Job Summary:

The Quality Assurance (QA) Supervisor is responsible for ensuring that all food products manufactured at our Rancho Cucamonga facility meet the highest standards of safety, quality, and regulatory compliance. This hands-on role provides leadership and support to QA technicians and collaborates with operations, sanitation, maintenance, and R&D teams to ensure all processes align with internal standards, GMPs, USDA/FDA requirements, and customer specifications. At FiveStar Gourmet Foods, we operate in a fully paperless and digital QA environment, leveraging best-in-class technology to ensure accuracy, traceability, and real-time quality management across all departments.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Supervise, coach, and schedule QA technicians across shifts to ensure continuous quality coverage on the production floor.
• Conduct pre-operational inspections, production line audits, finished product inspections, and verify that corrective actions are taken when deviations occur.
• Ensure full compliance with HACCP, Preventive Control, GMP, SOP, SSOP, and SQF standards.
• Support Senior QA Manager in maintaining digital documentation, traceability records, non-conformance logs, and audit readiness through our electronic quality systems.
• Monitor code dating, weights, lot numbers, label verifications, seal integrity, and packaging appearance across production lines.
• Participate in root cause investigations and lead the implementation of corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs), including investigation of complaints, internal audits, and reports to management in a timely basis.
• Conduct QA-related training for new hires and ongoing team education.
• Collaborate with sanitation and maintenance teams to ensure equipment is cleaned and sanitized per SSOPs and ready for production.
• Communicate quality concerns promptly to leadership and help drive cross-functional resolutions.
• Assist in preparation for third-party audits, customer visits, and internal inspections.
• Escalate any food safety risk immediately and act with urgency to safeguard consumer health and company integrity.
• Implementing and managing Validation and Verification activities toward the Food Safety and Quality programs.
• Ensures that company product “hold” policies and procedures are communicated to plant staff and that the plant adheres to the procedures. Recommends, as appropriate, the suspension of product or the release of product when quality standards are not achieved.
• Review and closure of corrective and preventive actions taken towards nonconformities found during the internal audits and making sure the quality system is continually improving.
• Manage food laboratory and microbial lab.
• Ensure all employees follow GMP policies.
• Identify weaknesses in Food Safety and Quality Systems and work to provide resolutions.
• Handle all nonconformance related to vendors/suppliers.
• Manage all documentation, review and approve daily. Sign off on release of products.
• Be the point of contact for USDA Inspector. Communicate effectively on behalf of the company. Respond promptly to inquiries and N.R.’s and ensure strict adherence to USDA regulations.
• Validate and re-evaluate the effectiveness of cleaning procedures.
• Keeps self-updated on the current industry standards in Food Safety and Quality Control practices and requirements.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in food science, Microbiology, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience will be considered.
• 3+ years of QA experience in food manufacturing, with at least 1 year in a supervisory or lead role.
• Working knowledge of USDA, FDA, SQF, HACCP, and GMP regulations.
• Strong communication, leadership, and decision-making skills.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and paperless QA platforms (e.g., SafetyChain) required.
• Flexibility to work off-shifts or weekends as needed to support operations.

Reports To:

Senior Quality Assurance Manager