Director of Quality and Compliance

Orwashers•New York, NY

6d•Onsite

About The Position

Orwashers Bakery, a New York City institution founded in 1916, is seeking a hands-on, detail-oriented Director of Quality and Compliance. This role will lead all aspects of product quality, food safety, regulatory compliance, and SQF certification for their growing artisan bakery. The position requires a strong physical presence in operations, with at least two-thirds of the time spent on the bakery floor, working alongside production teams to ensure consistent execution, reinforce standards, and coach employees for continuous improvement. The ultimate goal is to create sustainable, efficient food safety and quality systems aligned with the company's culture and artisan baking traditions. The Director will partner with an outsourced SQF consultant to build, achieve, and maintain SQF certification.

Requirements

5+ years of quality assurance, food safety, or compliance leadership experience in a food manufacturing environment.
Experience in bakery, artisan bread, or fresh food manufacturing strongly preferred.
Direct experience with SQF implementation and/or maintenance required.
Bilingual English/Spanish (minimum conversational level Spanish).
Strong knowledge of SQF, HACCP, and FSMA, including associated prerequisite programs and compliance requirements such as GMPs, sanitation, and environmental monitoring.
Proven ability to work effectively on a production floor in a fast-paced environment.
Strong leadership, communication, coaching, and organizational skills.
Highly detail-oriented with strong follow-through and accountability.
Comfortable building systems while also remaining highly hands-on operationally.
Ability to work up to 8 hours on your feet and lift up to 30 pounds.

Nice To Haves

SQF, PCQI, and HACCP certifications preferred.

Responsibilities

Monitor product quality throughout production, with a primary focus on the packing stage.
Conduct routine floor inspections and product evaluations to ensure adherence to specifications.
Identify root causes of quality issues and implement corrective and preventive actions.
Work closely with production leadership to improve processes, reduce waste, and maintain product excellence.
Develop and maintain quality metrics, reporting, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Maintain compliance with all SQF, FDA, FSMA, HACCP, GMP, sanitation, allergen, labeling, and traceability requirements.
Develop, implement, and maintain SOPs, policies, records, and documentation systems.
Coordinate internal audits, mock recalls, environmental monitoring, supplier approval, CAPA programs, and corrective actions.
Ensure all documentation is audit-ready and consistently maintained.
Act as the primary internal contact during audits and inspections.
Directly manage Frozen Packing Managers and support, train, and mentor that team.
Build strong cross-functional relationships with production, operations, sanitation, and leadership teams.
Manage food safety training programs and employee compliance training.
Support facility readiness, sanitation verification, and operational best practices.