Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance

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.

Key Responsibilities & Essential Functions

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.

Basic Qualifications

• 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

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a related field
• Experience in food manufacturing or foodservice 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)