Assistant FSQ Manager (Riverside)

Position Overview

Johnsonville has an opportunity for an Assistant Food Safety & Quality Coordinator to join our campus FSQ Team at Riverside. This role carries meaningful ownership for food safety and quality decisions within a ready-to-eat sausage manufacturing facility, including regulatory compliance, product disposition, process control, and daily execution of quality systems. The individual in this role is expected to make timely, independent decisions that protect consumers, customers, and the business while partnering closely with Operations and other support teams.

Beyond maintaining strong food safety and quality performance, this position offers significant opportunities to contribute to new product introductions, process improvements, project leadership, and production line initiatives that support the facility's future growth. This role is ideal for someone looking to expand technical expertise, strengthen leadership capability, and gain broader business experience while helping build a proactive food safety and quality culture.

Responsibilities

• Own and make timely food safety and quality decisions for the facility, including product disposition, escalation of potential risk, and alignment with regulatory, customer, and company requirements
• Ensure the daily HACCP documentation is complete, pre-shipments are reviewed, and proper follow-ups are documented
• Represent Food Safety and Quality on cross-functional project teams
• Identify, define, and solve quality issues in association with the plant operations, quality, and reliability excellence teams
• Develop, implement, and maintain Standard Operating Procedures that support product and process safety, product quality, GMP compliance, and applicable regulatory requirements
• Maintain ownership of facility food safety plans, quality systems, food defense programs, and regulatory documentation to ensure audit readiness and compliance.
• Build capability across the facility by educating and influencing members on food safety expectations, quality standards, decision-making, and proactive problem solving.
• Lead internal, third-party, customer, and regulatory audit preparation and response, ensuring strong follow-up, corrective actions, and sustainable preventive controls.
• Provide day-to-day leadership, coaching, prioritization, and accountability for the facility's FSQ Technician while building capability, ownership, and effective decision-making within the role.
• Partner with Operations, Reliability Excellence, and other business functions to evaluate opportunities for process improvement, innovation, and future facility growth.
• Participate in and support new product launches, process changes, equipment installations, and production start-up activities to ensure food safety and quality requirements are effectively implemented.

Education

• Bachelor's Degree in Food Science, Meat Science, Microbiology or a related field required

Experience

1-2 years of experience in a quality leadership position is desired
Experience in food required; meat/poultry processing preferred
Experience working under regulatory systems, USDA preferred

Skills

Strong working knowledge of food safety systems, including HACCP, preventive controls, GMPs, sanitation, allergen control, environmental monitoring, and USDA regulatory expectations
Ability to lead and sustain quality management systems that drive audit readiness, customer confidence, product consistency, and continuous improvement
Data-driven problem solver with the ability to use quality metrics, root cause analysis, trend reviews, and continuous improvement tools to prevent recurrence and improve performance
Clear, confident communicator who can influence across Operations, Sanitation, Maintenance, and Supply Chain Teams
Proficiency with digital tools and systems used to manage documentation, production data, quality records, corrective actions, communication, and performance tracking
Demonstrated leadership capability with a desire to coach, develop, and hold others accountable while building future leaders within the FSQ organization
SQF Practitioner certification, HACCP certification, Preventive Controls Qualified Individual training, or other relevant food safety certifications preferred
Strong understanding of sanitation, hygienic design, environmental controls, and verification practices in a ready-to-eat meat processing environment
High level of ownership, judgment, organization, and follow-through when making decisions that impact food safety, product quality, members, customers, and consumers
Ability to remain calm, decisive, and collaborative during investigations, product holds, non-conformances, regulatory questions, and time-sensitive operational decisions
Experience with systems such as SAP, Redzone, Microsoft 365, electronic quality management systems, laboratory information systems, or other production and quality data platforms preferred
Adaptability and willingness to support business needs across shifts, production areas, audits, project work, and other facilities within the organization as needed
Demonstrated interest and capability in supporting new product development, line start-up activities, process changes, capital projects, and cross-functional improvement initiatives.

Other Requirements

• Must be at least 18 years old
• Occassional work on off-shifts as needed
• Rotational weekend work required
• Travel: 10% of your time

Benefits and Compensation

Members have potential for a monthly bonus and 401k with a company match. Members also have access to terrific benefits including affordable medical, dental and vision coverage; flexible spending accounts; disability and life insurance; and fertility and adoption assistance. Johnsonville also offers competitive paid time off, including paid parental time off, as well as access to the 24/7 onsite fitness center, and onsite medical clinic! Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location.

Applicants must be eligible to work in the country where this job is located, without requiring sponsorship now or in the future.