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Weekly pay
Scheduling flexibility
Paid parental leave
Paid education assistance
Team member discount
Development programs for advancement and career growth
Please review the job profile below and apply today!
Reporting to Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance, this position provides scientific leadership in microbiology as relates to food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance. This position will support all Meijer Manufacturing facilities. This role is responsible for developing, standardizing, and validating microbiological programs to ensure product safety and quality, regulatory compliance, and brand protection. This position partners cross functionally with Operations, Product Development, Regulatory Compliance, Supply Chain, Food Safety, and external laboratories to implement best in class sampling and testing procedures.
What You'll Be Doing
Partner withsite Quality Managers and Operations Leaders to ensureeachsitefood safety program iscurrent, effective, and managed at the site level.
Develop andmaintaincorporate microbiological standards, policies, and procedures.
Establish enterprise-wide environmental monitoring programs (EMP)aligned with regulatory expectations and industrybest practices.
Lead root cause investigations and troubleshooting for presumptive positive pathogenfindings and recommend corrective actions.
Oversee trend analysis of microbiological data and driverisk baseddecision making.
Lead microbial risk assessments for ingredients, processes, and finished products.
Standardize test methods, specifications, and validation protocols across all facilities.
Serveas subjectmatter expert (SME) for microbiological complianceunder applicable regulations (FDA, USDA, as applicable).
Support FSMA preventive controls validation and verification activities.
Assistwithregulatory responses related to spoilage or microbial activity.
Provide technical oversight to internal andthird partylaboratories.
Evaluate and approve laboratory methods, validation studies, and rapid testing techniques.
Review and interpret
Lead microbiological investigationswhere applicable during food safety incidents or recalls.
Providescientific guidance during product disposition decisions when necessary.
Identifyemerging microbiological risks and industry trends.
Implementnew technologiesand methods to enhance detection and prevention
Train manufacturing team members on microbiologicalrelated best practices and risk mitigation (samplingand testing).
Partner withsite Quality Managers in troubleshooting microbialissues.
What You Bring with You (Qualifications):
Ph.Dor M.S.degree inMicrobiology, Food Safety, or related fields
Experience - functional/industry/commercial knowledge:
8+years of relevantmicrobiologyexperienceinthe Food/Beveragemanufacturing facilities
Experience in multi-siteorganizations preferred.
Strong working knowledge of FSMA, HACCP, environmental monitoring programs, and pathogen control.
Expertisein foodborne pathogens (e.g.Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes,E.coli).
Proficiencyin microbiological testing methods (culture- based,OCR, rapids methods).
Strong data interpretation and statistical trend analysis capabilities.
Risk assessment and validationexpertise
Strong communicationskills
Ability tocollaborate and communicate with cross-functional stakeholders
Preferred experiencein ready to eat foods (RTE) andhigh riskcategories.
PCQIand HACCPCertificationpreferred.
Travel25-40%
It takes guts to start a business during the Great Depression. And it takes vision to keep it going.
Our founder, Hendrik Meijer, opened Thrifty Acres in 1934. Nearly thirty years later, his son, Fred, pioneered the world's first-ever supercenter, laying the groundwork for what we are today: a multi-billion-dollar household name in retail. But we’re not stopping there.
We recently launched the nation’s largest grocery home-delivery service, once again reinventing the grocery shopping experience.
While a lot has changed over the years, one thing remains the same: we are still family-owned. That sense of family is fundamental to everything we do. It’s the difference between selling a product and serving a community, and it’s the reason we’ve given back over $30 million to local food pantries in the last ten years.
So, if you share our pioneering spirit and take pride in helping others, we would love to connect with you. And together, we can bring more good to life and our community.
