Job Description

About Our Organization:

We are a family-rooted, innovative-driven manufacturer of premium liquid food and beverage products. The North American platform has diverse product capabilities across dressings, sauces, mayonnaises, syrups, and beverage mixes for application in foodservice, retail, and food processing channels.

The company is a partner of choice to iconic Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs), Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands, distributors, and food manufacturers across both savory and sweet liquid products. Guided by strong values and an entrepreneurial spirit, we specialize in creating high-quality products that meet the evolving needs of our customers. Trusted by industry leaders, we are known for our precision, consistency, and unwavering commitment to safety and quality.

Our mission is to provide our customers with best-in-class products to become their trusted partners. We aim to foster valuable connections between our staff and customers to ensure a relationship based on mutual respect, trust, and the assurance that our efforts are directed towards consumer satisfaction.

Position Summary:

The Quality Assurance (QA) Manager is responsible for leading and maintaining the company’s food safety and quality systems to ensure compliance with regulatory, customer, and SQF requirements. This role provides direct leadership and oversight for all Quality Assurance and Sanitation functions, including QA Technicians, the Sanitation Supervisor, and Sanitation employees.

The QA Manager provides strategic direction, manages QA and Sanitation personnel, oversees audits and investigations, and partners cross-functionally to foster a strong food safety and quality culture throughout the organization.

Please note: This position does not offer relocation assistance or work visa sponsorship.

Key Responsibilities

• Direct daily activities of QA and Sanitation personnel, providing guidance, coaching, and problem resolution.
• Develop and execute the QA and Sanitation strategic plan by setting departmental goals, identifying long-term initiatives, and monitoring performance in alignment with the company’s overall strategic objectives.
• Partner with Human Resources on personnel matters, including hiring, performance management, corrective action, and terminations.
• Responsible for Food Safety and to initiate action if any food safety problems arise.
• Conduct performance appraisals and goal-setting activities for the QA team, ensuring alignment with departmental and organizational objectives.
• Lead the Food Safety and Quality Management System to ensure compliance with SQF, regulatory, and customer requirements.
• Develop, implement, maintain, and continuously improve quality and food safety programs.
• Maintain and control the document management system, ensuring procedures, records, and forms remain current, accurate, and compliant.
• Manage and update HACCP/Food Safety plans by evaluating and mitigating risks associated with ingredients, packaging, equipment, and processes.
• Champion a strong food safety and quality culture across all departments by promoting accountability, transparency, and ownership at all levels of the organization.
• Lead by example in demonstrating commitment to food safety, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with leadership and operational teams to integrate food safety and quality expectations into daily activities, decision-making, and performance metrics.
• Promote employee engagement in food safety through training, communication, and reinforcement of reporting expectations, including encouragement of issue escalation without fear of retaliation.
• Evaluate food safety and quality culture effectiveness through observations, internal audits, metrics, and employee feedback, and drive improvement actions as needed.
• Support SQF food safety culture requirements by contributing to management review, goal setting, communication plans, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Train and educate employees on food safety and quality programs, including GMPs, HACCP, allergens, laboratory SOPs, SQF requirements, and food safety culture expectations.
• Verify training effectiveness through audits, observations, and performance monitoring.
• Plan, oversee, and participate in third-party, internal, customer, and regulatory audits.
• Lead corrective and preventive actions resulting from audit findings and ensure timely, sustainable resolution.
• Serve as the primary customer contact for QA-related inquiries, issue resolution, and technical troubleshooting.
• Provide technical support for custom-manufactured products and by reviewing and approving batches, maintaining formulas, and implementing formulation changes based on rework or test data.
• Assist with production trials, identify required testing, and review quality control and operational reports to ensure quality, safety, and efficiency standards are met.
• Lead internal and external customer complaint investigations by facilitating cross-functional root cause analysis and ensuring corrective actions are implemented, verified, and documented.
• Review and approve laboratory and sampling SOPs for all products manufactured and tested.
• Oversee environmental monitoring programs, including sampling and testing of water, air, and food contact surfaces.
• Manage laboratory activity costing for current products and work requests.
• Report on quality and food safety metrics and participation in the Monthly Townhall Meeting (MTHM).
• Maintain accurate and complete records within the Quality Assurance module of the company ERP system.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in food safety and quality assurance within a food or beverage manufacturing environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to interact effectively with regulatory agencies, customers, auditors, and internal teams.
• Proven ability to influence decision-making, drive accountability, and manage change across multiple departments.
• Highly organized with strong analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment and manage multiple priorities.
• Certification as a Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI), HACCP, and Better Process Control (Acidified Foods).
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams).

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in food science, Microbiology, Chemistry, Biology, or a related scientific or technical field required.

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