Quality Assurance Manager - West Debone
At Pilgrim’s, Safety Is A Condition, which means the safety of our team members comes first - always.
As the Sanitation Manager, you will lead all sanitation operations within the Pilgrim’s poultry processing plant, ensuring compliance with food safety, cleanliness, and regulatory standards. You will provide direction to sanitation supervisors, supporting their daily efforts to execute effective cleaning procedures and maintain proper use of equipment and chemicals. You will partner across teams to coordinate sanitation activities, verify adherence to USDA, OSHA, and company requirements, and proactively address issues that impact food safety or operational performance. Strong leadership, attention to detail, and the ability to drive continuous improvement are essential to maintaining a safe, sanitary environment that supports reliable, high‑quality production.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities
- Manage, plan, coordinate, and direct quality control programs to ensure consistent production and service aligned with established standards.
- Develop and apply statistical analysis to monitor and improve food safety and quality performance.
- Implement food safety and quality procedures in alignment with Pilgrim’s corporate and facility programs.
- Develop the site’s quality budget using zero-based budgeting techniques; analyze spend to drive cost reduction.
- Build and maintain cooperative relationships within the facility and with external partners, including customers.
- Serve as a key member of the facility leadership team.
- Prevent product and company risk by managing nonconforming product processes, QA HOLDs, and corrective action programs.
- Coordinate with operations and quality teams to investigate customer complaints and ensure timely resolution.
- Promote and organize training activities related to food safety and quality assurance.
- Collaborate with facility teams to resolve personnel and processing issues using root cause analysis.
- Coach and train FSQA team members to ensure clear understanding of departmental expectations.
- Lead customer, third-party, and USDA/FSIS/ASM audits.
Basic Qualifications
- Previous supervisory experience required.
- Experience in poultry further processing or slaughter preferred.
- Strong understanding of USDA and OSHA regulations.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint); SAP experience preferred.
- Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills.
- Demonstrated leadership, analytical, and math skills.
- High integrity, dependability, and strong work ethic.
- Self-motivated, flexible, and adaptable to a fast-paced environment.
- GFSI (BRC specifically) training preferred.
Candidate Expectations
- Willingness to travel as needed, with overnight stays of 1–4 days.
- Flexibility to work varying days and shifts, including occasional weekends.
- Ability to work independently and uphold PPC’s values and FSQA programs.
- Maintain a positive and cooperative work atmosphere.
- Navigate processing areas and equipment safely.
- Recognize and act on safety and food safety risks; consistently enforce safe work habits across the facility.
Educational Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Food Science or a related field, or
- Five (5) years of relevant experience/training, or
- Equivalent combination of education and experience.
Work Environment
- Exposure to both office and production environments.
- Production areas may include wet/humid conditions and moving mechanical parts.
- Noise levels in production areas are typically loud
Why Work for Pilgrim’s?
- Schedule: Monday – Friday; does require some weekend work;
- Benefits: Vision, Medical, and Dental coverage begin after 60 days of employment;
- Paid Time Off: Sick leave, vacation, company observed holidays or, any other statutorily required paid leave;
- 401(k): company match begins after the first year of service and follows the company vesting schedule;
- Base salary range of $90,005 - $100,000; based on experience;
- Career Development: Our company is dedicated to supporting professional growth by offering continuous learning opportunities and a focus on career growth through various learning and development programs;
- Better Futures
The Company is dedicated to ensuring a safe and secure environment for our team members and visitors. To assist in achieving that goal, we conduct drug, alcohol, and background checks for all new team members post-offer and prior to the start of employment. The Immigration Reform and Control Act requires that verification of employment eligibility be documented for all new employees by the end of the third day of work.
About us: Pilgrim’s is a leading global food company with more than 62,000 team members worldwide. The company processes, prepares, packages, and delivers fresh, frozen, and value-added food products for customers in more than 100 countries. Pilgrim’s operates protein processing plants and prepared foods facilities in 14 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the U.K, the Republic of Ireland and continental Europe.
Our vision: Become the best and most respected company in our industry creating the opportunity of a better future for our team members.
Our core values are: Availability, Determination, Discipline, Humility, Ownership, Simplicity, Sincerity
EOE, including disability/vets
Unsolicited Assistance: Pilgrim's does not accept unsolicited assistance from any recruitment vendors for any of our open jobs. All resumes or candidate profiles submitted by recruitment vendors or headhunters to any employee at Pilgrim's or via the applicant tracking system, in any form without a valid written request and search agreement previously approved by HR, will be solely owned by Pilgrim's. No fees will be paid should the candidate be hired by Pilgrim's because of an unsolicited referral