Senior Quality Improvement Lead

Stefanini Group•Chicago, IL

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Stefanini Group is hiring a Senior Quality Improvement Lead in Chicago, IL. This is a line-embedded quality leadership role responsible for driving quality loss prevention, reduction, and eradication across assigned Cracker lines and Ingredient Handling. The role provides senior-level, line-focused quality leadership, balancing strong day-to-day execution with sustained quality improvement and system governance. It partners closely with assigned Line-Centric organizations to identify, prioritize, and eliminate systemic and recurring quality losses by applying IL6S ways of working and deploying Quality Pillar tools. A core focus is to reinforce line ownership of quality while owning the work process for Quality Matrices, ensuring risks, controls, and preventive actions are clearly defined, embedded into standard work, and sustained. This position also provides advanced quality leadership during complex quality events, ensures quality learnings are translated into standard work, and drives horizontal application of improvements. Additionally, the Senior Quality Improvement Lead has people leadership responsibility for a Quality Improvement Specialist.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in Quality Assurance, Food Science, Biology, Microbiology, Engineering, Operations Management or a related field.
Minimum 5 years of experience in a food manufacturing environment within Quality, Food Safety, or Process Engineering roles.
Experience with consumer complaint management, quality losses, and root cause analysis.
Familiarity with continuous improvement methodologies (IL6S, Lean, Six Sigma) preferred.
Ability to support operations across shifts as needed.
Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and equipment behavior.
Experience leading or supporting quality improvement initiatives in a manufacturing environment.
Ability to translate quality data and technical information into practical operating standards.
Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority.
Strong collaboration and communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with continuous improvement methodologies (IL6S, Lean, Six Sigma)

Responsibilities

Partner with Section Leads and Line-Centric Organization to identify and prioritize recurring quality losses (e.g., holds, deviations, rework, instability) across Cookies and Repack in partnership with line teams.
Support line-owned problem-solving using IL6S methodologies (RCA, 12-step Kaizen, FI) to eliminate root causes.
Use DMS routines to track actions, milestones, and effectiveness, ensuring timely closure and sustainable results.
When quality findings or improvements are identified on one line, evaluate applicability and support extension of learnings across other Crackers and Ingredient Handling lines to prevent recurrence and reduce systemic risk.
Support deployment, use, and sustainment of Quality Pillar tools, ensuring these tools are actively used to guide execution, escalation, and decision-making on the floor.
Own the Quality Matrices work process, including defining standards, governing deployment, and ensuring effective use and sustainment across the bakery.
Own IQS governance for the bakery, including system setup, user onboarding and training, troubleshooting, and ensuring consistent, effective use to support quality performance management.
Provide advanced quality leadership during complex quality events, including support for risk assessments, investigations, and disposition decision-making in alignment with established standards.
Support and coach on-shift Quality Leads during escalated quality events to ensure consistent application of standards and sound quality risk assessment.
Ensure quality learnings and improvements identified on one line are evaluated and extended across other applicable lines and Ingredient Handling to reduce systemic risk.
Partner with site and line leadership to develop quality culture action plans for assigned areas and monitor progress against established actions through DMS routines.
Reinforce quality culture through consistent floor presence, coaching, and engagement, ensuring actions translate into observable behavioral and execution improvements on the line.
Lead, coach, and develop a Quality Improvement Specialist, including setting clear expectations, providing feedback, supporting development, and ensuring alignment to IL6S ways of working and quality standards.
Act as a consistent, line-embedded quality partner for Crackers Lines 4, 6, 7 and Ingredient Handling, ensuring alignment between daily execution and longer-term quality improvement priorities.