Full-Time
Quality Assurance Inspector
Empirical Foods
201-500 employees
Meat processing, lean ground beef producer
No salary listed
South Sioux City, NE, USA
In Person
 Manufacturing Quality & Test (1) |
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- A high school diploma or equivalent is required, or the verifiable ability to perform essential job functions.
- Basic math and writing skills are required.
- General computer knowledge and proficiency are required.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, is required.
- The ability to analyze and interpret data from a variety of sources is required.
- The ability to communicate effectively with all levels of employees in verbal and written form is required.
- Regular and punctual attendance is required.
- The ability to lift, push, and pull up to 60 pounds is required.
- The ability to walk, stand, twist, reach, bend, climb, and lift is required.
- The ability and willingness to work flexible hours, including weekends, is required.
- Inspect all machinery and structures to ensure compliance standards are met, including cleanliness after sanitation and before operations start; report noncompliant areas to management and perform re-inspections before startup.
- Perform audits and monitor for potential foreign material sources; report findings to management; inspect and test equipment by verifying scale accuracy, conducting swab tests, testing metal detector sensitivity, and verifying sanitizing equipment functions properly.
- Monitor and inspect freezers, hand-wash sinks, locker rooms, overhead structures, ceilings, outside grounds, docks, drains, and pest control; monitor employee use of sanitation equipment such as hairnets, beard nets, frocks, and gloves; 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 promptly, and report them to appropriate corporate personnel.
- Perform scheduled product sampling for microbiological and analytical tests; record sampling data; 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, product temperature collection, and product sampling.
- Provide coverage and assistance in areas as needed and perform inventory checks for quality assurance supplies and materials.
- Perform all essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation.
- Perform other assigned duties.
- 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'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