Microbiology jobs

About Original Foods

Original Foods is a growing food and beverage manufacturer operating a world-class facility in Dunnville, Ontario. We manufacture a diverse range of products including confectionery, syrups, RTD coffee beverages, jams, sauces, cones, baking ingredients, broth products, and other specialty food products for leading brands across North America.

We are seeking a hands-on, highly organized, and driven quality professional to join our team as Assistant QA Manager & SQF Practitioner.

The Position

Reporting to the QA Manager, this role serves as the second-in-command within the Quality Assurance department and is designated as the site's SQF Practitioner.

The successful candidate will play a key role in maintaining and continuously improving our food safety, quality, and regulatory systems while supporting the day-to-day activities of the QA department.

This position is intended to provide leadership continuity within the department. During planned or unplanned absences of the QA Manager, the successful candidate will assume the responsibilities of the QA Manager, including leading audits, managing the QA team, coordinating corrective actions, interacting with customers and regulatory agencies, and serving as the primary quality representative for the facility.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the site's SQF Practitioner and maintain the SQF system.
• Coordinate and lead SQF, customer, regulatory, and third-party audits.
• Maintain audit readiness across the facility.
• Manage corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs) arising from audits, customer complaints, investigations, and internal findings.
• Support and supervise QA Technicians and Quality Control activities.
• Lead investigations involving food safety, quality, customer complaints, non-conformances, and deviations.
• Coordinate internal audits, GMP inspections, environmental monitoring, and verification programs.
• Assist with customer, regulatory, and certification body communications.
• Support product launches, validations, and commercialization activities.
• Maintain food safety, quality, regulatory, and technical documentation.
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives across the facility.
• Act as the QA Manager during vacations, leaves of absence, and other periods when departmental leadership coverage is required.

Qualifications

• Post-secondary education in Food Science, Food Technology, Microbiology, or a related discipline.
• HACCP certification required.
• Previous experience serving as an SQF Practitioner in a food manufacturing environment is required.
• Experience leading SQF certification audits is required.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in Quality Assurance within food manufacturing.
• Strong working knowledge of SQF, HACCP, GMPs, food safety systems, and regulatory requirements.
• Experience interacting directly with customers, auditors, and regulatory agencies.
• Demonstrated leadership experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently and make sound decisions in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: $65,000.00-$98,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental care
• Extended health care
• On-site parking

Application question(s):

• Do you currently hold a valid SQF Practitioner certificate

Work Location: In person