Quality Assurance Team Leader

East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire.

Salary - £32000 plus Benefits

Shift Pattern - Permanent nights on a Pitman Shift pattern.

Are you an experienced Quality professional from a fast-paced food manufacturing environment looking to take the next step in your career?

We're looking for a Quality Assurance Team Leader to play a key role in ensuring the highest standards of food safety, quality and legality across a busy manufacturing operation. Working closely with Production, Technical and Supply Chain teams, you'll be the go-to person for all quality-related activities on shift, driving continuous improvement while supporting operational excellence.

This is an excellent opportunity to join a well-established food manufacturer where quality is at the heart of everything they do.

The Role

Reporting to the Manufacturing Shift Lead, you'll be responsible for leading quality activities across your shift, ensuring products consistently meet customer specifications and regulatory requirements.

You'll oversee routine quality assurance testing, coordinate audits and investigations, support new product trials and champion Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) throughout the factory.

This is a hands-on leadership role where you'll have the opportunity to influence standards, coach colleagues and help drive continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the first point of contact for all food safety, quality and legality issues during your shift.
• Lead investigations into quality incidents, customer complaints and non-conformances, identifying root causes and implementing corrective actions.
• Carry out routine quality assurance testing throughout the manufacturing process.
• Complete product quality assessments, inspections and sampling programmes.
• Perform testing including pH, allergen, ERH, weight control, calibration and verification checks.
• Ensure products, packaging and labelling meet customer specifications.
• Conduct internal audits covering GMP, hygiene, HACCP, CCPs, documentation, allergens, foreign body controls, PPE and glass management.
• Coordinate product trials and launches on shift.
• Maintain calibration programmes for manufacturing equipment.
• Support traceability exercises and confidently present findings during customer and third-party audits.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to reduce waste, improve efficiency and enhance product quality.
• Promote and maintain excellent GMP standards across the site.
• Deputise for the Manufacturing Shift Lead when required.

About You

You'll have previous experience within a food manufacturing environment and be passionate about maintaining the highest standards of quality and food safety.

You'll also bring:

• Previous experience in a Quality, QA or Technical role within food manufacturing.
• Experience leading or coordinating teams in a fast-paced production environment.
• Strong knowledge of Food Safety, HACCP and GMP.
• Level 3 Food Hygiene qualification.
• Level 2 HACCP qualification.
• Internal Auditor training and audit experience.
• Knowledge of BRCGS standards and customer codes of practice.
• Excellent root cause analysis and problem-solving skills.
• Experience of continuous improvement and Lean Manufacturing principles.
• Strong communication and leadership skills.
• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office.
• A proactive approach with the confidence to make informed decisions regarding food safety and quality.

What's on Offer

• Excellent training and career development opportunities.
• Clear progression pathway into Manufacturing Shift Leadership.
• Opportunity to work within a supportive, collaborative manufacturing team.
• Exposure to group-wide projects and best practice initiatives across multiple manufacturing sites.
• Comprehensive benefits package.

Apply Now

If you're passionate about food quality, enjoy solving problems and want to develop your leadership career within a successful food manufacturing business, we'd love to hear from you.