Ajith Babburu
College Station,TX
Summary
Product compliance and quality assurance professional with expertise in laboratory QA, food safety practices, and data analysis. Proven ability to collaborate with research and operational teams to translate scientific findings into actionable product quality enhancements.
Overview
1
1
Certification
3
3
years of professional experience
Work History
Crop Protection Analyst / Product Quality & Compliance Support
Lipman Family Farms
Fort Myers, Florida
02.2026 - Current
- Conduct product quality checks for fresh tomatoes during packing/packaging operations, verifying grade, defects, size, color, condition, and customer quality expectations before shipment.
- Inspect tomato packaging quality and communicate issues related to product condition, lot consistency, handling, storage, and shipment readiness with the packaging house, warehouse, QA, and production teams.
- Collaborated with Quality Assurance, Food Safety, crop protection, irrigation, warehouse, and operations teams to address quality concerns and implement corrective actions for defects, pest/disease issues, and post-harvest quality risks.
- Maintained field, sample, and inspection documentation to ensure traceability and compliance with company SOPs, HACCP-based food safety expectations, and customer specifications.
- Utilized Excel, GIS/GPS mapping, iCropTrak/GMS, sensors, BMP probes, pH/EC meters, and digital records to enhance data accuracy and improve quality documentation and operational visibility.
Graduate Research Assistant / Citrus Quality & Laboratory QA
Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Citrus Center
Weslaco, USA
08.2023 - 08.2025
- Collaborated with Wonderful Citrus and citrus industry partners on field/lab research to enhance HLB management, evaluate fruit quality, and support oxytetracycline commercialization studies.
- Collected and analyzed citrus fruit quality data, assessing fruit size, weight, maturity, juice quality, Brix/acid ratio, antioxidant response, and treatment performance from development through harvest to inform quality improvement strategies.
- Performed laboratory testing including PCR/qPCR, DNA extraction, ELISA, TAS analysis, HPLC, refractometer measurements, and sample preparation while following SOPs, QA/QC practices, and data integrity standards.
- Evaluated analytical results for accuracy and consistency; summarized findings using Excel, SAS, JMP, LIMS, and technical reports to provide actionable insights for researchers, growers, and industry stakeholders.
- Collaborated with research, grower, and commercialization teams to interpret quality and compliance-related data and translate scientific findings into practical production and product quality recommendations.
- Maintained sample identification, labeling, storage, chain-of-custody style records, calibration logs, laboratory notebooks, and auditable technical documentation for research and quality review.
Quality Control & Lab Assistant / Juice Quality Experience
Rio Grande Juice
Mission/McAllen, USA
09.2024 - 04.2025
- Conducted fruit and juice quality testing in citrus processing quality lab, applying HACCP, GMP, sanitation, FDA-aligned food safety expectations, and production-stage quality control procedures.
- Monitored juice quality parameters, including Brix, acidity, color, pulp ratio, maturity, and product consistency to support processing standards and quality release decisions.
- Verified incoming fruit characteristics including size, grade, maturity, color, and physical condition against quality requirements during production line quality checks.
- Assisted with fruit, juice, water, pulp, and raw material sampling; maintained aseptic technique, sample labeling, traceability, and accurate quality records.
- Assisted with quality investigations, promoted sanitation awareness, ensured equipment cleanliness, and contributed to process improvement activities in fast-paced food manufacturing environment.
- Worked in citrus processing environment, ensuring adherence to industry standards.
Education
M.S. - Agronomy and Food Science
Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Kingsville, TX08-2025
Skills
Product compliance and quality assurance
Labeling compliance
Food safety practices
Product specifications
Label and artwork verification
Allergen documentation support
Nutrition data review
Traceability and recordkeeping
QA documentation
Chemical analysis
Data analysis
Vendor management
Certification
- HACCP Certification
- Certified Crop Advisor (CCA)
- CITI Biosafety & Biohazard Training
- Good Clinical Practice
- Six Sigma
- USDA Field Research Safety Protocols
Selected Research And Recognition
- HLB Management in Texas: evaluated micronutrients, antioxidants, oxytetracycline, fruit quality, and analytical results for citrus production systems.
- Sustainability Development Program: digitized farmer records and improved traceability of field operations from seedling to harvest.
- Second place oral presentation, 79th Subtropical Agriculture and Environmental Society meeting; JBS Endowment Scholarship recipient.
Timeline
Crop Protection Analyst / Product Quality & Compliance Support
Lipman Family Farms
02.2026 - Current
Quality Control & Lab Assistant / Juice Quality Experience
Rio Grande Juice
09.2024 - 04.2025
Graduate Research Assistant / Citrus Quality & Laboratory QA
Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Citrus Center
08.2023 - 08.2025
M.S. - Agronomy and Food Science
Texas A&M University-Kingsville