Quality Manager

Quality Manager

Location: Remote, U.S.-based | Connecticut candidates encouraged to apply

Travel: Approximately 30–40% domestic travel

Employment Type: Full-time

About the Opportunity

Our client is a growing, better-for-you snack brand seeking a Quality Manager to lead food safety and quality management across its extended supply chain.

This is an opportunity to build and own the quality function for an emerging consumer brand, working closely with leadership and external manufacturing partners to ensure consistent product quality from ingredient sourcing through commercial-scale production.

The ideal candidate brings a strong foundation in food quality and safety, hands-on experience working with co-manufacturers, and an ownership mentality. This individual will serve as the primary point of contact for quality-related matters across suppliers, manufacturing partners, and external testing laboratories.

The position is remote with regular travel to manufacturing and supplier facilities. Candidates based in Connecticut are particularly encouraged to apply, although qualified candidates throughout the U.S. will be considered.

Key Responsibilities

Supplier Quality Management

• Develop and manage an approved supplier program covering ingredients and packaging materials.
• Oversee supplier onboarding, risk assessments, documentation, specifications, and periodic reviews.
• Ensure supplier compliance with food safety standards and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Manage supplier audits, nonconformances, corrective actions, and performance monitoring.
• Oversee allergen risk management, ingredient specifications, and supply-chain preventive controls.
• Maintain required documentation, including certificates of analysis, audit reports, and supplier certifications.

Co-Manufacturer Quality & Food Safety

• Serve as the primary quality representative across external manufacturing partners.
• Conduct facility audits and assess GMP, HACCP, sanitation, allergen control, and food safety programs.
• Support onboarding of new co-manufacturers, production lines, and manufacturing processes.
• Attend commercialization and initial production runs to ensure product specifications are consistently achieved.
• Establish and maintain finished-goods quality standards, manufacturing documentation requirements, and product release procedures.
• Investigate quality deviations, consumer complaints, and manufacturing nonconformances.
• Lead root cause investigations, corrective actions, and preventive measures.
• Oversee product traceability, mock recalls, and recall readiness.
• Build quality reporting processes and performance scorecards for leadership.

Laboratory Testing & Quality Programs

• Manage relationships with external accredited testing laboratories.
• Develop testing protocols for raw materials, finished products, and environmental samples.
• Oversee microbiological, chemical, nutritional, allergen, and shelf-life testing.
• Review and interpret laboratory results, identify trends, and address out-of-specification findings.
• Coordinate testing requirements and validation activities with suppliers and manufacturing partners.
• Maintain organized, audit-ready testing and quality records.

R&D & Commercialization Support

• Partner with R&D on product renovation, ingredient qualification, and commercialization projects.
• Support shelf-life improvement, formulation changes, and packaging optimization.
• Translate product specifications from development into consistent commercial-scale manufacturing.
• Establish quality validation requirements for product or process changes.
• Ensure product quality and food safety remain central to commercialization decisions.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, or a related discipline.
• 5+ years of food quality or food safety experience, including at least 2 years managing suppliers or co-manufacturers.
• PCQI certification and working knowledge of HACCP, FSMA, and GFSI-recognized standards such as SQF or BRCGS.
• Hands-on experience auditing food manufacturing facilities.
• Experience managing third-party laboratory relationships and interpreting microbiological and analytical testing results.
• Strong understanding of FDA labeling requirements, allergen regulations, and food safety compliance.
• Experience managing quality issues, corrective actions, and external manufacturing relationships.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently in a remote environment while managing multiple external partners.
• Willingness to travel approximately 30–40%.

Preferred

• Experience with bakery, refrigerated, or short shelf-life food products.
• Knowledge of cold-chain handling and quality requirements.
• Experience supporting commercialization, product scale-up, or manufacturing process improvements.
• Exposure to R&D, shelf-life studies, and preservation strategies.
• Familiarity with FSMA 204 traceability requirements.
• HACCP or SQF Practitioner certifications or lead auditor training.
• Experience with emerging food brands or co-manufactured CPG businesses.