Food Safety and Quality Assurance Manager

About the role

The Manager of Food Safety and Quality is responsible for leading, managing, and executing the day-to-day operations of Food Safety & Quality Assurance at our Northeast OH facility. This position reports to the President and COO.

The Manager of Food Safety and Quality Assurance will lead the Food Safety, Quality Assurance, and Sanitation efforts of the company, ensuring all facility policies, procedures, and practices adhere to USDA and FDA Regulations, SQFI requirements, and Good Manufacturing Practices while meeting customer requirements.

This role will actively ensure that all aspects of the food and plant are safe from contamination, champion a culture of safety and accountability, and drive continuous improvement. The position serves as the primary liaison between the company and USDA, FDA, ODA, customers, and auditors.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional teams in root cause analysis and corrective action of food safety issues.
• Monitor Quality KPIs (e.g., Customer Complaints, FTQs, Food Safety incidents) and address trends or emerging issues by engaging appropriate functions (operations, maintenance, Innovation).
• Lead the development of sanitary design and operating practices, providing recommendations for new and existing equipment.
• Manage projects for food safety training, development, and delivery (SQF, Sanitation, Microbiology, Pest Control, Allergen Management, HARPC, HACCP, FSMA, GMPs, SOPs, Internal Auditing, and external audits).
• Maintain and improve validation programs for CCPs, Preventive Controls, and Sanitation.
• Lead and mentor the operations team and supervise quality control coordinators.
• Validate effective process controls and prerequisite programs; coordinate Mock Recall and Food Defense assessments.
• Maintain records (paper and electronic) of monitoring to verify compliance with program and policy requirements; analyze data to identify trends and opportunities for improvement.
• Develop and analyze statistical data and product specifications to establish quality and reliability standards, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Implement processes for record review, process verification, validation, and facility inspections to ensure audit readiness.
• Ensure compliance with state, local, and federal regulations, maintaining the highest standards in the food industry.
• Manage the swabbing program and results, including vendor relationships.

Requirements

• BS Degree in Food Safety or Science.
• Minimum 5 years of Food Safety Management experience in a food processing facility.
• USDA/FDA, HACCP, SQF, or BRC experience, including leading facility audits.
• 2-3+ years of prior employee leadership experience.
• Flexibility to work weekends and varying shifts as needed.
• Competence in basic math and Excel; ability to communicate in English.

Preferred Qualifications

• Passion for food.
• Prior experience in bakery food manufacturing with specific experience in meat processing.

Benefits

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Health insurance
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance

Pay

$110,000.00 - $140,000.00 per year

Schedule

Full-time, in-person. Flexibility to work weekends and varying shifts as needed.