Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA) Manager

This role leads all Food Safety and Quality Assurance programs for a rapidly growing food manufacturing facility. The FSQA Manager oversees daily FSQA operations, ensures full compliance with regulatory, certification, and customer requirements, and drives continuous improvement across production. This high-impact leadership position partners closely with Operations, Sanitation, Maintenance, R&D, Regulatory, Procurement, and Supply Chain to uphold the highest standards of food safety, product quality, and operational efficiency while supporting commercialization and ongoing process enhancements.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily FSQA operations within a regulated food manufacturing environment and ensure consistent execution of all food safety and quality programs.
• Ensure compliance with FDA and USDA/FSIS regulations, HACCP, SQF, GMPs, sanitation standards, allergen control programs, and customer-specific requirements.
• Lead, maintain, and continuously improve core food safety systems, including HACCP plans, food safety and food defense programs, environmental monitoring programs (EMP), and allergen management and traceability systems.
• Manage environmental monitoring activities, including sampling, investigations, root cause analysis, and implementation of corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
• Oversee critical control points (CCPs), preventive controls, and quality monitoring programs to ensure product safety and consistency.
• Review and verify production and quality documentation, such as HACCP records, sanitation logs, metal detection records, and other quality system documentation.
• Lead investigations related to customer complaints, non-conformances, deviations, and foreign material incidents, and ensure timely resolution and documentation.
• Drive CAPA implementation, follow-up, and verification to prevent recurrence of issues and strengthen food safety and quality systems.
• Support product commercialization by overseeing line trials, validations, and process reviews, ensuring new products and processes meet all safety and quality requirements.
• Prepare for and lead internal, customer, regulatory, and third-party audits, including GFSI/SQF and other certification audits.
• Develop, implement, and maintain FSQA policies, procedures, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and training programs for FSQA and production teams.
• Manage product hold and release processes and oversee traceability activities within ERP systems and quality databases.
• Analyze and trend quality and operational data to identify patterns, risks, and opportunities for improvement, and recommend data-driven solutions.
• Partner with suppliers on quality requirements, specifications, and issue resolution to ensure incoming materials meet defined standards.
• Collaborate with Operations and Maintenance to improve sanitary design, process controls, and overall plant hygiene and food safety.
• Train, mentor, and develop FSQA team members, providing coaching, feedback, and performance management to build a strong quality culture.
• Participate in risk assessments, validations, and shelf-life studies to support product safety, stability, and quality over shelf life.
• Support certification programs such as SQF, Organic, Kosher, Halal, or equivalent, including documentation, audits, and ongoing compliance.
• Assist with regulatory documentation and export or customer-specific documentation requirements, ensuring accurate and timely submissions.
• Maintain documentation systems, including ERP and quality management systems, to ensure records are complete, accurate, and audit-ready.
• Support continuous improvement and operational excellence initiatives focused on food safety, product quality, and process efficiency.
• Provide leadership and oversight to the quality team across multiple shifts, ensuring clear communication, alignment on priorities, and consistent application of FSQA standards.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, or a related field preferred.
• 5+ years of FSQA leadership or supervisory experience in food manufacturing.
• Strong working knowledge of FDA and/or USDA regulations applicable to food manufacturing.
• Demonstrated expertise in HACCP and Preventive Controls, with PCQI knowledge or certification.
• Experience with SQF or other GFSI-recognized schemes and certification programs.
• In-depth understanding of GMPs, sanitation practices, and allergen management programs.
• Hands-on experience with environmental monitoring programs, ideally in ready-to-eat (RTE) environments.
• Proven experience manag