Quality Engineer - Operational Excellence

***SUMMARY:*** saturn petcare is a state-of-the-art pet food manufacturing facility committed to delivering safe, high-quality products in compliance with regulatory and customer requirements. The Quality Engineer – Operational Excellence plays a critical role in driving continuous improvement initiatives across the site. This position operates within a cross-functional team focused on process optimization, root cause analysis, corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), and data-driven decision-making. This role ensures that all improvement activities are executed in alignment with food safety, SQF, FDA, and low-acid canned food (LACF) regulatory requirements, while improving process capability, reducing waste, and enhancing operational performance. This role reports to the Quality Control Manager with a dotted line to the Operational Excellence Director **Essential Duties and Responsibilities:** include the following. Other duties may be assigned. - Lead and support cross-functional improvement projects targeting process efficiency, scrap reduction, and product quality. - Facilitate and execute root cause analysis (RCA) using structured methodologies (e.g., 5-Why, Fishbone, Fault Tree). - Develop, implement, and verify Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA) to ensure sustainable resolution of issues. - Analyze production and quality data to identify trends, variability, and improvement opportunities. - Partner with Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, and Quality to ensure process improvements are practical, validated, and sustained. - Ensure all changes and improvements comply with: - SQF Code requirements - FSMA Preventive Controls - FDA LACF (21 CFR 113) regulations - Support process validation and verification activities, including thermal process capability and critical control points. - Drive standardization through work instructions, SOPs, and best practices. - Participate in and support internal audits, customer audits, and regulatory inspections. - Lead or support non-conformance investigations. - Utilize statistical tools to evaluate process performance and capability. - Collaborate with R&D and Engineering on new product and process introductions, ensuring food safety and quality risks are addressed. **Supervisory Responsibilities:** None **Qualifications and Duties:** To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The Quality Engineer should possess knowledge, skills and abilities listed below: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. **Education and/or Experience:** - Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Engineering, Microbiology, Chemistry, or related field. - 3–7+ years of experience in food manufacturing (pet food strongly preferred). - Demonstrated experience in process improvement, RCA, and CAPA systems. - Working knowledge of: SQF, HACCP, FSMA, FDA LACF requirements (21 CFR 113) - Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, or Operational Excellence methodologies (certification preferred). - Strong data analysis capability (Excel, Minitab, SPC tools). - Experience with SAP and document management systems. - Strong problem-solving and analytical skills. - Ability to translate data into actionable insights and practical solutions. - Effective cross-functional collaboration and communication to various levels of the organization. - Project management and prioritization skills. - Ability to operate in a fast-paced manufacturing environment while maintaining compliance. - ASQ Quality Engineer Certification preferred - Experience in wet pet food and/or low-acid canned food (LACF) preferred. - Ability to interpret thermal processing data and process capability preferred. **Computer Skills:** The successful candidate must be proficient in MS Office applications, Minitab (or equivalent statistical software), SAP and a DMS program. **Language Skills:** Ability to read and interpret documents su…