QA Specialist Job Listing at Kelly Services in Kankakee, IL (Job ID US3547371_BH9769129)

Description

Kelly Science has an immediate opening for a Lead Lab Tech/QA Specialist for our growing client in Kankakee, IL
Full-time
Direct Hire
Pay: $25-$30/hr
Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-5pm

Position Summary:

We are seeking a dedicated Lead Lab Tech/Quality Assurance Specialist to join our team and uphold our commitment to food safety, quality, and excellence. Working closely with the Plant Manager, you will oversee product safety, compliance, and cost reduction initiatives while ensuring adherence to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and our Food Safety & Quality System. Your expertise in quality assurance, regulatory compliance, and analytical testing will play a vital role in delivering top-tier products to our customers.

Key Responsibilities:

• Monitor, evaluate, and report on the quality and safety of raw materials and finished products, ensuring compliance with company and regulatory standards.
• Conduct sensory evaluations, visual inspections, and analytical testing (moisture analysis, granulation, absorption) to maintain product integrity.
• Enforce and assess GMP compliance among employees, implementing improvements as needed.
• Assist in the development, review, and implementation of QA procedures, internal audits, and corrective actions.
• Maintain quality documentation, ensuring proper record-keeping, archival storage, and regulatory compliance.
• Support the plant's food safety programs, including HACCP, HARPC (FSMA compliance), environmental monitoring (swabbing), and customer complaint resolution.
• Train new employees on FSQA protocols, fostering a culture of food safety and continuous improvement.
• Manage the internal audit and analysis schedule, ensuring alignment with third-party audit standards (SQF, BRC, Safe Feed/Safe Food).
• Collaborate with Operations and other business units to resolve product discrepancies and enhance processes.
• Oversee the finished goods hold/release system, ensuring timely resolution of quality concerns.

Qualifications & Skills:

• Education & Certification: Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI) certification required.
• Experience: Prior experience in food manufacturing quality assurance or regulatory compliance preferred.
• Technical Expertise: Strong understanding of food safety regulations, QA procedures, and laboratory testing methods.
• Problem-Solving: Ability to analyze complex issues, identify root causes, and implement effective solutions.
• Communication: Strong verbal and written skills to train employees and collaborate across departments.
• Attention to Detail: Commitment to maintaining high-quality standards and ensuring compliance.

Physical & Work Environment Requirements:

• Ability to lift and carry up to 50 lbs., stand for extended periods, and work in varied environmental conditions (heat, cold, humidity, airborne dust).
• Exposure to moving machinery, chemicals, and production equipment.
• Required use of safety equipment, including bump caps, hearing protection, hair/beard nets, gloves, and safety boots.

Why Join Us?

We are committed to delivering uncompromising quality and fostering a family-oriented yet professionally driven culture. We provide opportunities for growth, continuous learning, and the chance to make a meaningful impact in the food industry.

If you're passionate about food safety, quality, and innovation, we'd love to hear from you!

As part of our promise to talent, Kelly supports those who work with us through a variety of benefits, perks, and work-related resources. Kelly offers eligible employees voluntary benefit plans including medical, dental, vision, telemedicine, term life, whole life, accident insurance, critical illness, a legal plan, and short-term disability. As a Kelly employee, you will have access to a retirement savings plan, service bonus and holiday pay plans (earn up to eight paid holidays per benefit year), and a transit spending account. In addition, employees are entitled to earn paid sick leave under the applicable state or local plan. Click here for more information on benefits and perks that may be available to you as a member of the Kelly Talent Community.

Why Kelly® Science & Clinical?

Kelly Science & Clinical is your connection to premier scientific and clinical companies looking to hire industry experts just like you. Our team creates expert talent solutions to solve the world's most critical challenges. Every day, we match science professionals with dream jobs that fit their skills, interests, and career goals—it's the way we think job searching should be. Nearly 100 percent of our science recruiters have a professional background and education in science, so we know a thing or two about the science market and how to get your expertise noticed.

About Kelly

Work changes everything. And at Kelly, we're obsessed with where it can take you. To us, it's about more than simply accepting your next job opportunity. It's the fuel that powers every next step of your life. It's the ripple effect that changes and improves everything for your family, your community, and the world. Which is why, here at Kelly, we are dedicated to providing you with limitless opportunities to enrich your life—just ask the 300,000 people we employ each year.

Kelly is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants regardless of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and we take affirmative action to recruit, employ, and advance qualified individuals with disabilities and protected veterans in the workforce. Requests for accommodation related to our application process can be directed to the Kelly Human Resource Knowledge Center. Kelly complies with the requirements of California's state and local Fair Chance laws. A conviction does not automatically bar individuals from employment. Kelly participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S.

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