Food Safety and Quality Manager

FuzeHR is now hiring an experienced Quality & Food Safety Manager to run the lab and the quality calls behind one of the most exciting product lines in food manufacturing: plant-based protein (SPC and TSPC)!

Our client is a global leader in agribusiness and food ingredients. Their Morristown site makes protein ingredients that end up in products on shelves around the world, and as their Quality and Food Safety Manager, you'll be the one making the call regarding what ships out. This is a critical role with direct corporate influence, a brand new position created to drive quality and food safety operations from the ground up for our client’s freshest line of business. They are eager to take their plant-based protein division straight to industry leading status, an experienced, innovated Quality & Food Safety Leader will be instrumental in their success.

Why this role is different

Most quality jobs ask you to recommend. This one gives you genuine authority. You can hold product, stop a shipment and call the disposition within a clear framework when data says something isn’t right. You’ll be dedicated to protein, providing critical influence to the QA/QC team and working side by side with Operations, R&D, Engineering and Supply Chain. You’ll also have a direct line to the Site QFS Manager, who backs you on the biggest calls.

You’re not a gatekeeper. You’re the person who makes the plant faster and safer, the product quality better, and, at the end of the line, the customer happier.

What are the Perks?

• Highly competitive compensation
• A visible, high-impact leadership role with real decision-making authority
• A chance to grow with a global industry leader

What are the Responsibilities?

Product Quality & Release

• Be the final checkpoint: confirm raw materials, in-process materials and finished SPC/TSPC meet spec before anything leaves the building
• Lead root-cause investigations on out-of-spec and out-of-trend results, and close them with corrective actions that stick
• Turn quality data into action by spotting trends, calling out risks and giving site leadership clear next steps
• Partner with R&D on product trials, custom-product development and new test method validation

Laboratory & Quality Systems

• Run a busy QC lab day to day: staffing, sample flow, turnaround time and instrument readiness
• Build and train a team on sampling, methods, data integrity and documentation
• Be the go-to for LIMS and SAP quality transactions
• Keep the lab sharp through proficiency testing, check samples and method correlation

Food Safety, Compliance & Customers

• Support HACCP, preventive controls, Food Defense, GMP and certification programs for SPC/TSPC
• Show up for internal, customer, third-party and regulatory audits as the subject-matter expert
• Drive traceability exercises, mock recalls, sanitation inspections, environmental monitoring and pest control
• Investigate customer complaints and respond with facts, not guesswork

What are the Requirements?

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Biology or a related technical field (equivalent education and experience considered)
• 6+ years of progressive quality, lab or food/feed manufacturing experience, including leading technical teams and/or processes
• Experience in a food, feed, ingredient or ready-to-eat manufacturing environment
• Working knowledge of FDA regulations for food and feed manufacturing
• Hands-on experience with GMPs, pest control, environmental monitoring, sanitation (dry and wet), internal audits, and Kosher/Halal and Non-GMO programs
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and SAP
• A strong safety mindset and the ability to coach others on it
• Excellent verbal, written and listening skills

Bonus points: PCQI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individual) certification

This is a hands-on, on-site role with regular time in the lab and on the production floor. Travel is minimal, with occasional support to other protein sites.