Food Safety & Quality Assurance Director

About the Role

The FSQA Director guides the team and organization toward the successful market launch and transfer of manufacturing for new products. This role establishes project objectives, scope, assumptions, plans, and timelines for development initiatives, collaborating with all departments to coordinate resources. The FSQA Director oversees company-wide programs in Food Safety, Quality Assurance, Regulatory and Customer Compliance, Supplier Approval, Field Food Safety, Sanitation, Product Commercialization, and Continuous Improvement across all operations, including the Salinas and Yuma facilities. They act as the primary contact for customers, regulators, certification bodies, auditors, and executive leadership, implementing and monitoring plant-level programs and procedures. The role emphasizes safety, quality, maintenance, and reliability, directing organizational activities to achieve optimal efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and maximum profit. The FSQA Director reviews the department budget for potential cost reductions and allocates the operating budget accordingly, consulting with administrative staff and analyzing reports to identify necessary adjustments. This position reports to the V.P of Operations.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and governance for all Food Safety, Quality Assurance, Regulatory Compliance, Sanitation, and Continuous Improvement programs across the organization.
• Develop, implement, maintain, and continuously improve Food Safety and Quality Management Systems, including HACCP, GMPs, SQF/GFSI certification, environmental monitoring, traceability, recall preparedness, and document control programs.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable regulatory, customer, industry, and company requirements, while maintaining audit-ready operations and a culture of continuous compliance.
• Lead food safety and quality risk management activities, including incident investigations, root cause analysis, corrective and preventive actions (CAPA), crisis management, product disposition, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Direct supplier quality, field food safety, and agricultural compliance programs, including grower approvals, ranch audits, agricultural water compliance, supplier qualification, and supply chain risk assessments.
• Oversee validation, verification, and scientific support programs, including process validations, sanitation validations, environmental monitoring, microbiological testing, shelf-life studies, and performance trending.
• Lead customer food safety and quality programs, including technical reviews, complaint management, specification compliance, customer audits, corrective actions, and initiatives that enhance customer satisfaction and confidence.
• Develop and lead high-performing FSQA and Sanitation teams through coaching, succession planning, performance management, training, and promotion of a strong food safety and quality culture.
• Utilize data analytics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor performance, identify trends, drive continuous improvement initiatives, and support strategic business decisions.
• Serve as the primary company representative for food safety and quality matters, interacting with customers, regulatory agencies, certification bodies, auditors, industry organizations, and executive leadership while supporting new product commercialization and strategic growth initiatives.
• Serve as the SQF Practitioner, responsible for executing the SQF (Safe Quality Food) system in the plant, including implementing and maintaining a HACCP-based food safety plan and understanding the SQF code requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, or related discipline preferred.
• Valid Driver’s License; supply chain certification a plus.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in Food Safety, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, or Operations, including at least 8 years in management roles within food manufacturing, fresh produce, or related industries.
• Demonstrated expertise in Food Safety and Quality Management Systems, including HACCP, GMPs, Sanitation, Environmental Monitoring, Preventive Controls, and GFSI-certified programs (SQF, PrimusGFS, or equivalent).
• Proven leadership of food safety and quality programs across processing, packaging, warehousing, distribution, and agricultural operations, with a focus on regulatory compliance and continuous improvement.
• Experience leading customer compliance and regulatory programs, including customer audits, third-party audits, regulatory inspections, corrective action management, and technical customer support.
• Experience managing supplier approval, field food safety, agricultural compliance, and supply chain risk assessment programs.
• Demonstrated success leading validation and verification activities, including process validation, sanitation validation, shelf-life studies, environmental monitoring, microbiological testing, and data-driven risk assessments.
• Strong leadership, communication, and people-development skills, with a proven ability to build high-performing teams, develop talent, foster food safety culture, and influence cross-functional stakeholders.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, project management, and decision-making abilities, including the use of data, KPIs, trending, and root cause analysis to drive business results.
• Direct experience in the fresh produce industry strongly preferred, including knowledge of LGMA requirements, agricultural practices, and produce-specific food safety risks.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively interact with growers, customers, auditors, regulators, executive leadership, and employees at all levels of the organization.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and business systems, with the ability to leverage technology and data analytics to support operational and compliance objectives.
• Bilingual English/Spanish a plus.

Essential Abilities

• Ability to provide strategic leadership across multi-site food safety, quality, regulatory compliance, operational excellence, and continuous improvement programs.
• Strong communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively influence and collaborate with employees, customers, growers, auditors, regulators, and executive leadership.
• Demonstrated leadership, coaching, talent development, and succession planning skills, with a proven ability to build and develop high-performing teams.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, project management, organizational, and decision-making abilities, including budget management, KPI development, and data-driven business planning.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives, resolve complex business challenges, manage competing priorities, and drive results in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to travel between Salinas, CA and Yuma, AZ throughout the season as needed, including customer visits, FSQA-related travel, industry conferences, and other business needs. Relocation is optional.

SQF Practitioner Requirements

• Must have completed a HACCP training course.
• Must be competent to implement and maintain a HACCP-based food safety plan.
• Must have an understanding of the SQF code and the requirements to implement and maintain the SQF system relevant to the scope of certification.
• Must be ready and willing to accept a high level of responsibility and accountability in relation to the management of the SQF system.