Quality Manager at Millborn Seeds Inc – Brookings, South Dakota

As a leading seed supplier, Millborn offers a vertically integrated supply chain, a robust seed lineup, and an unmatched support team. Our expertise enables us to positively impact the land today and for generations to come.

Since 1987, Millborn has been committed to being the single source for any seed need, no matter our customers' goals. We proudly serve a diverse range of seed needs throughout North America.

Team Millborn consists of individuals dedicated to doing the right thing, without exception. We are authentic, genuine, and continually strive for excellence in everything we do.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Quality Manager is responsible for owning and enforcing Millborn Seeds’ quality standards across all products, facilities, and partners. This role ensures that seed, ingredient, organic, and specialty products consistently meet internal standards, customer specifications, and regulatory requirements.

This position serves as the central authority for quality decisions, issue resolution, root-cause analysis, and continuous improvement. The Quality Manager works cross-functionally with Operations, Plant Management, Sales, and third-party partners to protect product integrity, customer trust, and the Millborn brand.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Quality Systems & Standards

• Own Millborn’s quality standards, specifications, and SOPs across seed, ingredient, and organic programs.
• Establish and maintain acceptance criteria for cleanliness, purity, appearance, germination, documentation, and lot integrity.
• Ensure quality processes are documented, followed, auditable, and scalable.
• Ensure Millborn adheres to state and federal regulations and remains current as regulations change.
• Serve as the primary owner of quality and compliance documentation for international seed movements, including imports and exports.

Quality Control & Assurance

• Define and oversee quality checkpoints for incoming product, in-process handling, and finished goods.
• Develop Millborn’s Quality Assurance Program and oversee sampling, testing, clean-out estimation, lot release, data collection, data tracking, and tag accuracy.
• Ensure traceability and documentation from receipt through shipment.

Issue Management & Corrective Action

• Serve as the primary owner of all quality issues reported internally or by customers.
• Lead investigations to determine root cause, affected scope, and corrective actions.
• Coordinate resolution across Operations, Plant Management, Sales, and third-party partners.
• Ensure issues are documented, tracked, and closed with preventative actions in place.

Third-Party & Vendor Oversight

• Define quality expectations for third-party vendors, cleaners, processors, and transportation partners.
• Establish and maintain positive relationships with private and state seed laboratories.
• Establish and maintain positive relationships with state crop improvement associations and work closely with them on our pedigreed seed requirements.
• Monitor performance against Millborn standards and customer specifications.
• Support audits, corrective actions, and recovery efforts related to third-party quality failures.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Act as the quality authority across facilities and departments.
• Partner with Plant Managers to drive execution, accountability, and consistency.
• Support Sales and Procurement with clear quality expectations and vendor/customer communication when needed.
• Provide leadership with visibility into quality risks, trends, and improvement opportunities.

Training & Quality Culture

• Train teams on quality standards, SOPs, and “what good looks like.”
• Promote early identification and reporting of quality concerns.
• Reinforce a culture of ownership, consistency, and accountability.

Continuous Improvement

• Analyze quality data, trends, and repeat issues.
• Recommend process, equipment, or procedural improvements to reduce risk.
• Support scalable systems as Millborn’s volume and complexity grows.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• 5+ years of experience in quality management, manufacturing quality, or operations (agriculture, seed, food, or ingredient supply preferred).
• Strong understanding of specification-driven production and lot traceability.
• Proven experience with root-cause analysis and corrective action.
• Ability to work across multiple facilities and third-party partners.
• Strong documentation, communication, and leadership skills.
• Comfortable making decisions and holding firm to quality standards.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• Consistent product quality across facilities and programs.
• Fewer customer-impacting quality issues.
• Clear ownership and accountability for quality decisions.
• Faster, more effective resolution when issues occur.
• Increased confidence from customers, sales, and operations teams.