Senior Quality Assurance Specialist / Quality Lead

Senior Quality Assurance Specialist / Quality Lead

Role Summary

The Senior Quality Assurance Specialist / Quality Lead is responsible for supporting and leading the overall quality assurance process within label production, including decisions related to suspected or non-conforming raw materials, semi-finished goods, and finished products.

This position plays a key role in ensuring that products meet established quality, food safety, regulatory, and customer requirements while supporting continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.

The role will have increased responsibility for the maintenance and continuous improvement of the Quality Management System, including FSSC 22000 certification requirements, internal audits, external certification audits, corrective and preventive actions, root cause investigations, and audit readiness .

The Senior Quality Assurance Specialist will work closely with Production, Technical, Maintenance, Supply Chain, and Management to ensure quality and food safety standards are consistently maintained.

Key Responsibilities

Quality Assurance & Production Support

- Serve as a senior quality resource for Production and provide guidance on quality-related concerns.

- Support and substitute for Quality Technicians when required to respond to production floor quality needs.

- Make or support quality disposition decisions regarding non-conforming raw materials, work-in-process, semi-finished goods, and finished products.

- Determine appropriate containment, segregation, inspection, sorting, rework, or disposition of non-conforming products.

- Provide Production with required information, standards, samples, or instructions when sorting or inspection activities are required.

- Support Technical and Production teams with quality assurance testing and product evaluations.

- Monitor recurring quality issues and identify opportunities for corrective action and process improvement.

FSSC 22000 / Quality & Food Safety Management System

- Support the maintenance and continuous improvement of the site's FSSC 22000 Food Safety Management System .

- Participate in maintaining the facility's readiness for FSSC 22000 certification and surveillance audits.

- Coordinate and participate in internal audits related to food safety, quality systems, production processes, documentation, and regulatory requirements.

- Support preparation for external certification, customer, and regulatory audits.

- Assist during external audits by gathering documentation, providing evidence, responding to auditor requests, and coordinating follow-up activities.

- Track audit findings, observations, and non-conformities through closure.

- Support corrective action plans resulting from internal audits, external audits, customer audits, and certification audits.

- Verify that corrective actions are properly implemented and effective.

- Support ongoing compliance with established food safety programs, prerequisite programs, procedures, work instructions, and quality standards.

- Identify gaps within the Quality and Food Safety Management System and recommend improvements.

- Support management in maintaining audit readiness throughout the year rather than preparing only immediately before an audit.

Internal Audits & Corrective Actions

- Develop and maintain the internal quality audit schedule in coordination with the Quality Management team.

- Plan, conduct, document, and follow up on internal audits.

- Perform product, process, procedural, and system audits.

- Analyze audit findings and non-conformity reports.

- Participate in and facilitate root cause investigations.

- Lead or support corrective and preventive action activities.

- Work with responsible departments to establish corrective action plans, responsibilities, and completion dates.

- Verify corrective action effectiveness before closing findings.

- Escalate overdue or ineffective corrective actions to Quality Management.

- Maintain accurate audit and corrective action records within the applicable electronic systems.

Customer Complaints

- Review and respond to customer quality complaints and documentation requests.

- Lead or support investigations into customer complaints.

- Collect production records, samples, quality data, and supporting documentation required for investigations.

- Perform root cause analysis in partnership with Production and Technical teams.

- Develop corrective actions addressing identified root causes.

- Enter customer complaints and corrective actions into the electronic X3 Web system .

- Monitor customer complaints through completion and closure.

- Prepare professional customer responses and supporting quality documentation.

- Identify recurring complaint trends and recommend preventive actions.

Supplier Quality

- Investigate supplier-related quality issues.

- Document supplier complaints and non-conformities in the appropriate systems.

- Prepare supplier claims and supporting documentation.

- Communicate quality concerns and required corrective actions to suppliers when appropriate.

- Monitor supplier corrective actions and verify effectiveness where applicable.

- Support supplier performance reviews and quality improvement activities.

Measuring Instruments & Calibration

- Support the management of measuring and testing equipment.

- Maintain calibration schedules and calibration documentation.

- Verify that measuring instruments used for product acceptance remain within required calibration periods.

- Assist the responsible Process Manager with calibration procedures, records, and equipment controls.

- Identify and escalate expired, damaged, or potentially inaccurate measuring equipment.

Quality Management System Documentation

- Support the QMS Director with the maintenance and continuous improvement of the Quality Management System.

- Create, revise, review, distribute, and remove controlled documents as required.

- Support document control for policies, procedures, work instructions, forms, specifications, and quality records.

- Ensure obsolete documents are properly removed from use.

- Assist departments in understanding and implementing revised quality procedures.

- Maintain documentation required to demonstrate compliance during customer, certification, and regulatory audits.

Continuous Improvement

- Analyze quality trends, complaints, audit findings, non-conformities, and corrective actions to identify recurring issues.

- Participate in cross-functional improvement projects.

- Recommend process improvements that reduce defects, customer complaints, rework, waste, and quality-related costs.

- Support the development of quality KPIs and reporting.

- Participate in additional improvement initiatives assigned by the immediate supervisor or IML Labels management.

Leadership Responsibilities

- Provide guidance and technical support to Quality Technicians and Production employees regarding quality and food safety requirements.

- Assist with training employees on quality procedures, inspection requirements, document control, and food safety expectations.

- Promote a culture of quality ownership, food safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.

- Serve as a resource for Production leadership when immediate quality decisions are required.

- Support the Quality leadership team in communicating quality expectations throughout the facility.

Requirements

- Strong written and verbal communication skills.

- Strong knowledge of manufacturing quality assurance practices.

- Working knowledge of FSSC 22000 or comparable food safety / quality management systems .

- Experience participating in or leading internal quality and food safety audits.

- Ability to support external certification and customer audits.

- Strong audit, investigation, and root cause analysis skills.

- Experience managing non-conformities and corrective actions.

- Strong analytical and problem-solving ability.

- Strong attention to detail.

- High level of integrity and professional judgment.

- Ability to work independently and make appropriate quality decisions.

- Strong organizational and follow-up skills.

- Ability to influence Production and cross-functional teams.

- Leadership and coaching skills.

- Adaptable and comfortable working in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

- Proficient with Microsoft Office and web-based quality systems.

- Ability to work physically within a manufacturing environment, including standing, walking, lifting, inspecting, and sorting products when required.

- English required.

- Spanish is considered an asset but is not required.

Education and Experience

- High school diploma or equivalent required.

- Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Quality, Manufacturing, Engineering, Food Science, Business, or a related discipline preferred.

- 3–5+ years of Quality Assurance experience in a manufacturing environment preferred.

- Previous experience in label, printing, packaging, food packaging, or related manufacturing strongly preferred.

- Experience working within an FSSC 22000-certified environment strongly preferred.

- Experience supporting or participating in FSSC 22000 certification, surveillance, recertification, customer, or internal audits preferred.

- Experience with internal auditing, non-conformance management, CAPA, root cause analysis, and corrective action verification preferred.

- Internal Auditor training or certification is considered an asset.

- Previous leadership, lead, senior technician, or quality coordination experience preferred.

Equal Employment Opportunity

IML Labels Chicago Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, marital status, or any other status protected by applicable law.

Women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and protected veterans are encouraged to apply.