Director of Food Safety and Quality Manufacturing

Director of Food Safety and Quality Manufacturing

Location: Gloucester County, NJ or Covina, CA

Reports To: VP, Corporate Responsibility, Safety & Quality

Department: Food Safety & Quality

Position Summary

We are seeking a motivated and experienced Director of Food Safety and Quality Manufacturing to lead our food safety and quality initiatives across a multi-site manufacturing network. This critical role involves ensuring exceptional standards, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence throughout our facilities. As a leader, you will guide and develop Plant Food Safety & Quality Managers, promote a culture of continuous improvement, and strengthen our quality systems to enhance product safety and integrity.

Your responsibilities will include proactively identifying risks, analyzing trends, and communicating effectively with customers, regulatory bodies, and internal teams. You will codify best practices, align processes across our sites, and ensure that knowledge-sharing and corrective actions are integrated swiftly within the network.

As a key member of the Food Safety & Quality leadership team, you will collaborate with Site Directors, Operations, Supply Chain, R&D, and peer FSQ Directors to achieve consistent and reliable manufacturing performance. Additionally, you will represent the company in customer interactions, audits, and industry events, while playing a vital role in crisis management and incident response efforts.

Primary Responsibilities

• Provide visionary leadership for all manufacturing FSQ programs, ensuring reliable execution across diverse production sites.
• Mentor and develop Plant FSQ Managers to elevate capability, responsibility, and expertise throughout the network.
• Standardize quality processes, raw material criteria, defect frameworks, escalation protocols, and preventive controls at all facilities.
• Conduct proactive trend analysis to detect emerging risks and implement timely corrective or preventive actions.
• Enhance detection and monitoring systems to minimize defects, foreign materials, microbiological risks, and variability in products.
• Integrate food safety into day-to-day operations and long-term strategies in partnership with Site Directors and Operations leadership.
• Lead root cause investigations and enterprise CAPA programs, along with cross-functional initiatives to drive improvements.
• Communicate clearly and timely with customers about FSQ performance, CAPAs, trend data, and preventive strategies.
• Ensure all plants maintain compliance with regulatory standards including FSMA, GFSI, GMPs, HACCP, GAP, and specific customer requirements.
• Foster a proactive FSQ culture that emphasizes ownership and risk mitigation.
• Document and share best practices across sites to drive improvements and enhance system maturity.
• Act as the organization’s representative in customer meetings, audits, and industry events.
• Support crisis and incident management efforts, ensuring swift escalation, investigation, and resolution.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of FSQ leadership experience in fresh-cut, produce, food manufacturing, or multi-site operations.
• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, or a related field; an advanced degree is preferred.
• Strong knowledge of GMPs, HACCP, FSMA, GAP, and GFSI requirements.
• Proven experience leading multi-site teams and developing high-performing FSQ organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze data, identify trends, and implement effective preventive strategies.
• Excellent communication skills, with experience interacting directly with customers and regulatory bodies.
• Successfully driven standardization, best practice replication, and cultural transformation across multiple manufacturing sites.

Essential Job Functions

• Ability to climb stairs
• Ability to lift up to 25 lbs
• Ability to sit at a workstation for extended periods