Contract Manufacturing Quality Manager

Kinder's • Walnut Creek, CA

11h • $120,000 - $140,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

BUILT ON FLAVOR. FUELED BY PEOPLE.
What’s it like to work at Kinder’s? Well, there’s a lot of snacking and geeking out over what we all cooked over the weekend. Beyond that, there’s also plenty of hard work. Because we don’t just like flavor, we’re obsessed with it.
With over 100 products sold nationwide, we’re now a top-five brand in multiple flavor categories at Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods, and more. We’re not your typical CPG company. Privately held and founder-led, we like to think of ourselves as a pirate ship in a sea of cruise ships. Our crew is adventurous and fearless. We chart our own course and chase big ideas to make food unforgettable.
As we expand globally and approach $1 billion in revenue, we need more smart-and-scrappy, flavor-obsessed people to come aboard. If you’re looking for a place where you can see the real impact of your work... this is it! Every day, you’ll be part of a journey to add flavor to millions of meals and lives.
How you'll have an impact at Kinder’s: The Co-Manufacturing Quality Manager will be responsible for quality assurance at our co-pack partners for our high-growth flavor brand and will play a critical role in both defining and driving compliance with our high quality standards across our co-pack network. You will partner with Kinder’s Co-Pack/Operations, Corporate Quality, and Product Development teams, to build an organization and processes that ensure Kinder’s delivers high quality and amazing tasting products consistently while adhering to industry best practices for food safety and quality assurance.

Requirements

• B.S. in Food Science or related field preferred; A.S required.
• PCQI & HACCP required, Better Process Control School (Acidified Food School) preferred.
• 7+ years relevant work experience in FS/QA/QC in CPG Food and Beverage industry.
• Advanced level food safety technical knowledge, including demonstrated knowledge of microbiology, allergens, FSMA and other food regulations.
• Experience in innovation and/or product development is a plus.
• Experience with food audit procedures and systems (e.g. BRC, SQF, Tracegains) strongly preferred.
• Track record in agile creative thinking, generation of standards / processes, and working with internal and external partners.
• Collaborative business partner with a track record of helping internal and external stakeholders identify win-win solutions and driving alignment around best course of action and accountability for delivering committed outcomes.
• Proven strategic thinker excited by a dynamic, highly innovation-focused model.
• Strong analytical & quantitative acumen with ability to collect and use data to drive better, faster decision-making.
• Strong project management skills and understanding of new product development process from ideation to execution.
• Business builder who owns and drives results.
• Growth mindset with an excitement to learn (and teach).
• Thrive in a dynamic, lean, and agile environment with proven record of completing projects on time in full through excellent cross functional team management, leadership, communication and influence.
• Self-starter who takes initiative and speaks their mind.
• Excited to be part of a fast-moving team with the ability to be a leader and a follower.
• Enjoy making decisions and finding ways to say ‘yes’ as often as possible to impactful and important priorities.

Responsibilities

• Quality Assurance Strategy and Execution
• Quality / Food Safety Procedures
• Work with internal and external teams to drive clear understanding of quality standards and establish robust capability to drive compliance with the goal of consistent quality attainment.
• Develop / implement continuous improvement program with collaboration with manufacturing partners to ensure consistent elevation of quality standards.
• Testing Program
• Evaluate / refine existing company testing procedures and work with internal stakeholders and manufacturing partners to develop robust, balanced program to ensure compliance with key standards.
• Process Development
• Collaborate with PD and manufacturing partners to evaluate process development opportunities to drive consistency in lot-level quality attainment.
• Consumer Quality Support
• Track / maintain database of consumer complaints or other quality issues.
• Identify trends in consumer issues and, where applicable, develop corrective action plans for vendor partners or work with internal PD team to develop reformulation strategies.
• Co-Manufacturing Management; Audit / Compliance
• Refine company audit process / manuals and develop clear, effective communication strategy with key manufacturing partners.
• Collaborate with operations / PD teams to evaluate new manufacturing partners and, where applicable, develop remediation / process improvement programs to ensure compliance with company standards.
• Maintain audit / regulatory / and SOP tracking systems for manufacturing partners to ensure all documentation is current and compliant with company and / or regulatory standards.
• Oversee testing at co-packers to ensure products are free of defects and in compliance with quality standards. Participate in investigations, identify quality issues, and create Corrective and Preventative Actions (CAPAs).
• Develop annual / quarterly vendor business reviews to highlight quality trends and key areas for improvement.
• Regulatory / Documentation
• Monitor FDA /USDA regulatory activities and plant compliance with regulatory standards and act as a liaison for all manufacturing locations, ensuring regulatory compliance within the business unit.
• Work with PD to catalog robust item specifications and ensure that manufacturing partners are delivering consistent compliance with established standards.
• Cross-Functional Partnership
• Lead cross-functional team to ensure quality standards while also achieving aggressive commercialization timelines.
• Drive clear cross-functional understanding of key quality issues / drivers and help team make intentional, active trade-offs to balance quality, brand, and commercial objectives.
• Identify any sources of food safety risk and drive clear organizational understanding and alignment on how to achieve “zero-tolerance” standard.
• Identify key sources of business risk from quality issues (e.g. variance in appearance, flavor profile, packaging look / feel) and highlight trade-offs to senior management.

Benefits

• We offer a range of total rewards that may include paid time off, 401k, bonus / incentive eligibility, equity grants, competitive health benefits, and other family-friendly benefits, including parental leave. Kinder’s benefits vary based on eligibility and can be reviewed in more detail during the interview process.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree