Quality Control Assistant

Role Overview

This position sits at the point where raw materials, ingredients and finished dairy products are checked against the standards the business has committed to. Day to day, you will be on the floor and in the laboratory — sampling, running tests, watching critical processing steps and documenting what you find so that any deviation is caught early rather than discovered by a customer. The role matters because it is the practical safeguard behind product safety, regulatory compliance and the traceability records that auditors and internal teams rely on.

Key Responsibilities

• Carry out scheduled inspections of incoming raw materials, ingredients and packaging, verifying each delivery against approved specifications and rejecting or quarantining anything that falls short.
• Monitor in-process production at defined control points, checking parameters such as processing temperatures, acidity or pH, and general hygiene conditions to confirm the product is being made within specification.
• Conduct sensory and functional testing on ingredients and finished products, including processing suitability trials, to confirm they behave as expected in production.
• Maintain accurate, real-time records of every inspection and test performed, ensuring entries are legible, dated and traceable to specific batches.
• Identify and formally document non-conformances, raising deviation reports and passing findings to supervisors so that corrective and preventive actions can be agreed and followed up.
• Prepare quality reports and supporting documentation for internal reviews, customer queries and external audits, including traceability exercises.
• Verify and maintain testing equipment and laboratory supplies, keeping instruments clean, calibrated and fit for use, and ensuring retained samples are stored correctly.
• Work alongside production, stores and technical colleagues when quality issues arise, contributing to root-cause discussions and helping to test proposed solutions on the line.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science and Technology, Dairy Technology or Microbiology, with at least one year of hands-on quality control experience — this profile is strongly preferred; or
• A diploma in Food Science and Technology or Dairy Technology, with a minimum of two years of quality control experience — also strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of the HACCP approach and familiarity with other food safety or quality management systems used in food manufacturing.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to write clear reports and non-conformance records that others can act on.
• Demonstrated ability to solve problems independently while also collaborating effectively with senior colleagues and cross-functional teams.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced production environment where priorities shift and turnaround times are short.
• A strong work ethic, a team-oriented approach, and the practical ability to implement a solution and then test whether it actually worked.
• Prior experience in the dairy industry in a comparable quality control role is a distinct advantage.