Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance

Overview

Position Overview:

As Director of Food and Safety & Quality Assurance, you will be a hands on leader overseeing all aspects of quality assurance, control, QA auditing, and Research & Development. You will be responsible for developing and implementing QA strategies, manage audits, ensure regulatory compliance and drive continuous improvement across our operations.

• Develop and implement quality systems:
  Create and maintain quality management systems, including SQF, FDA, MDA, HACCP, client specific required programs, procedures, documentation, and statistical records.
• Manage audits and inspections:
  Lead internal audits and support external audits from agencies like the USDA and FDA, as well as third-party and customer inspections.
• Collaborate and build strong teams:
  Identify opportunities to train production staff to identify quality issues in time and speak up as the SME of their processes to build accountability on the front line.
• Mitigate risk:
  Manage risk and establish the proper mitigation controls.
• Ensure regulatory compliance:
  Guarantee that all products and processes adhere to federal, state, and local laws and regulations, as well as company policies.
• Lead the QA and R&D team:
  Lead, manage and develop the QA and R&D team.
• Investigate and resolve issues:
  Thoroughly investigate customer complaints and quality issues to ensure timely and effective responses.
• Serve as a subject matter expert:
  Provide expertise and feedback on quality matters to senior leadership and other departments.
• Drive continuous improvement:
  Implement strategies to continuously improve food safety and product quality.
• Champion a culture of excellence:
  Build emphasis on food safety and integrity by driving engagement and collaboration cross divisionally and servant leadership.

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Quality Management, Engineering, and/or combination of related education and work experience
• Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in QA/QC or Quality Management
• Strong leadership and team management skills
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and quality management systems
• Working knowledge of GMP, HACCP, and FDA/USDA regulations

• Master’s degree in a related field
• Experience in food manufacturing or food service environments
• Familiarity with EOS, Lean Six Sigma or other Continuous Improvement methodologies
• Experience with SQF, BRC, or ISO 22000 certification programs
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) is a plus
• QA Certifications (Preferred)
• Certified Quality Auditor (CQA)
• Certified Quality Engineer (CQE)
• HACCP Certification
• SQF Practitioner
• PCQI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individual)