Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance

Ready Foods Inc.•Denver, CO

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Ready Foods is a family-owned custom food manufacturer based in Denver, Colorado, established in 1972. They specialize in producing a wide range of ready-to-eat and ready-to-use products such as soups, sauces, salsas, beans, and regional specialties. The company is dedicated to continuous improvement, operational excellence, and serving as a reliable solutions partner for their foodservice operator clients.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Engineering, or related field required.
8+ years of leadership experience in food manufacturing, FSQA, or quality systems.
Proven capability to influence cross-functional leaders and drive change without relying on authority alone.
Ability to translate strategy into practical, sustainable systems that improve execution at the front line.
Track record of developing leaders and building organizational capability—not just managing a function.
Deep knowledge of regulatory and food safety requirements (FDA, USDA, FSMA, GFSI).
Proven ability to build and improve quality systems—not just maintain compliance.
Strong systems thinking and cross-functional leadership skills.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree preferred.
Experience in Lean or continuous improvement environments preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead and continuously improve the Food Safety & Quality Management System (FSQMS) aligned with FSMA, HACCP and GFSI standards.
Partner cross-functionally to embed quality into daily operations, process design, and new product development.
Drive audit readiness and lead all regulatory, customer, and third-party audits.
Use data, root cause analysis, and Lean tools to reduce variation and improve process capability.
Build and develop a high-performing FSQA team while strengthening a company-wide culture of food safety and quality.
Own and maintain the site food safety plans and prerequisite programs (HACCP), ensuring effective hazard analysis, validations, verifications, and recordkeeping.
Lead sanitation, environmental monitoring, allergen control, and GMP programs to proactively prevent contamination and ensure quality at the source.
Establish and manage supplier approval, incoming material controls, specifications, and risk-based monitoring to protect product integrity from farm-to-fork.
Own the management of quality incidents, customer complaints, holds, and product disposition; lead traceability, mock recalls, and recall readiness as needed.
Lead food defense and food fraud vulnerability assessments and mitigation plans, strengthening facility security and ingredient authenticity controls.
Define and review FSQA KPIs and management review routines; communicate trends, risks, and priorities to plant and executive leadership with clear countermeasures.
Strengthen document control, product specifications, label/claim compliance, and training systems so teams have clear standards and the capability to execute them.