Senior Quality Assurance Manager

Position Summary

The Senior Quality Assurance Manager is responsible for the leadership, implementation, and continuous improvement of quality, food safety, regulatory, environmental, sanitation, and pest management programs at Sterling Foods' 1075 Arion Parkway facility.

This position serves as the site authority for food safety and quality and ensures products are manufactured safely, legally, and in accordance with approved specifications, contractual requirements, regulatory obligations, and customer standards. The Senior Quality Assurance Manager will ensure compliance with SQF certification requirements, USDA AMS and FSIS regulations, FDA requirements, applicable military specifications, and customer standards supporting Military, National Restaurant, and K-12 programs.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and strategic direction for site Quality Assurance programs and personnel while partnering with the Quality Assurance Manager to ensure effective day-to-day execution of food safety and quality systems.
• Maintain compliance with SQF Code requirements, including HACCP/Preventive Controls, GMPs, traceability, allergen control, and recall readiness.
• Serve as the primary site liaison with USDA AMS and FSIS inspection personnel, regulatory agencies, certification bodies, and customer auditors.
• Oversee sanitation programs, environmental monitoring, hygienic practices, and pest management to ensure effective control of food safety risks.
• Ensure compliance with applicable USDA, FDA, FSMA, military, customer, and contractual requirements.
• Ensure timely offering of production lots for USDA AMS inspection and maintain processes that support high first-pass acceptance by verifying products meet contractual specifications and quality requirements prior to submission.
• Manage nonconformances, corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), root cause investigations, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Oversee raw material acceptance, in-process controls, and finished product verification activities.
• Ensure site-level labeling and packaging comply with approved specifications and regulatory requirements.
• Maintain accurate documentation, recordkeeping, and document control in accordance with regulatory and certification standards.
• Serve as the primary quality representative for customers and support customer audits, inquiries, complaints, scorecards, and corrective action responses.
• Oversee the investigation and resolution of customer complaints, foreign material incidents, and product quality concerns, ensuring effective root cause analysis and corrective action.
• Maintain independent authority to stop production or prevent shipment when food safety, regulatory, or quality concerns are identified.
• Ensure validation and verification activities are completed and maintained for food safety controls, sanitation programs, environmental monitoring, and preventive controls.
• Lead risk assessments and evaluate the impact of process, ingredient, packaging, and equipment changes on food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance.
• Lead management review activities and communicate key food safety and quality performance metrics to site and corporate leadership.
• Promote a strong food safety and quality culture through training, coaching, accountability, and leadership.

SQF & Regulatory Responsibilities

• Maintain the site Food Safety Management System and ensure ongoing compliance with SQF certification requirements.
• Ensure readiness for internal audits, certification audits, regulatory inspections, and customer assessments.
• Verify the effectiveness of sanitation, environmental monitoring, allergen control, pest prevention, and other food safety programs.
• Ensure compliance with USDA AMS contractual requirements and FSIS regulations, as applicable.
• Maintain effective systems for traceability, recall readiness, document control, and regulatory compliance.
• Monitor changes in applicable regulatory, customer, and certification requirements and coordinate implementation of necessary changes.

Scope & Organizational Interface

• Provide site-level leadership with responsibility for Quality Assurance personnel, systems, and programs at the 1075 Arion Parkway facility.
• Report to Corporate Quality leadership and collaborate closely with Operations, Maintenance, Procurement, Product Development, and other cross-functional partners.
• Serve as the primary on-site authority for food safety, quality, regulatory compliance, and inspection activities.
• Coordinate with Corporate Quality and Regulatory teams to ensure alignment with company-wide standards, policies, and initiatives.
• Foster strong cross-functional partnerships and accountability for food safety and quality throughout the facility.

Skills & Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, or a related technical field is required.
• Minimum of 7-10 years of progressive experience in food quality, food safety, regulatory compliance, or a related field.
• Supervisory or management experience is required.
• Experience in USDA-regulated or inspected food manufacturing is strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting Military, National Restaurant, K-12, institutional, or other highly regulated customers is preferred.
• Experience with root cause analysis methodologies, statistical process control, trend analysis, and continuous improvement tools.

Technical Knowledge

• Strong knowledge of SQF Code requirements and food safety management systems.
• Working knowledge of USDA AMS and FSIS regulations and inspection processes.
• Understanding of FDA and FSMA requirements.
• Experience with HACCP/Preventive Controls, allergen control, sanitation, environmental monitoring, and food safety verification programs.
• Knowledge of pest management programs and preventive practices.
• Familiarity with labeling compliance and product specifications at the site level.
• Ability to interpret regulatory requirements, customer specifications, and contractual standards and translate them into effective site-level practices.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Sterling Foods is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.