Quality Assurance Technician (Raw Materials & Sampling)
Protein Works · Liverpool, England, United Kingdom (on-site)
Our estimate of how close this job is to decisions about what protein a business sources, specifies, buys and serves. How we score
Why this role matters
How close this job is to real sourcing and menu decisions.
This is a goods-in QA role at a protein and nutrition products manufacturer, checking raw materials, packaging and bought-in finished goods against spec before they enter production. The raw materials here are largely protein-based (whey, dairy derivatives and similar nutrition ingredients, now under Lactalis Group ownership), so the sampling routine and supplier non-conformance process you build has some bearing on the standards suppliers of those ingredients are held to, though the advert gives no indication that animal welfare criteria specifically sit within the spec. The more concrete value here is the technical and audit grounding: this is the kind of goods-in, BRCGS-track QA seat that builds the credibility and vocabulary needed to later move into supplier quality or technical roles with more direct say over sourcing standards, including how dairy and protein ingredients are specified and checked.
Where this role can take you
What this job teaches you, and the jobs it can lead to.
What you'd build
- BRCGS certification process
- Supplier CoA verification and validation testing
- Risk-based sampling and goods-in QA
- Non-conformance management
- Internal audit experience (GMP, traceability, QMS)
Where it can lead
- Quality Assurance Manager
- Supplier Quality Manager
- Technical Manager
Roles like these set and own the supplier quality standards and approval criteria that determine which raw material suppliers, including dairy and protein ingredient suppliers, are allowed to continue supplying.
About the role
Protein Works is hiring a Quality Assurance Technician (Raw Materials & Sampling) for a newly created role in its Technical team at the PW Campus in Speke, Liverpool. The postholder will own goods-in quality for everything arriving on site, including raw materials, packaging and bought-in finished goods, sampling, inspecting and testing (including organoleptic testing) against specification and deciding what proceeds into production. They will build a rigorous, risk-based sampling routine with accurate records that support the company's BRCGS certification journey, verify supplier Certificates of Analysis, run validation testing, and manage non-conforming materials through to disposition. The role partners with suppliers, procurement and production to resolve quality issues and identify trends driving supplier improvement, and carries out scheduled internal audits covering glass, GMP, traceability and QMS, supporting non-conformance investigations. It also supports finished product testing, environmental monitoring and supplier documentation for customer compliance. Essential requirements include proven experience in a QA or QC role, ideally in food manufacturing, FMCG or sports nutrition, and a food safety and HACCP qualification along with good hygiene and sampling practice knowledge. Candidates should be organised, comfortable with Excel and Microsoft tools, confident raising issues with suppliers and colleagues, and comfortable working mostly independently. Organoleptic or sensory testing experience, or internal auditor training, is desirable but not essential. Benefits include staff discounts, private healthcare, a birthday day off, pension scheme, bonus scheme, cycle to work scheme, and access to product discounts. Protein Works is a nutrition brand making protein shakes, complete meal shakes, wellness supplements and high-protein snacks, and as of June 2026 is part of the Lactalis Group.
We added this one ourselves, from the employer's own advert.
Key terms to include in your CV and cover letter
What this employer is asking for, in their words. Applications are often screened by software looking for exact phrases, so if these describe your experience, use their wording.
- Quality Assurance
- Quality Control
- goods-in inspection
- raw material sampling
- organoleptic testing
- sensory testing
- BRCGS certification
- HACCP
- Certificate of Analysis verification
- validation testing
- non-conforming materials management
- internal audit
- GMP
- traceability
- QMS
- supplier quality improvement
- food safety qualification
- Excel
How to position yourself
The language that works with hiring managers for this kind of job.
Frame your interest around quality risk management and supply chain assurance: this role is about protecting product integrity from the moment raw materials arrive, which speaks directly to cost of failure, recall risk, and customer compliance. Emphasise any HACCP or food safety qualification you hold, and highlight an eye for process rigour and audit-readiness, since the role explicitly feeds into a BRCGS certification journey.
You apply directly with the employer. We just link you to their advert, and we don't see anything you send them.