems Specialists on investigations, improvements, and handovers. The position reports to the Senior Quality Manager and reports on shift Quality performance to the Quality Manager. The schedule is D Shift nights, 7:00 PM–7:00 AM, Wednesday–Saturday on long weeks and Thursday–Saturday on short weeks. The position is onsite; hybrid and remote work, relocation, and international assignments are not supported. The pay range is $59,300–$88,900, and the position is eligible for a bonus and long-term incentive. Unilever employees may participate in benefits plans that include health insurance (including prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage), retirement savings benefits, life and disability insurance, parental and sick leave, paid vacation and holidays, and voluntary benefits.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree, preferably in Biology, Food Sciences, Regulatory Sciences, or Chemistry.
At least two years of quality-related experience; food-environment experience is preferred.
Comfort making independent, real-time Quality decisions and leading during upset events with limited on-site salaried support.
Strong analytical skills and ability to translate data into action and follow through.
Excellent math, written, and verbal communication skills, including clear shift-to-shift handover.
Computer proficiency, especially in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, EWM, SAP (including SAP QM), and QualityOne; ability to provide input on and deploy or train users on new digital quality systems.
Basic knowledge of dry savory composition, sanitation principles, microbiology, and quality assurance policies and regulations.
Willingness and ability to work the D Shift night schedule: 7:00 PM–7:00 AM, Wednesday–Saturday on long weeks and Thursday–Saturday on short weeks.

Nice To Haves

Experience with HACCP plans, FSMA, and USDA.
Team leadership or front-line supervisory experience, including coaching and directing on-shift Quality Technicians and Lab Technicians.
Experience with lean manufacturing principles and statistical analytics platforms.
Applied knowledge of dry food manufacturing equipment and digital systems.

Responsibilities

Serve as the on-shift Quality decision-maker, dispositioning product, authorizing release or rework, and making stop/go decisions to protect consumer safety and product conformance.
Ensure compliance with sanitation requirements, approved quality specifications, food safety requirements, cGMPs, site standards, and applicable regulatory requirements; identify, correct, document, and escalate compliance gaps.
Own on-shift Hold identification, blocking, investigation, and disposition; place material on Hold in SAP/QualityOne, initiate E-Incidents, and coordinate next steps and final disposition with Operations and Planning.
Identify, document, and drive deviations and non-conformances (SNCR) to closure; ensure root-cause capture and CAPA handoff, and escalate when specifications are not met.
Lead the Quality response during upset events, technology gaps, and abnormal conditions by triaging impact, containing product, directing rework or disposition, and partnering with Operations on root-cause analysis.
Provide technical guidance and coverage for on-shift Quality Lab Technicians, supporting analytical testing, troubleshooting, method execution, and lab decisions, and ensuring results are actioned and gaps closed.
Set shift priorities, coach and develop on-shift Quality Technicians, represent Quality in Tier meetings, and hold employees accountable as Quality champions.
Provide clear, data-driven handovers into and out of D Shift so priorities, open Holds, deviations, and upset-event status carry forward.
Work with on-shift Quality Technicians, production teams, and shift leadership to identify and execute process and material improvements.
Report on-shift Quality performance to the Quality Manager and coordinate handoffs with day-shift Quality Systems Specialists.