smalls - FSQA Associate
Requirements
• You hold a Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Animal Science, or a related field. • You have 1–3 years of experience in a food, beverage, or pet food QA role. • You have working knowledge of micro testing protocols (APC, listeria, salmonella, E. coli) and lab coordination workflows. • You are strong communicator — comfortable working across co-mans, labs, CS, and internal ops via Slack and email. • You have demonstrated attention to detail with high-volume documentation work. • You are comfortable with ambiguity and the operational tempo of a fast-growing CPG. • You're willing to travel • HACCP and/or PCQI certification. • Prior experience with co-man networks and SARF/cutting form workflows. • Pet food, fresh food, or freeze-dried manufacturing experience. • Exposure to investigation/CAPA methodology. • Comfort with AI-assisted workflows.
Responsibilities
• ROUTINE PRODUCTION TESTING & HOLD/RELEASE (≈40% OF TIME) • Schedule and coordinate micro testing across all SKUs (smooth/ground, pulled, freeze-dried, lickable, broth, treats). • Generate and track lab submission forms for micro tests; manage the end-to-end cycle from sample collection through lab turnaround, results review, and release. • Execute hold/release decisions across all SKUs each month. • Review cutting forms, log results, send release emails, and maintain release records. • Coordinate production verification and nutritional testing each month. • CS QUALITY LIAISON (≈20% OF TIME) • Monitor the CS-Food channel as the primary QA point of contact. • Triage incoming complaints within hours: classify severity, request additional info from CS, and determine whether an issue is cosmetic, food safety, or requires a formal investigation. • Resolve low-complexity complaints directly with CS; escalate food safety and high-impact issues to the Sr. Manager, FSQA with a clean handoff packet. • Own complaint response SLAs — triage within hours, resolution within 2–3 days for non-investigation issues. • COMPLAINT & FOOD SAFETY INVESTIGATION SUPPORT (≈15% OF TIME) • Open and document formal quality investigations under the direction of the Sr. Manager, FSQA. • Gather supporting evidence: lab results, batch records, cutting forms, supplier COAs, and CS complaint history. • Coordinate with co-mans and suppliers to collect root cause data. • Draft investigation reports and CAPA documentation for the Sr. Manager, FSQA's review and sign-off. • Support food safety investigations (e.g., micro, raw materials, food production records) • DATA INPUT, DOCUMENTATION & REPORTING (≈20% OF TIME) • Log all test results, hold/release decisions, and complaint data into the internal compliant trackers. • Maintain the co-man and supplier quality document library — chase certificates, food safety docs, EPR packaging info, and keep documents current. • Produce the weekly QA digest (internal compliant trackers, CS-Food channel summary, weekly team meeting highlights). • Pull data inputs for the Sr. Manager, FSQA's period reporting and trend analyses. • CROSS-FUNCTIONAL COORDINATION (≈5% OF TIME) • Participate in co-man and 3PL quality calls as the standing QA representative. • Handle communication with 3PLs — hold/release instructions, tickets, and sample inspections. • Communicate with the CS team to address customer food quality inquiries and complaints, providing investigation results and feedback.
Benefits
• $65K – $85K • Offers Equity • Upload your resume here to autofill key application fields. • Drop your resume here! • Parsing your resume. Autofilling key fields... • or drag and drop here • Tell us about yourself & your interest in Smalls. • I prefer not to answer • Another Gender Identity • Heterosexual / straight • Asian or Asian American • Black or African American • Hispanic or Latine • Indigenous or Native American • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander • Person with disability • Refugee or immigrant • None of the above • Decline to self-identify • Hispanic or Latino - A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. • Hispanic or Latino • White (Not Hispanic or Latino) - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. • White • Black or African American (Not Hispanic or Latino) - A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (Not Hispanic or Latino) - A person having origins in any of the peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. • Asian (Not Hispanic or Latino) - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. • Asian • American Indian or Alaska Native (Not Hispanic or Latino) - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment. • American Indian or Alaska Native • Two or More Races (Not Hispanic or Latino) - All persons who identify with more than one of the above five races. • Two or More Races • Hispanic or Latino • White (Not Hispanic or Latino) • Black or African American (Not Hispanic or Latino) • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (Not Hispanic or Latino) • Asian (Not Hispanic or Latino) • American Indian or Alaska Native (Not Hispanic or Latino) • Two or More Races (Not Hispanic or Latino) • I identify as one or more of the classifications of protected veteran listed above • I am not a protected veteran
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