QA Technician (Food Science)

Job Title: Quality Assurance TechnicianJob Description

The Quality Assurance Technician ensures that finished products and in-process materials consistently meet established quality and food safety standards. This role focuses on inspecting products, verifying documentation, performing testing and monitoring activities, and supporting continuous improvement efforts to maximize quality and operational efficiency in a food manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

• Perform inspections of finished products and work in progress to verify adherence to quality, safety, and specification requirements.
• Complete all required quality assurance paperwork accurately and on time, including reviewing records for completeness and correctness.
• Conduct routine floor audits of production and packaging areas to confirm correct product composition, specifications, storage conditions, packaging, labeling, and coding.
• Assist in completing compliance checks for production runs at scheduled frequencies using paper or electronic records, including weights, case checks, label verifications, case verifications, product coding requirements, and customer-driven testing.
• Monitor facility activities through daily inspections, documenting findings and ensuring adherence to quality and food safety standards.
• Inspect, review, and complete pre-operational swabbing and quality program records on a daily basis to support food safety and sanitation programs.
• Identify and report quality-related failures or potential food safety issues to quality leadership and department leaders as required, ensuring timely communication and documentation of follow-up actions.
• Assist quality leadership with execution of sales and customer sample request programs, ensuring samples are prepared, tracked, and documented accurately.
• Initiate hold product procedures for products manufactured out of specification and communicate disposition and status to affected departments.
• Initiate defective material reports for vendor-supplied products that cannot be used due to quality or specification issues.
• Maintain and inspect retain samples to monitor product quality issues and support investigations and trend analysis.
• Execute environmental monitoring, product testing, chemical testing, and glass inspections throughout the facility in accordance with established protocols.
• Complete data entry for laboratory and production results, ensuring records are accurate, organized, and easily accessible for review and audits.
• Support day-to-day operations by identifying opportunities to improve quality and efficiency and by adhering to all quality assurance and food safety programs.
• Perform other related duties and responsibilities as assigned to support the overall quality assurance function.

Essential Skills

• Experience in quality assurance within a food manufacturing or food production environment.
• Knowledge of food safety principles, including Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and quality check procedures.
• Ability to perform audits and inspections in production and packaging areas, including verification of labeling, coding, weights, and case checks.
• Competence in conducting environmental monitoring, product testing, chemical testing, and glass inspections.
• Ability to complete and review quality program records, pre-operational swabbing documentation, and compliance check forms accurately.
• Strong attention to detail for identifying quality issues, documenting findings, and initiating hold product or defective material procedures.
• Basic understanding of food science or related disciplines as applied to quality assurance.
• Ability to perform accurate data entry for laboratory and production results and maintain organized records.
• Capability to work on the manufacturing floor, including frequent movement between mixing/blending rooms and the production floor and lifting over 20 lbs.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Associate's degree in Food Science, Biology, Chemistry, or a related field preferred.
• Previous food manufacturing quality assurance experience strongly preferred.
• Fluency in Spanish is a plus.
• Previous experience with Deacom, RedZone, or other ERP systems is advantageous.
• Basic understanding of quality assurance principles and practices beyond on-the-job training.
• Strong attention to detail and excellent organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
• Good written and verbal communication skills for interacting with cross-functional departments and documenting quality activities.
• Willingness to learn and adapt to new procedures, technologies, and quality programs.

Work Environment

This role is based on a manufacturing floor environment, with frequent movement between mixing and blending rooms and the production floor. The Quality Assurance Technician spends the majority of the shift on their feet, working around production equipment and packaging lines, with moderate noise levels typical of a beverage manufacturing facility. The position requires the ability and willingness to lift more than 20 pounds as part of routine tasks. The standard schedule is Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The workplace emphasizes a close-knit, family-style culture, with a growing operation that supports well-known juice brands. Team members enjoy a supportive environment near local shops and restaurants and receive holiday pay for six standard holidays and accruable paid time off annually.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Hopkins, MN.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $20.00 - $24.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: • Medical, dental & vision • Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital • 401(k) Retirement Plan - Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available • Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) • Short and long-term disability • Health Spending Account (HSA) • Transportation benefits • Employee Assistance Program • Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Hopkins,MN.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Oct 1, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.