Sr. FSQA Specialist - PhD REQUIRED (New Grads Encouraged)

A leader within the food industry in the Chino, CA area is seeking a Senior FSQA Specialist that will serve as a primary technical lead for their safety programs. You MUST HAVE a PhD in an Animal Science or Food Safety discipline to be considered. This is non-negotiable. New grad or combination of USDA manufacturing and PhD will be considered. This is a highly "hands-on" individual contributor role that requires a balance of floor-level implementation and high-level scientific strategy. You will report directly to the Technical Services Manager.

Primary Responsibilities

• Scientific Validation: Design and oversee validation studies for antimicrobial interventions and shelf-life stability.
• Regulatory Liaison: Act as a technical point of contact for USDA-FSIS inspectors and lead the plant through comprehensive audits.
• HACCP Management: Develop, implement, and maintain rigorous HACCP, HARPC, and SSOP programs specifically tailored to beef slaughter and fabrication.
• Hands-on Monitoring: Spend significant time on the production floor validating that the theoretical food safety programs are being executed correctly in practice.
• Continuous Improvement: Analyze pathogen prevalence data and environmental monitoring trends to drive data-based process improvements.

Requirements

Education

• PhD in Animal Science or Food Safety is mandatory.
• Note to New Grads: We highly encourage applications from recent doctoral graduates who possess a strong research background in meat science, carcass microbiology, or food safety systems.

Experience (If not a new PhD grad)

• A combination of a PhD and direct USDA-regulated beef processing experience.
• In-depth knowledge of USDA-FSIS regulations (specifically 9 CFR 417).
• Demonstrated experience managing food safety in a large-scale beef harvest or fabrication environment.

Technical Skills

• Expertise in statistical analysis software and data visualization.
• Comprehensive understanding of beef-specific pathogens (e.g., STECs, Salmonella).
• Strong verbal and written communication skills for presenting complex data to both executive leadership and floor-level production teams.