Plant QC & Lab Operations Manager

Company Overview

Our client is a globally celebrated, European -headquartered multinational manufacturer and market leader in gourmet beverage solutions, premium flavored syrups, specialty sauces, and advanced fruit preparations. Renowned for culinary innovation and strict international quality benchmarks, their state -of -the -art automated manufacturing facility in Selangor serves as the primary production engine for the Asia -Pacific region. To lead their active, high -turnover testing laboratories and maintain absolute product compliance, they are seeking a highly technical, hands -on Plant QC & Laboratory Operations Manager.

Important Sourcing Filter (Read Before Applying)

• This is NOT a pure desktop auditing, documentation -heavy, or desk -bound QMS role.
  

• We are specifically seeking a highly present, floor -active technical leader who thrives on the physical production lines, actively manages chemical/microbiological testing laboratories, directs raw material trial runs, and makes real -time, high -stakes food safety and process validation decisions directly on the factory floor.
  

Mission

The Plant QC & Laboratory Operations Manager holds full operational accountability for the day -to -day inspection, raw material verification, in -process control, laboratory accuracy, and final product release mechanisms of the plant. Operating as the primary defense against production defects, this role focuses heavily on chemical/microbiological laboratory supervision, resolving physical vendor material failures, and managing technical floor trials, while maintaining the plant's overall GFSI and regulatory compliance frameworks.

Key Responsibilities & Activities

1. Shopfloor Quality Control, Lab Management & Real -Time Decision Making

• Active Plant Control: Lead and manage all daily Quality Control (QC) operations on the manufacturing floor, including incoming raw materials, in -process parameters, high -speed automated line testing, and final release protocols.
  

• Laboratory Leadership: Manage the physical laboratory infrastructure, ensuring chemical, physical, and microbiological testing setups are fully resourced, calibrated, and compliant.
  

• On -Floor Incident Response: Serve as the immediate technical authority on the line for food safety, contamination, process variations, or physical/chemical deviations, making swift, data -driven decisions to halt, release, or adjust batches.
  

• Culture Leadership: Drive a zero -defect, high -accountability food safety and quality culture among production line operators and QC technicians.
  

2. Vendor Quality Management & Technical Line Trials

• Supplier Performance Monitoring: Develop and run the supplier quality program, managing incoming raw material/packaging non -conformances and driving corrective actions with key suppliers.
  

• Raw Material Trials: Personally lead the quality validation, physical testing, and line trials for all new raw materials, trial ingredients, and packaging components prior to factory scaling.
  

• Incident Investigations: Investigate and resolve customer complaints linked to raw material failures, performing deep -dive root cause analyses alongside suppliers.
  

3. Pragmatic QMS, Audits & Compliance Support

• Practical System Alignment: Support the Food Safety Team Leader (FSTL) in maintaining active, functional alignment with GFSI standards, HACCP protocols, SMETA social compliance, and local regulatory mandates.
  

• Audit Frontline: Serve as a key technical representative during third -party certification audits, corporate reviews, and customer inspections.
  

• CAPA Execution: Ensure that all non -conformances identified during audits translate into concrete, practical shopfloor habits, preventing administrative "paper -only" resolutions.
  

4. B2B Client & Online Spec Management

• Account Specifications: Supervise the compilation, verification, and timely submission of technical product specifications and online portals for premium regional B2B key accounts.
  

Requirements

Education & Professional Registrations

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Food Engineering, Chemistry, or a closely related science -based technical discipline.
  

• Professional Edge: Active registration as a Registered Food Analyst with the Malaysian Ministry of Health (KKM) is highly advantageous.
  

Technical Competencies & Experience

• Professional Background: Minimum of 5+ years of active managerial experience directly leading hands -on QC operations and laboratory departments within a food, dairy, liquid beverage, or FMCG manufacturing facility.
  

• Hands -on Mastery: Strong, demonstrable experience managing chemical/microbiological lab testing, instrument calibrations, on -line process validations, and physical trial runs.
  

• Regulatory Compliance: Practical experience managing audits for GFSI certifications (such as FSSC 22000, BRCGS, or SQF), HACCP frameworks, and SMETA requirements.
  

• Software Literacy: Familiarity utilizing enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms (such as JD Edwards/JDE) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) databases is highly preferred.
  

• Root Cause Analytical Skills: Highly structured approach to problem -solving, with proven mastery of tools such as 5 -Why Analysis, Ishikawa (Fishbone) diagrams, and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA).
  

Personal Attributes

• Assertive Decision Maker: Comfortable standing ground on the production floor when defending quality standards, with the interpersonal skills to influence production leaders positively.
  

• Bilingual Capability: Strong verbal and written English communication skills to interface effectively with global suppliers, corporate auditors, and regional key account representatives.