Food Science, Quality Assurance Lead

Food Science, Quality Assurance Lead About Us: Royal Pet, manufacturer of ZoomaChew and private label Dog Treats like Greenies and Dentastix, is well-known and established in the marketplace for our brands, packaging and product quality. We are proud to be family owned and operated since 1996. Our company strategy has centered on delivering innovative, healthy, price valued, food-safe products to our customers. *Benefits include: Health, paid holidays, personal and vacation days, Health Plan, Simple IRA w/company contribution, Summer Hours and more! Job description and Key Responsibilities: Research & Development: ·Formulation & Bench Prototyping: Develop and refine new dog treat recipes, creating initial prototypes to evaluate texture, palatability, and nutritional profiles. ·Scaling Up: Lead the transition of approved bench prototypes to full-scale manufacturing, troubleshooting issues during pilot plant runs. ·Specification Management: Create and maintain detailed technical specifications for all new products, including ingredient decks and physical attributes like density and weight. ·Manage and handle all state certifications. ·Learn, implement and oversee all labeling requirements. ·Work with 3rd Party Partners: Kennel Testings, Digestability, Functional & More. ·Work with and find Ingredient Suppliers as necessary. Food Quality Assurance: Maintain standard operating procedures for all Quality Assurance Food Safety and Sanitation functions: ·Analytical Testing: Perform and oversee physical and chemical analysis of raw materials and finished goods, including moisture content, water activity (a_w), pH levels, and texture analysis. Perform hourly metal detector checks and maintain logs. Verify weights of the packages every hour and maintain logs. Verify the CCPs in production equipment. Collect samples: raw materials, intermediates and finished goods to submit for microbial testing and evaluation at contract labs. Enter data and released products in SAP system. Segregate and mark any non-conforming product identified while performing line verifications or product evaluation. Verify shipping and receiving paperwork. Check incoming raw materials, ensuring the Certificate of Analysis matches. Assist with SQF Programs and Audits Customer complaint system and reply to source of report. Communicate quality issues to assist in procurement of raw material. Participate in conducting internal audits. Technology: ·Learn how to operate all production equipment. ·Learn and develop continuous process improvements. ·Troubleshoot with peers to solve production proficiency. ·IT related improvements as necessary, ie, new software, productive measurements & monitoring. ·Updates to any new or existing SOP tools. ·Explore, learn, implement as necessary any tools on ChatGpt, Claude or other AI platforms. Requirements: EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE Bachelor’s degree preferred, relevant field to food safety. Basic knowledge of product traceability. Basic knowledge of product ingredients and formulations. HACCP and PCQI Certified SKILLS & ABILITIES Strong oral and written communication skills with the ability to communicate clearly and effectively with all levels of personnel, customers, suppliers, and other business contacts Ability to proactively identify challenges and develop solutions High level of integrity and accountability Excellent follow up skills Ability to handle multiple assignments simultaneously Must be comfortable working independently with minimal oversight Ability to make sound judgments Strong problem solving skills Good presentation skills Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point experience Time management and prioritization skills, ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment.

Created: 2026-05-13