Laboratory Manager

About the Role

Ninth Avenue Foods is seeking an experienced Laboratory Manager to lead our Quality Assurance Laboratory team at our dairy manufacturing facility in Columbus, Indiana.

The Laboratory Manager provides leadership and direction for QA laboratory operations, including testing of raw materials, work-in-process and finished products, as well as plant and environmental monitoring activities. This position plays an important role in ensuring product quality, regulatory compliance, accurate laboratory testing and documentation, and continuous improvement.

The ideal candidate will bring strong dairy/milk laboratory experience, technical knowledge of microbiological and dairy testing, and demonstrated experience leading laboratory employees.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day QA Laboratory activities and provide direction to laboratory technicians.
• Review and verify laboratory testing records and results; identify trends and escalate deviations or out-of-specification results.
• Manage environmental monitoring programs, including air, water, environmental pathogen and allergen testing.
• Oversee microbiological testing and trending for raw materials, work-in-process and finished products.
• Ensure compliance with antibiotic testing requirements for incoming raw milk and skim shipments.
• Manage calibration and preventive maintenance schedules for laboratory equipment.
• Coordinate product holds, rework and product dispositions.
• Oversee shelf-life and secondary shelf-life testing programs.
• Develop and maintain laboratory SOPs, documentation and records.
• Conduct root cause analysis related to raw milk, finished product and equipment specification deviations.
• Support and maintain applicable components of the SQF system.
• Coordinate sampling and testing with third-party laboratories.
• Train and develop laboratory leads, supervisors and other applicable employees.
• Monitor laboratory labor and supply costs and support KPI and trend reporting.
• Partner with Production and other departments to investigate nonconformances and implement corrective actions.
• Communicate with customers as needed, including review of customer complaints and completion of Certificates of Analysis (COAs).
• Support regulatory audits, sample testing and related activities with applicable state and regulatory agencies.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience working in a dairy/milk laboratory.
• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry or a related field preferred.
• Strong knowledge of Good Laboratory Practices (GLPs).
• Knowledge of dairy laboratory testing equipment.
• Strong understanding of microbiology; hands-on microbiological testing experience preferred.
• Previous employee management experience.
• Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Strong organizational, communication and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to prioritize multiple responsibilities and work effectively with limited supervision.
• Familiarity with PMO and applicable state and FDA regulatory requirements.
• Dairy sensory evaluation experience preferred.

Preferred Training & Certifications

• FDA Appendix N Antibiotic training/licensing.
• Good Laboratory Practices and aseptic sampling techniques training.

Why Join Ninth Avenue Foods?

This is an opportunity to take a leadership role in a hands-on dairy quality operation and work closely with Quality, Production and other plant leadership to drive laboratory performance, food safety, product quality and continuous improvement.

Ninth Avenue Foods, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Pay: $60,000.00 - $67,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person