At Danone, Manufacturing the best products and supplying them to meet demand is a key driver for our plant teams.   We are currently looking to hire a Quality Engineer based in Chatsworth, California.  
  
Job Summary:
The Quality Engineer will support the implementation of the Danone North America Quality Assurance 
standards through technical guidance, analysis, and leadership to continuously improve quality 
performance. The Quality Engineer is accountable for capability assessment and improvement in the 
areas of food safety controls, product specification performance, as well as cleaning and sanitation 
validation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide Quality and Food Safety technical guidance and analysis to help drive 
  improvements in manufacturing processes, sanitation processes/systems, and quality 
  systems.
• Represent Quality and Food Safety for the plant’s Quality Pillar within the company’s IWS
  program for assigned business unit(s).  
• Ensure compliance with Danone Food Safety & Quality standards, ODA, FDA, and FSSC 
  22000 standards, and adherence to specifications. Support internal and external audit 
  requirements. Perform necessary audit tasks and support closure of action items.
• Participate as a member of the Food Safety Team and assist in the development, revisions, and 
  implementation of the Food Safety Plan.
• Support the Quality Management System and participate in development & review of quality 
  and sanitation SOPs. Assist and potentially lead implementation of QFS programs.
• Develop, design, and conduct training and mentoring about food safety and quality topics 
  to develop a strong quality culture.
• Assess and work to improve process capability across key product platforms.
• Compile and analyze KPIs indicative of production line health (quality performance, 
  microbiological quality, preventive maintenance, sanitation effectiveness, etc.) and drive 
  improvement actions.
• Investigate, analyze, and assess consumer and customer complaints. Develop, train, and 
  launch the process to engage the entire manufacturing team to investigate and improve 
  complaint processes. Ensure product non-conformances and process non-conformances
  are tracked and logged for corrective action into the Quality system.
• Develop expertise working within the various Danone ERP (SAP), WMS, LIMS, and Quality 
  computer systems (Veeva).
• Support the analysis of customer and consumer feedback to identify improvement 
  opportunities. Drive improvement by implementing corrective actions.
• Provide training and mentoring to operations teams on food safety and quality related 
  topics to develop a strong quality culture.
• Support the validation of cleaning effectiveness via the sanitation (“Neptune”) program.
• Support the development of quality and sanitation SOPs.
• Manage and troubleshoot non-conformances (raw materials, packaging, product, 
  environmental monitoring, etc.) and drive root cause analysis. Assign corrective action, 
  collaborate with supply-quality and other functions, and follow-up on completion.
• Support change management processes related to new products, packaging, equipment, 
  and processes.

Physical Demands 
The physical demand described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.  

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit and talk or hear.  The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; stoop kneel, crouch, or crawl; and taste or smell. 

The employee must regularly lift and / or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift and / or move up to 25 pounds and occasionally lift up to 50 pounds. Requires normal range of hearing and vision (including colors) to record, prepare and communicate appropriate reports and laboratory results. 
 
Work Environment 
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

While performing the duties of this job, the employee regularly works near moving mechanical parts and is regularly exposed to wet and / or humid conditions.  The employee may be exposed to fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, and may be exposed to loud noises in the plant making wearing of PPE essential.  The employee occasionally works in high, precarious places and is occasionally exposed to extreme cold, risk of electrical shock, and vibration.

Base salary range for this position is $85K - $90K per year, commiserate with experience.  Danone North America additionally offers a performance-based bonus and has a strong benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, Prescription Drug Coverage, 401k Plan, Wellness Program, Life Insurance, Tuition Reimbursement, Flexible Time Off, and Paid Parental Bonding Leave, among other benefit plan options.   

Education and Experience (Requirements):

• Bachelor’s Degree in a science or engineering related field (Microbiology, Food Safety, 
  Food Engineering, or similar) or other technical discipline.
• 2+ years of experience in the dairy/food/beverage manufacturing industry, preferred.
• In lieu of a degree, 5+ years of experience in the dairy/food/beverage manufacturing 
  industry will be considered.
• Supervisory experience preferred but not required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Proven ability to establish, optimize and maintain world-class quality systems and teams.
• Prior experience using structured and data driven problem-solving techniques (RCPS, 
  DMAIC, Six-sigma, LEAN, etc.).
• Excellent communication, leadership and interpersonal skills.
• The ability to influence others and be a team player.
• The ability to develop/implement core work practices and standards that ensure 
  excellence in quality.
• The ability to rapidly assess, analyze, and quickly resolve complicated quality problems 
  with little initial information or direction and varying degrees of ambiguity.
• The ability to multitask and manage priorities while allocating time to long-term, quality 
  continuous improvement projects.
• Strong “self-management” skills and comfortable working with minimal supervision.
• Established project management skills.
• Must bring leadership, interpersonal and communication skills required to interact with 
  various levels of plant and corporate personnel and influence others.
• Willingness to work flexible schedules as needed to support 7-day per week, 24-hour per 
  day production facilities. Work schedules could include off-shift or weekend work

Danone U.S. is part of Danone North America, a purpose-driven company and an industry leader in the food and beverage category. You’ll work with some of the best-known food and beverage brands in the world. Our strong portfolio of brands includes: Activia®, DanActive®, Danimals®, Dannon®, evian®, Follow Your Heart®, Happy Family® Organics, International Delight®, Light + Fit®, Nutricia ®, Oikos®, Silk®, So Delicious® Dairy Free,  STōK® Cold Brew Coffee ®, Too Good & Co™, and YoCrunch®. 

With approximately 5,000 employees and 13 production locations across the U.S., Danone North America's mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible. 

You’ll be part of one of the largest Certified B Corps™ in the world, working to make sure our company creates real value for people and the planet. Come join our movement for a healthier world: One Planet. One Health BY YOU.

Danone North America is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. It is our policy to give equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to legally protected characteristics, or any other consideration made unlawful by applicable federal, state/provincial and/or local law. For our EEO policy statement and your EEO rights under law click here.

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