FSQA Lead Technician - Military veterans preferred

FSQA Lead Technician

US-OR-Portland

Job ID: 2025-8144
Type: Regular Full-Time
# of Openings: 1
Portland Plant

Overview

Ajinomoto Foods North America is a leading frozen foods company, committed to providing nutritious and delicious meals globally. With a rich history of diverse ethnic brands, our brands have become household favorites all across America. We are dedicated to contributing to a healthier lifestyle through nutritious and balanced Umami foods. With a commitment to excellence and innovation, all our products are cooked with our customers in mind, providing healthy and delicious meals for all.

This position will be responsible for coordinating the monitoring and execution of Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA) programs throughout the plant and providing leadership to the FSQA technicians. This is accomplished through coordinating the activities of the FSQA technicians, conducting audits and training FSQA and production employees. Responsibilities will include making decisions to accept or reject area, equipment, products or materials when deemed insanitary, possibly contaminated, or if the product is determined to be out of Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc. (AFNA) specifications. When any deficiency in requirements occurs, it is the responsibility of the FSQA Lead technician to take appropriate action.

Starting pay is $28.00/hr

If you choose to work with us, you will be an integral part of a team with a rich and diverse culture that learns, grows, and succeeds together. You will also have access to some amazing benefits such as:

• Medical, Dental, Vision insurance on DAY ONE
• Company paid STD, LTD, and Life Insurance on DAY ONE
• 80 hours of vacation and 40 hours of sick time per fiscal year
• 401(k) Retirement Savings plan that includes company’s matching contributions up to 4.5%
• Wellness reimbursement towards gym membership and/or exercise equipment
• Referral bonuses totaling $1000 when an employee refers someone to work with our company
• Quarterly sales of product to employees

· Coordinates the activities of FSQA Technicians and verifies all required duties/areas are covered.

· Train FSQA Technicians to assure that they understand their duties and are competent in

performance.

· Assists in developing and applying quality controls and related procedures in plant operations.

May be required to perform other FSQA tasks if someone is absent.

· Assists in special projects related to food safety and product quality.

· Responsible for insuring that FSQA activities are completed within the allotted time and are

accurate.

· Be a resource for production supervisors, to aid in training, policy enforcement and problem

solving.

· Will assist in evaluating new processes and materials and make recommendations.

· Assist R&D in setting up specifications and control standards for products (especially new ones).

Provide input to the development of product specifications as needed.

· Create and maintain a reference library of finished product samples (Gold Standards and Drift

Controls) for use in the Daily Product Consistency Evaluation (DPCE).

· Consolidate the findings of the DPCE and report non-conformance identified from the reports.

· Follow up on deviation reports. Assists in identifying the causes of problems to recommend

solutions and preventive measures in areas involving product quality, materials, product

deviations and sanitation controls.

· Keeps accurate and complete records of all inspections, tests, evaluations, and deviations.

· Assists with in-plant monitoring including monthly facility assessment, positive swab

investigations, Mass Balance, allergen compliance, Foreign Object Blitz and pest control.

· Verifies all deficiencies are corrected in a timely manner.

· Interact with, and address concerns of, local USDA inspection toward manufacturing and food

safety concerns.

· May perform HACCP Pre-shipment review.

· Performs data entry as needed.

· Perform all other work as assigned.

· Budget/Cost Control – general understanding of FSQA/procurement budgeting and cost control functions.

· Analytical – ability to independently perform, technical analysis of supplier performance.

· Communication Skills – excellent verbal and written communication skills, including technical

writing and presentation skills.

· Organizational Skills – excellent organizational skills.

· Judgment/Decision Making – ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, draw valid

conclusions and make appropriate recommendations independent of supervisor.

· Computer Skills – working knowledge of Microsoft based software, including Excel, Word and

Outlook.

· Other – ability to elicit internal and external support; good interpersonal skills; ability to work under

pressure and short timelines, prioritizing multiple projects with various simultaneous deadlines, as

well as attention to detail with accuracy.

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