Quality Assurance Manager

We’re partnering with a leading dairy manufacturer to help them identify an experienced FSQA Manager for their Southwest Wisconsin facility. The company produces nationally recognized Hispanic food products, including cheese, dairy, and other refrigerated foods sold throughout the U.S. Reporting to the Senior Director of Quality, the successful candidate will be a hands-on quality leader with strong technical knowledge and a collaborative leadership style. This individual will lead an approximately 11-person FSQA team, oversee the plant’s food safety and quality programs, and partner closely with Operations and Sanitation to strengthen systems and drive continuous improvement. What You'll Do You’ll lead the plant’s food safety and quality function while building strong partnerships across the operation. Lead, coach, and develop the FSQA team. Oversee day-to-day food safety and quality programs, testing, monitoring, and compliance. Lead plant audits, inspections, corrective actions, and food safety initiatives. Partner with Operations, Production, and Sanitation to maintain standards and resolve issues. Manage HACCP, FSMA, SQF, environmental monitoring, and other quality programs. Use quality data and metrics to identify trends and drive improvements. Maintain food safety plans, SOPs, documentation, and audit readiness. Support customer and regulatory requirements. Drive continuous improvement across quality systems and processes. Why This Role Leadership & Team Impact You’ll lead and develop an established FSQA team while strengthening accountability and performance. Plant-Level Ownership You’ll have ownership of the Monroe quality function with the ability to make decisions, set priorities, and drive improvements. Continuous Improvement You’ll have the opportunity to strengthen existing programs and modernize quality systems and processes. Cross-Functional Partnership You’ll work closely with Operations, Production, Sanitation, and Corporate Quality to support the plant and solve problems. On-Site Collaboration Based in Monroe, Wisconsin, this role offers hands-on leadership and close connection to the plant floor. Who You Are An experienced food safety and quality professional with 10+ years in food manufacturing/quality and progressive leadership experience. Experienced owning or leading food safety and quality programs within a manufacturing facility. Knowledgeable in HACCP, FSMA, SQF, GMPs, SOPs, SSOPs, environmental monitoring, CAPA, and Food Safety Plans. Experienced with regulatory and audit requirements, including FDA, USDA, SQF, and customer audits. Comfortable partnering with Operations and Sanitation while maintaining strong quality standards. A hands-on, collaborative leader who can develop people, solve problems, and lead change. Requirements Experience in cheese or dairy manufacturing, or another wet, higher-risk food manufacturing environment. SQF Practitioner certification or willingness to obtain. HACCP and/or PCQI certification. Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement experience. Bilingual English/Spanish skills.