Senior Quality Assurance (QA) Management

Published: 6/14/2022

Technology

A Senior Quality Assurance (QA) Management role in cheese and dairy manufacturing (such as a

Director of Quality Assurance or Plant/Corporate QA Manager oversees company-wide food safety,

regulatory compliance, and product integrity.

Position Overview

 Role Title: Director of Quality Assurance / Senior QA Manager (Dairy Cheese Operations)

 Industry Focus: Dairy Processing, Cheese Manufacturing, Cultured Products, and Conversion

Operations

 Reporting To: President, Chief Operating Officer, or VP of Operations / Corporate Quality

 Scope: Plant-level; Innovative Food Science, FDA Labeling; Product development with

knowledge of current technologies; Shelf-life, HACCP; Food Safety Auditing

Key Responsibilities Duties

 Strategy Leadership: Direct and mentor QA teams, lab supervisors, across multi-shift cheese

production environments. (working in line with mid-level QA team)

 Regulatory GFSI Compliance: Maintain and audit programs under FDA/USDA, FSMA, Grade A

Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO), HACCP, Preventive Controls (PC), and global standards like

SQF or BRC.

 Cheese Dairy Technical Oversight: Oversee specialized cheese-making quality

metrics—including milk composition, pasteurization/thermal controls, starter culture

performance, moisture/pH levels, curing/aging environments, and shelf-life analysis.

 Preventive Corrective Action: Lead Root Cause Analysis (RCA), Corrective and Preventive

Actions (CAPA), customer complaint investigations, and hold/release protocols for finished

cheese and ingredients.

 Traceability Crisis Management: Direct mock recalls, rapid ingredient-to-finished-product

tracking exercises, and act as a core leader on the Plant Crisis Management / Recall Team.

 Cross-Functional Partnership: Collaborate closely with Operations, RD, Procurement, Sales,

and Farm-to-Plant milk suppliers to uphold farm-to-table quality standards.

Qualifications Requirements

 Education: Bachelor’s degree in food science, Dairy Science, Microbiology, or a related

technical discipline (Masters or advanced degree strongly preferred).

 Experience: Progressive leadership experience (typically 7–10+ years) in dairy or cultured cheese

manufacturing, with deep knowledge of processing and conversion lines.

 Certifications: HACCP Training, SQF Practitioner, PCQI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individual),

and Grade A dairy regulatory familiarity.

 Technical Skills: Proficiency in Laboratory Information and food safety auditing.

 Computer Skills: Excel, MS Word, Adobe PDF Editing

 Communicatin Skills: Proficiency in written communication