QA Technician

PORTA is an authentic Italian manufacturer of artisanal, ready-to-cook frozen meals. We produce restaurant-quality dishes using only the finest Italian and locally-sourced ingredients, traditional recipes and a very simple cooking process that takes less than 15-minutes.

We want to make every home cook feel like a chef and we do that by making it easier to access, order and cook the best that Italy has to offer right in your home.

PORTA currently offers a range of frozen pizzas and ravioli. We distribute in over 1100+ grocery stores across the US and Canada. Be the chef in your home kitchen and try PORTA today. www.eatporta.com

The Role

Porta is looking for a hands-on and driven QA Technician to join the team and will play a crucial role in maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety during the night operations and ensuring seamless compliance. Reporting to the Senior Manager, Food Safety & Quality Assurance, you will be responsible for championing Porta's FSQA vision to foster a strong food safety culture and ensure that our products meet the highest standards of safety and quality.

In this role, knowledge of GMP and HACCP principles is essential as you will be ensuring that food safety procedures are in place and always adhered to. Core duties include daily GMP checks, quality control activities (record review, production line checks, routine testing), complaint & investigation support, corrective action management support, and data analysis all within a fast-paced food manufacturing environment.

Requirements

• Ensure all production activities comply with food safety regulations, HACCP, and GMP protocols
• Be knowledgeable and well-versed in the HACCP Program
• Own and report any changes to the current HACCP Program
• Ability to identify deviations to the HACCP Program and provide corrective action to team members.
• Document Control Support - assist with the maintenance, archiving, and update of controlled documents to ensure ongoing regulatory compliance
• Program Implementation Support - monitor the implementation of food safety protocols and escalate any issues to FS/QA leadership as required
• Training & Program Delivery Support - assist with the development and delivery of training materials; reinforce training and knowledge of protocols with employees
• Investigation and Root Cause Analysis - assist with investigations and customer complaints
• Production Line Quality Assurance Support - perform process checks as needed throughout the production, packaging, sanitation, and warehouse areas
• Quality Assurance Testing Support - conduct and coordinate sampling and sample submission for laboratory analysis
• Audit Support - assist and provide support during third party audits
• Data Analysis & Reporting - monitor and summarize data, prepare reports relating to food safety/quality assurance activities and findings
• Other duties as assigned

• Knowledge of HACCP, GMP and food regulations (Safe Food for Canadians Act, Food and Drugs Act)
• Organized, critical thinker with excellent communication ability
• Flexibility to work overtime, weekends, varying shifts and holiday work (as required)
• Works with a sense of urgency
• Strong work ethic with meticulous attention to detail and a 'can do' attitude
• Ability to collaborate with various cross-functional partners (production, customer service teams)
• Proactive and conscientious - able to identify and anticipate compliance gaps and recommend creative and practical solutions
• Schedule flexibility - able to be on call as needed for emergency situations
• Must thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic company environment

• Post-secondary education or equivalent - food safety and regulatory affairs strongly preferred
• Minimum of 2 years experience working in Food Safety/Quality Assurance in the food manufacturing sector. Experience with high risk frozen foods is an asset
• Strong organization skills and attention to detail
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Previous experience participating in audits (third party, regulatory, customer) is an asset
• Proficient with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

• Benefits
• Free Italian food!