Pay Rate: $33.80 will increase to $34.80 once fully trained.
Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM. When providing coverage for an absent QA Operations Technician, this position will transition to a 12-hour rotating 2-2-3 schedule (5:00 AM – 5:00 PM or 5:00 PM – 5:00 AM), including every other weekend and holiday coverage as needed. Must be able to work daylight and night shift.
Position Summary
The QA Operations Relief is a critical leadership role that supports plant operations through Quality Assurance, Food Safety, Sanitation, and Operational Excellence. This position is primarily responsible for ensuring compliance with food safety regulations, sanitation standards, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), and Land O'Lakes quality systems while promoting a culture of continuous improvement throughout the facility.
The QA Operations Relief serves as the technical expert for Quality and Sanitation, partnering closely with Production, Maintenance, Engineering, and Distribution to maintain product quality, food safety, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency. In addition to daily Quality responsibilities, this position serves as the designated relief for QA Operations Technicians, providing leadership and direction to facility teams.
This role is part of our Dairy Food business who creates dairy products that stand for real, simple goodness. We believe there’s power in every drop of milk our farmers produce, and by improving production and finding innovative uses for that milk, we add a little good to people’s lives.
Role Focus:
Conduct sanitary environmental monitoring and microbiological sampling according to established SOPs.
Collect product, ingredient, environmental, and investigative samples to support quality investigations, customer requests, and regulatory requirements.
Perform routine GMP inspections throughout the facility and communicate findings with cross-functional teams.
Conduct pre-operational inspections, invasive red tag inspections, and equipment cleanliness verification prior to production startup.
Verify CIP (Clean-in-Place) systems and sanitation effectiveness through inspections, testing, and microbiological swabbing.
Monitor Critical Control Points (CCPs), Preventive Controls, and quality parameters while ensuring compliance with HACCP and food safety programs.
Review, verify, and approve quality and sanitation documentation for completeness and accuracy.
Ensure compliance with Land O'Lakes EQMS requirements and all internal quality systems.
Support customer audits, third-party inspections, regulatory inspections, and internal audits.
Participate in root cause investigations, corrective action development, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Follow up on Action Register items to ensure timely completion and documentation.
Partner with Operations and Maintenance to proactively resolve quality and sanitation concerns.
Support product trials, process validations, and product changeovers through documentation, setup, monitoring, and verification.
Serve as the facility's War on Water Champion by promoting water conservation initiatives and responsible resource utilization.
Maintain compliance with all GMPs, food safety policies, sanitation procedures, and company standards.
Train, coach, and mentor employees performing sanitation and cleaning responsibilities.
Reinforce GMP compliance, sanitation practices, food safety expectations, and quality standards.
Promote accountability by addressing quality concerns and coaching employees toward continuous improvement.
Foster collaboration between Quality, Production, Maintenance, and Operations teams.
Serve as a technical resource for Quality and Sanitation best practices throughout the facility.
Lead Root Cause Analysis for production failures and process deviations.
Additional duties may be assigned by your supervisor or manager.
Required Qualifications
Must be 18 years of age or older.
Associate's Degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant manufacturing experience preferred.
Minimum of 3–5 years of experience in dairy manufacturing, food manufacturing, quality assurance, sanitation, or production operations.
Ability to work independently with minimal supervision while balancing multiple priorities.
Strong problem-solving, organizational, and time management skills.
Demonstrated commitment to safety, food safety, and quality.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to build positive working relationships across multiple departments.
Strong computer proficiency including Microsoft Office and plant operating systems.
Experience conducting investigations and Root Cause Analysis
Ability to be flexible in work performed and schedule
Preferred Qualifications
Bachelor's Degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, Manufacturing, Engineering, or related field.
Experience with HACCP, Preventive Controls, GMPs, Environmental Monitoring Programs, and Food Safety Management Systems.
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Physical Requirements
Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds.
Ability to enter confined spaces including silos, dryers, and evaporators.
Frequent walking, standing, climbing, bending, twisting, kneeling, reaching, pushing, and pulling throughout the shift.
Ability to work while wearing required personal protective equipment (PPE).
Ability to work in varying temperatures including hot, cold, wet, and dusty environments.
Approximately 85% of the shift is spent on the production floor performing inspections, audits, observations, and supporting operations.
About Land O'Lakes, Inc.
Join us and be part of a Fortune 250, farmer- and member-owned cooperative that is reimagining the business of food. We have been named a Top Workplace by Indeed and LinkedIn, and to the TIME 100 Most Influential Companies list.
We provide a broad portfolio of benefits to keep you and your family at your best. Land O'Lakes is Where Your Future Takes Root.
Land O’Lakes and our global entities support diversity in employment practices.
Neither Land O’Lakes, nor its affiliates or search firms, will ever contact you and ask for confidential information over the phone or in email. If you receive a call or email like this, please do not provide the information being requested.
If you need to submit a reasonable accommodation request to complete the employment application process, please call the HR Solution Center at 844-LOL-HR4U (844-565-4748) M-F 8:00am-4:30pm CT.