Incoming & Outgoing Quality Assurance Specialist

**Job Title: Incoming & Outgoing Quality Assurance Specialist**
**Reports to**:Senior Manager of Sales Marketing and Systems Integration
**Responsible for**:Quality Assurance Orchard & Scouting Operations Support, Seasonal Quality Assurance Support

**Job Summary**: The **Incoming & Outgoing Quality Assurance Specialist** is accountable for overseeing all incoming and outgoing inventory from a quality assurance perspective, ensuring that all products meet established quality standards. This individual collaborates with the QA team to inspect, test, and monitor products, addressing any discrepancies to maintain consistency and quality. This role requires an individual who is humble, driven, and solutions-oriented.

**_Humble - _**_Employees that are team players and are respectful of others and the job at hand. _Great team players lack excessive ego or concerns about status. Humble employees are quick to point out contributions of others and slow to seek attention of their own._

**Driven -**Employees who are motivated and focused on self improvement. Driven or hungry employees are always looking for more. More things to do, learn, and take responsibility for. They never have to be pushed by a manager to work harder because they are self-motivated and diligent.

**Solutions Oriented -**Employees who focus on solving, and preventing problems from occurring, not just identifying them. This is equal parts of problems with systems and processes and the common sense that an employee has about people. They are aware, act appropriately, ask good questions, and listen to understand.

**Role and Accountability**:

- Ensure all receiving and outgoing operations, ensuring quality standards for incoming products (e.g., apples, cherries).
- Quality assurance across all stages, from raw fruit to finished product, and ongoing quality control of stored fruit prior to shipment. Including packing materials (cardboards, bags, trays, etc.)”
- Conducts inspections and ensures Famous entry, quality testing, tagging, and weighting are correct during receiving.
- Verifies Croptracker scanning and any required documentation is completed accurately.
- Assists with QA receiving teams, ensuring product quality is monitored and discrepancies are addressed.
- Diverts fruit to ideal market storage based on quality results
- Acts as a backup for the QA Manager (Future) when they are out of the office (OOO), ensuring continuity in leadership and decision-making for the QA department.
- Oversight, training, support of the scouting program, including managing the administrative elements (planning, grower communication and registration, scheduling and building a safe entry plan for scouts in orchards)
- Supports inventory tracking and documentation management for received goods.
- Trains staff on proper receiving procedures and maintains a strong communication with the QA team to handle receiving issues promptly.
- Conducts research/investigations into harvest or storage conditions of fruit. Collaborates with industry experts to identify root cause of defect/quality issues.
- Collaborate with the Interna/External Logistics Specialist and Warehouse Manager to coordinate seamless receiving, storage and product flow.
- Support the development and maintenance of departmental SOPs, policies, and procedures by providing input, ensuring team compliance, and facilitating training to uphold operational standards.
- Execute daily responsibilities to meet departmental goals while adhering to company values (Humble, Driven, Solutions-Oriented).
- Provide feedback and suggestions to improve processes within the scope of the role.
- Attend relevant department and company-wide meetings, including Level 10 meetings, contributing to organizational alignment and effectiveness.
- Collaborate cross-functionally to address challenges, develop solutions, and align strategies with company goals.
- Utilize Microsoft To-Do (or similar) for task tracking and reminders, ensuring productivity and accountability.
- Perform other duties as assigned.

**Knowledge, Skills and Abilities**:

- Knowledge and familiarity with productions line operations and procedures and agricultural practices.
- Ability to think critically and conduct research to analyze fruit defects or quality issues caused in various stages of the fruit’s life cycle.
- Commitment to continuing education that supports awareness and understanding of new operations that may present opportunities and or threats to the production line or organization.
- Strong communication skills both verbal and written. Have a high degree of emotional intelligence and demonstrated ability to effectively communicate to different audiences and manage interpersonal relationships at all levels of the organization.
- Self-starter and eager to learn new concepts, skills, and systems, and must be able to master these attributes and download them to their team.
- Agility to adapt to change, manage evolving issues or situations, backfi