Lab Technician

The Laboratory Technician works in coordination with the Laboratory Supervisor, FSQR Manager, Plant Manager and Plant Operators to ensure safe and high-quality commodities through strict control and inspection of raw materials, products in process and final product outputs.  This individual will have a direct impact on building and maintaining a positive food safety and quality culture throughout the plant through training of employees as well as monitoring compliance to quality and testing procedures. This is a fairly broad position that includes various levels of commodity lab testing and analysis, employee and facility auditing, document verification, and continuous improvement initiatives. This person should have high attention to detail, be an effective communicator, and be a team player.

 

Quality System

• Maintains quality system by performing annual documentary reviews
• Assists Laboratory Supervisor with reviewing and updating operating procedures to maintain product quality requirements.
• Document and monitor corrective actions.
• Conduct internal quality audits. 

Third Party Laboratory Management

• Manage third-party or external laboratory service provider relationships that create reliable and timely results according to business requirements.
• Ensure that samples are collected according to established procedures.
• Collaborates with suppliers of raw materials to obtain representative samples of the different lots purchased either at the plant or at the supplier's premises.
• Maintain reliable records of the identification and traceability of samples sent to external laboratories.
• Ensure that the results of the analyzed samples are reported in accordance with established specifications and timelines.
• Verifies results are consistent and adhering to established standards and specifications. In the event of a deviation, must request the corresponding resampling, retesting, and validations.
• Manages the issuance of required reports and certificates to external analysis service providers.
• Captures the results of all analysis in electronic records to maintain information flow to the other departments of the organization (logistics, commercial).
• Conduct annual audits of external laboratory service providers to validate general conditions, infrastructure and the reliability of results to recommend them as approved suppliers
• Assists Laboratory Supervisor with creation and revision of standard procedures and reduce ambiguities in results through evaluation of analytical procedures.

Quality Control

• Conducts quality monitoring with the support of operational staff to ensure compliance with standards at each stage of the process.
• Follows sterile sampling tasks to collect representative samples of the different stages for analysis and confirmation of compliance with product designs.
• Follows samples plan to inspect for any deviations or to corroborate the quality and integrity of the products.
• Maintains reliable records of different laboratory tests.
• Maintains logs of the equipment calibrations to monitor for correct functioning.
• Coordinates with the production team to implement corrective actions.
• Responsible for monitoring the quality of stored retain products by evaluating samples and analyzing them according to the established schedule and specifications.
• Assists with monitoring the facilities to prevent the presence of pests through pest control programs.
• Verifies in coordination with the Laboratory Supervisor, FSQR Manager, and the Plant Manager that the products are correctly identified and maintain their identity on a permanent basis.

Customer service

• Keeps traceability in the internal records to recover the history of each processed product that support the investigation and identification of the root causes of the problem.
• Retrieves retention samples in custody for eventual valuation.
• In the case of identifying deviations, assists the Laboratory Supervisor with the investigation and documentation of all corrective and preventive actions that apply.

About You 

• HS diploma or GED required; college degree in a related field or equivalent experience is preferred.
• 1-2 years in a related position within Food and/o