Quality Assurance Specialist

#ComeJoinTheFun with us as our Quality Assurance Specialist and be part of #MakingCandyFun!

At R.M. Palmer Company, our mission is clear: driving innovation that celebrates life’s special moments by focusing on value and integrity while making candy fun in everything we do. We take pride in blending creativity and tradition to deliver products that spark joy, bring smiles, and create lasting memories, one candy at a time.

Since 1948, R.M. Palmer Company, LLC has grown from just 4 employees and 4 products into a leading manufacturer of imaginative chocolate novelties with more than 500 unique products and over 600 full-time employees. Today, we operate two manufacturing facilities and a distribution center the size of 11 football fields, producing more than 50 million pounds of product each year.

Our continued success is built on the people and values that drive us every day. We believe in getting it done with urgency, ownership, and accountability. We challenge ourselves to break it better through innovation, curiosity, and continuous improvement. We own the outcome by taking responsibility and acting in the best interest of our team, customers, and company. We play to win by focusing on results and striving for excellence in everything we do. Most importantly, we aim to leave them smiling by bringing positivity, teamwork, passion, and energy to every interaction.

If you are ready to grow your career in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment where accountability, innovation, and collaboration are valued, we encourage you to apply and become part of the R.M. Palmer team.

The Quality Assurance Specialist plays a key role in ensuring food safety, product quality, and regulatory compliance throughout the manufacturing process. This hands-on position partners closely with Production, Sanitation, Maintenance, Warehouse, and Receiving teams to conduct audits, investigate quality issues, verify sanitation and environmental monitoring programs, and support continuous improvement initiatives. The ideal candidate has experience in food manufacturing quality systems and a strong understanding of SQF, HACCP, FDA, FSMA, GMPs, and other food safety standards. While this role does not have direct supervisory responsibility, it serves as a technical quality resource by providing guidance, training, and support to drive compliance and protect product quality. 

 Openings available on all shifts. Candidates must be able to support a 24-hour manufacturing operation.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Ensure compliance with SQF, HACCP, FDA, FSMA, GMP, and company food safety and quality standards throughout the manufacturing process. 
• Perform production line inspections, process verifications, product evaluations, sampling, and testing to ensure products meet established quality specifications. 
• Execute product hold and release activities, investigate quality concerns, support root cause analysis, and verify corrective and preventive actions. 
• Conduct environmental monitoring, including ATP testing, microbiological sampling, pathogen swabbing, and sanitation verification in accordance with the Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP). 
• Perform internal audits, GMP inspections, and quality system assessments while supporting SQF, customer, and regulatory audits. 
• Inspect incoming raw materials and packaging, document nonconformances, and assist with supplier quality investigations. 
• Maintain accurate quality documentation and support continuous improvement of food safety and quality management systems. 
• Provide food safety, quality, GMP, and sanitation guidance to production teams while partnering cross-functionally to promote a culture of quality and regulatory compliance.

• High school diploma or GED required; Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Biology, Chemistry, Microbiology, Quality Assurance, or a related field preferred. 
• Minimum of 3 years of Quality Assurance or Food Safety experience in a food, beverage, pharmaceutical, or other GMP-regulated manufacturing environment; food manufacturing experience strongly preferred. 
• Working knowledge of SQF, HACCP, FDA, FSMA, GMPs, sanitation programs, environmental monitoring, and food safety/quality systems. 
• Experience conducting production inspections, process verification, product evaluations, quality investigations, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and supporting internal or external audits. 
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and electronic quality management or ERP systems; Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central experience preferred. 
• HACCP, Internal Auditor, and/or PCQI certifications preferred (or the ability to obtain PCQI certification within one year). 
• Strong analytical, organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills with the ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. 
• Confectionery or other high-speed food manufacturing experience preferred, along with a commitment to food safety, continuous improvement, and R.M. Palmer's core values.