Food Manufacturing SOP Writer (SQF / GMP / FDA) – Build Complete Operations Manual

Food Manufacturing SOP Writer (SQF / GMP / FDA) – Build Complete Operations Manual About Us Utica Specialty Foods is a growing contract manufacturer (co-packer) located in New Jersey specializing in: Nutrition and energy bars Nut and seed butters Powders and dry blends Liquid and semi-liquid food products Sachets and retail packaging We manufacture Organic, Kosher, and SQF-certified products for emerging and established food brands. We are looking for an experienced technical writer with a strong food manufacturing background to create a comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Manual for our facility. This is not a generic documentation project—we are looking for someone who understands how food manufacturing plants actually operate. Scope of Work The selected contractor will work with our management team to document, organize, and professionally write SOPs covering all operational departments. Examples include: Production Operations Production startup Line clearance Product changeovers Equipment setup Machine operation Batch documentation End-of-run procedures Downtime procedures Quality Assurance & Food Safety GMP procedures Employee hygiene Allergen control Traceability Lot coding Product release Hold and release procedures Corrective actions (CAPA) Foreign material investigations Internal audits Sanitation SSOPs Master sanitation schedule CIP procedures COP procedures Equipment cleaning Environmental monitoring Chemical handling Warehouse Receiving Ingredient inspections FEFO/FIFO Storage procedures Inventory control Shipping Returns Damaged materials Pallet standards Maintenance Preventive maintenance Equipment inspections Lubrication Lockout/Tagout Machine breakdown response Spare parts management Purchasing & Supply Chain Vendor approval Purchase orders Ingredient specifications COA review Supplier performance Receiving documentation Research & Development New product development Bench samples Pilot runs Formula approvals Commercialization Customer sign-offs Office & Administration Customer onboarding Production scheduling Documentation control Record retention Complaint handling Change management Human Resources Employee onboarding Training procedures GMP training Safety orientation Performance documentation Deliverables We expect: Professionally written SOPs Consistent formatting Flow charts where appropriate Step-by-step procedures Responsibilities clearly defined Required forms referenced Revision control Version numbering Document templates Editable Microsoft Word files The final result should resemble the operations manuals used by large food manufacturers. Required Qualifications Please apply only if you have experience in: Food manufacturing SQF, BRC, or FSSC 22000 facilities FDA regulations GMP documentation HACCP Technical writing Operations manuals SOP development Experience working inside a manufacturing plant is strongly preferred. Nice to Have Experience with: Organic certification Kosher certification Contract manufacturing (co-packing) Nutritional bars Nut butter production Dry blending ERP systems Lean Manufacturing Six Sigma What We Will Provide We will provide: Existing SOPs (where available) Photos and videos Facility walkthroughs Process explanations Equipment information Forms and logs Access to department managers You will transform our operational knowledge into a professional, organized, and audit-ready documentation system. Project Length Estimated duration: 6–12 weeks Potential for ongoing work as our documentation system continues to expand. To Apply Please include: A brief summary of your experience in food manufacturing. Examples of SOPs or operations manuals you have written. Experience with SQF, HACCP, GMP, FDA, USDA, Organic, or Kosher programs. Industries you've worked in. Your hourly rate or fixed-price proposal. Why you are the right fit for this project. Bonus: If you've built a complete SOP system for a food manufacturing facility before, we'd love to hear about it.