Quality Assurance Manager

Red River Commodities is a leading processor of sunflower seeds and specialty grains, specializing in high-quality, nutritious food products. We pride ourselves on our sustainable practices, innovation, and commitment to delivering superior products to our customers. Our team shares core values focused on quality, innovation, responsibility, and community. We work hard, play harder, embrace authenticity, and always support one another to achieve our goals. Location: 11505 38th St S, Horace, ND 58047

Position Summary The Quality Assurance Manager leads the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of quality systems and food-safety programs at an assigned SunGold or SunButter facility. This position oversees facility quality operations, ensures products meet regulatory requirements, industry standards, company expectations, and customer requirements, and leads a cross-functional approach to quality management. The role develops the quality team, champions a culture of safety and compliance, and serves as the primary facility contact for audits, certifications, customer quality concerns, and corrective actions.

Key Responsibilities

Quality Program Leadership

• Direct and manage the facility quality-assurance program, including product inspections, testing protocols, documentation, food-safety programs, and regulatory compliance.
• Ensure effective execution and continuous improvement of HACCP, GMP, sanitation, preventive-control, and other applicable quality-management systems.
• Establish facility quality priorities, objectives, standards, procedures, and performance expectations.
• Maintain strong quality oversight for raw materials, in-process production, packaging, finished goods, storage, and shipment.

Team Management and Development

• Lead, coach, and develop quality employees, including supervisors, leads, technicians, or other assigned team members.
• Establish team objectives, clarify responsibilities, provide ongoing training and feedback, and support professional development.
• Build a culture of accountability, collaboration, food safety, product quality, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with leadership on staffing, onboarding, cross-training, performance management, and succession needs within the Quality function.

Regulatory Compliance and Certification

• Ensure compliance with applicable FDA, USDA, OSHA, customer, and other regulatory or industry requirements.
• Maintain required facility certifications and food-safety programs, including HACCP, GMP, SQF, or other applicable standards.
• Prepare the facility for internal, customer, third-party, certification, and regulatory audits and inspections.
• Serve as the primary facility contact for quality audits, certifications, customer quality inquiries, and regulatory interactions.
• Ensure audit findings and corrective actions are documented, completed, verified, and sustained.

Quality Investigations and Corrective Action

• Lead investigations of product defects, process deviations, nonconformances, customer concerns, and food-safety issues.
• Facilitate root-cause analysis and implement timely containment, corrective, and preventive actions.
• Monitor corrective-action effectiveness and identify additional controls needed to prevent recurrence.
• Escalate significant product, regulatory, food-safety, or customer risks to leadership promptly.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Production, Supply Chain, Engineering, Maintenance, Sanitation, Procurement, Warehousing, and other teams to integrate quality into each stage of operations.
• Collaborate with facility leadership to improve product quality, operational efficiency, food safety, and customer satisfaction.
• Provide quality guidance for process changes, new products, equipment changes, supplier issues, and improvement initiatives.

Data Analysis and Continuous Improvement

• Analyze production and quality data to identify trends, risks, recurring issues, and improvement opportunities.
• Develop, monitor, and communicate quality KPIs and related performance measures.
• Lead or support facility quality and food-safety improvement projects.
• Use data, audit findings, complaints, nonconformances, and employee feedback to prioritize improvements.

Customer and Supplier Quality Management

• Manage customer complaints and quality claims, ensuring timely investigation, documentation, communication, and resolution.
• Oversee supplier-quality activities, including raw-material verification, incoming-quality trends, supplier concerns, and vendor performance reviews.
• Partner with Procurement and Supply Chain to address supplier nonconformances and improve material quality.

Documentation and Reporting

• Maintain accurate, controlled, current, and audit-ready quality procedures, food-safety plans, inspection records, testing results, investigations, and corrective actions.
• Prepare and present reports on facility quality performance, risks, trends, compliance, and improvement priorities.
• Ensure employees follow approved documentation, record-retention, product-hold, traceability, and escalation procedures.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Quality Management, Chemistry, Engineering, or a related field preferred.
• Three or more years of quality-assurance experience, including at least one year in a leadership or management role, preferably in food manufacturing or agriculture-based processing.
• Advanced knowledge of HACCP, GMP, applicable OSHA requirements, food-safety regulations, and quality-management systems.
• Experience preparing for and managing internal, customer, third-party, certification, or regulatory audits.
• Strong leadership, cross-functional collaboration, problem-solving, analytical, communication, and project-management skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, quality-system software, reporting tools, and root-cause analysis methodologies.
• Experience with SQF, preventive controls, supplier quality, sanitation programs, product holds, traceability, recalls, or customer-quality management preferred.

Work Environment and Conditions

• The position is assigned to either a SunGold or SunButter food-manufacturing facility based on business needs.
• Work is performed in both office and production environments with regular presence on the manufacturing floor.
• The position may be exposed to machinery, noise, dust, food ingredients, allergens, food-grade oils, wet areas, sanitation activities, and variable temperatures depending on the assigned facility and process area.
• Frequent standing, walking, bending, reaching, climbing stairs, and other physical activity may be required during inspections, audits, investigations, and employee support.
• Required personal protective equipment and all facility safety, sanitation, food-safety, allergen-control, and security procedures must be followed.

Company Benefits:

At Red River Commodities, we value our employees and are committed to providing a supportive and rewarding work environment. As a member of our team, you will enjoy a competitive salary, comprehensive health benefits, and opportunities for career growth and development. Below are some additional benefits that we offer.

• On-demand pay available through Tapcheck
• Paid time off
• Paid Holidays
• 401k & company match
• Profit Sharing
• Employee Assistance Program

Red River Commodities and its subsidiaries are an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This applies to all employment practices within our organization. Red River Commodities makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time. We are committed to maintaining a legal and compliant workplace. As part of our hiring process, Red River Commodities participates in the E-Verify program.