Full-Time

Quality Assurance Inspector

Deadline 10/1/26
Empirical Foods

Empirical Foods

201-500 employees

Meat processing, lean ground beef producer

No salary listed

South Sioux City, NE, USA

In Person

Category
Manufacturing Quality & Test (1)
Required Skills
Microsoft Office
Inventory Management
Word/Pages/Docs
Quality Assurance (QA)
Data Analysis
Excel/Numbers/Sheets

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Requirements
  • Basic math and writing skills.
  • General computer knowledge and proficiency.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Word and Excel.
  • Accuracy and strong attention to detail.
  • Ability to follow directions.
  • Ability to analyze and interpret data from a variety of sources.
  • Ability to work independently.
  • Ability to communicate effectively with all levels of employees in verbal and written form.
  • Regular and punctual attendance.
  • Ability to lift, push, and pull up to 60 pounds.
  • Ability to walk, stand, twist, reach, bend, climb, and lift.
  • Willingness and ability to work flexible hours, including weekends.
  • High School diploma or equivalent is required.
  • Verifiable ability to perform essential job functions will be considered.
Responsibilities
  • Inspect machinery and structures for compliance with cleanliness and other standards, report deficiencies to management, and conduct re-inspections before operations start.
  • Perform audits and monitor potential foreign material sources, report findings, and inspect and test equipment, including scale accuracy, swab tests, metal detection sensitivity, and sanitizing equipment functionality.
  • Monitor and inspect freezers, hand-wash sinks, locker rooms, overhead structures, ceilings, outside grounds, docks, drains, and pest control conditions.
  • Monitor employees' use of sanitation equipment, including hairnets, beard nets, frocks, and gloves, and report findings to management.
  • Inspect raw material trailers, including seals, set points, temperatures, approved-supplier verification, and core sampling tests.
  • Complete product adjustment forms, damaged box reports, and sparse lean claim forms accurately and timely, and report them to appropriate corporate personnel.
  • Perform scheduled product sampling for microbiological and analytical tests; record sampling data; and label, package, and ship product samples to specified laboratories.
  • Inspect finished products, place products on hold for additional inspection, and coordinate production stoppage when necessary.
  • Measure and record finished-product quality factors, including fat, protein, temperature, and color.
  • Inspect and manifest finished products, including visual inspection, liner inspection, temperature collection, and product sampling.
  • Provide coverage and assistance in other areas as needed.
  • Perform inventory checks for quality assurance supplies and materials.
  • Perform all other assigned duties.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience in a food or restaurant environment is preferred.

Empirical Foods processes beef to produce lean ground beef and other protein products for food service and retail. It uses an in-house proprietary process that warms beef trimmings, centrifuges fat, and treats the product to kill bacteria to yield about 95% lean ground beef. They also offer boxed beef and pork, portioned steaks and roasts, and fully cooked seasoned items under brands like Noble Valley, Two Rivers Meat Co, and Dos Rios Taco Meat. They differentiate themselves by owning the technology to turn by-products into high-value protein and serving large packers, ground beef producers, fast-food chains, and grocers, with capacity expansion including a new plant in Garden City, Kansas.

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Dakota Dunes, South Dakota

Founded

N/A

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Garden City opened April 8, 2026, adding more than 250 jobs and new volume.
  • Record-high beef prices strengthen Empirical’s pitch for cheaper lean ground beef.
  • Phase II at Garden City targets 80 million pounds annually if demand supports it.

What critics are saying

  • USDA forecast tighter calf supplies in late 2026 squeeze Empirical’s input volumes.
  • Ground beef remains haunted by pink slime stigma, threatening restaurant and retail demand.
  • A major food-safety incident at Dakota Dunes or Garden City would devastate the brand.

What makes Empirical Foods unique

  • Garden City’s 280,000-square-foot plant doubled lean ground beef capacity in 2026.
  • Empirical’s proprietary centrifuge process extracts 95% lean beef from trimmings, not cattle expansion.
  • Forty-five years of technology claim 21 extra pounds of beef per head.

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Benefits

Flexible Work Hours