The Quality Technician is responsible for supporting fish production, food safety, and operational excellence throughout the facility. This role enforces biosecurity practices, and production standards to help ensure fish health, personal wellness, product quality, and regulatory compliance.
The technician conducts routine inspections, collects and analyzes water quality and operational data, performs process verification activities, and identifies opportunities for continuous improvement. This position works closely with production teams to ensure standard operating procedures are followed consistently and provides training on food safety, sanitation, HACCP principles, SSOPs, and operational best practices.
A key responsibility of this role is supporting employee development through onboarding, hands-on training, and reinforcement of operational standards. The technician assists in developing training materials, conducts training sessions, verifies employee understanding and competency, and works with supervisors to identify and address training gaps. This position helps foster a culture of accountability, continuous learning, and adherence to established procedures throughout the facility.
The role also supports food safety and quality programs by conducting internal audits, environmental monitoring activities, product evaluations, and compliance checks aligned with HACCP plans, SSOPs, and other regulatory requirements. The technician maintains required records for traceability, communicates non-conformances and improvement opportunities to operational leadership, and assists with corrective action follow-up.
Success in this role requires strong attention to detail, effective communication skills, and the ability to work collaboratively across fish production, harvest, processing, and quality teams to promote fish welfare, food safety, operational consistency, employee development, and continuous improvement. Good time management skills are necessary to be successful.
Primary Job Functions
- This section describes the primary/essential responsibilities that this job performs.
- Conduct internal audits to aquacultural and food safety quality standards, HACCP plan audits, record any variances and report to appropriate management.
- Conduct environmental sampling for common foodborne illness pathogens and trend data overtime to look for trends using swabbing and water sampling techniques.
- Maintain water quality standards in systems across the site, including well, treatment and drinking water.
- Support blood sampling programs and related collection activities.
- Assist in prep and shipping of feed, water and fish samples for analysis.
- Conduct water and fish sampling for geosmin testing and coordinate submissions to external labs.
- Facilitate audit preparations, ensuring documentation and practices meet standards and complete traceability exercises.
- Support third-party audits including Safe Quality Food (SQF), FDA, BAP, IN-DOH and DATCP a by preparing required documentation such as Approved Supplier Programs, Incoming Shipment Logs, equipment calibration records, product specification sheets, etc.
- Conduct hazard assessments to identify and evaluate potential food safety and operational risks.
- Facilitate training on various food safety and quality procedures to entire team.
- Support WPDES permitting and drinking water system operator.
- Enter data into various database and information collection systems. Examples being Excel, Mercatus and Whole Chain.
- Operate and maintain laboratory equipment including spectrophotometers and handheld sensors this includes routine cleaning, calibrations, and basic repairs related instruments.
- Remain up to date with all certification standards held by the company.
- Track and trend data from the company’s FSQA/Lab program, communicate risks and participate in CAPA.
- Create SOPs, work instructions and other job aids to support compliance and general operational standards.
- Maintain Superior Fresh knowledgebase of experiment records, relevant documents, articles, and consultant provided resources.
- Identify areas for improvement and support business objectives with initiatives and projects as directed/approved by management.
- Maintain confidentiality of proprietary systems and information with both internal and external groups.
- Exhibit a high degree of professionalism, in accordance with Superior Fresh’s core values.
Secondary Job Functions
This section describes the secondary responsibilities that this job performs.
1. Maintain reliable attendance.
2. Actively participate in meetings, training and education.
3. Complete other assignments and special projects as requested.
Job Qualifications
Education:
· General undergraduate coursework, required
· Undergraduate coursework or relevant experience with food quality systems
Experience:
· Knowledge of laboratory sciences and having worked in a laboratory or related field, preferred.
Licenses or Certifications
· Driver’s License
· HAACP (Seafood preferred, but will provide opportunity for education)
· State water certification
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
· Knowledge of basic lab equipment
· Excellent written and verbal communication skills
· Microsoft Office competency
· Effective time management and organizational skills
· Data analysis
· Work with others as part of a team
· Analytical and problem-solving skills
· Attend onsite classes to understand the practices of Superior Fresh.
· Perform under strong demands in a fast-paced environment.
Physical Effort & Work Environment
Reasonable accommodation will be provided for individuals with disabilities.
Seeing: Must have close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
Communication: Must be able to effectively communicate with coworkers to perform the requirements of the position.
Fingering/Grasping/Feeling: Must be able to perform repetitive tasks with both hands to include operating office equipment, keyboarding, handling tools and materials, cutting and packing produce.
Standing/Walking: Will remain standing for long periods of time and must be able to move about from one area of the workplace to another.
Climbing/Stooping/Bending/Kneeling/Reaching: Will bend, twist, squat, stoop, kneel, crouch, and reach at or above shoulder level.
Lifting: Must be able to lift and carry objects up to 50 lbs. occasionally.
Pulling/Pushing: Will transport loads of up to 40 lbs.
Work Environment: Predominately in semi-controlled environments, from general office workspaces to the fish house (50 degrees F) and Processing (38 degrees F). Wet conditions.
Schedule Expectations
1. Flexible and willing to work extended hours when necessary.
2. Participate in weekend rotations and holidays.
3. Located in remote/rural environment.
Pay: From $20.00 per hour
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Employee discount
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
