Director of Quality Assurance & Food Safety

EVERYTABLE, PBC • City of Industry, CA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

Everytable, PBC is hiring a Director of Quality Assurance & Food Safety to lead quality, food safety, and regulatory compliance for its City of Industry, CA production facility and its retail, delivery, and institutional meal programs. This role owns the food safety and quality management system end to end, from supplier approval and receiving through production, packaging, cold-chain distribution, and the channels where meals are served. The Director will serve as the company's Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI) and primary point of contact for regulatory bodies and auditors, and is accountable for shelf-life, labeling, allergen, and traceability programs. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring comfort on the production floor and in executive meetings.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in food science, microbiology, chemistry, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 8 or more years of progressive quality assurance and food safety experience in food manufacturing, with at least 3 years managing a QA team; ready-to-eat or fresh-prepared meal experience strongly preferred.
• Current PCQI certification and HACCP certification.
• Working knowledge of FSMA preventive controls, cGMP (21 CFR Part 117), FDA labeling and allergen requirements, and the California Retail Food Code.
• Experience leading FDA and county health inspections and third-party audits, including written responses to findings.
• Experience building or substantially upgrading a quality management system, including SOPs, specifications, and CAPA.
• Demonstrated ability to train and lead hourly production teams and to communicate clearly with executives, regulators, and customers.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office or Google Workspace and with quality or ERP software used for records, holds, and traceability.
• Ability to work on-site in City of Industry, CA and to travel locally to stores and partner sites (approximately 20%).

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree in food science or a related discipline.
• SQF Practitioner, BRCGS, or other GFSI-scheme certification; experience preparing a facility for a first GFSI audit.
• Experience with multi-channel food operations (manufacturing plus retail, delivery, or foodservice) or with franchised systems.
• Experience with institutional customers (K-12, higher education, senior nutrition, government contracts) and their food safety and documentation requirements.
• Experience with the FSMA Food Traceability Rule and with traceability or ERP systems.
• Bilingual English/Spanish.
• Certified Professional in Food Safety (CP-FS) or ServSafe Manager certification.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain the facility Food Safety Plan under FSMA (21 CFR Part 117), including hazard analysis, preventive controls, monitoring, verification, and recordkeeping, and serve as the designated PCQI.
• Maintain HACCP plans, sanitation (SSOP), environmental monitoring, allergen control, and foreign-material programs; verify compliance with cGMP, the California Retail Food Code, and Los Angeles County Public Health requirements.
• Lead all regulatory inspections and third-party audits (FDA, county health, GFSI-benchmarked and customer audits); prepare and manage responses to observations, including any FDA Form 483, in coordination with company leadership and counsel.
• Maintain product traceability and recall readiness, including compliance with the FSMA Food Traceability Rule (21 CFR Part 1, Subpart S) for covered foods; lead mock recalls at least annually and actual recalls or market withdrawals when required.
• Build and run the quality management system: specifications, standard operating procedures, in-process checks, hold-and-release, finished-product testing, and corrective and preventive action (CAPA).
• Own shelf-life validation, labeling review (ingredient statements, allergens, nutrition facts, date coding), and new-product quality sign-off in partnership with Culinary and R&D.
• Manage the supplier approval and monitoring program, including supplier documentation, certificates of analysis, and supplier audits for high-risk ingredients.
• Track and report quality KPIs (customer complaints, holds, deviations, audit scores, environmental results) and drive root-cause analysis and continuous improvement.
• Set food safety standards for storefronts, delivery and cold-chain operations, and institutional programs, including temperature control, product handling, and date management, and audit against them.
• Support franchised and licensed locations with food safety training materials and compliance standards within the franchise system's guidelines.
• Investigate customer complaints and food safety incidents across all channels; manage reporting to regulators and customers as required.
• Hire, train, schedule, and manage the QA team; set annual goals and conduct performance reviews.
• Deliver food safety and GMP training for production, warehouse, and store employees in English and Spanish (directly or through bilingual team members).
• Partner with the Plant Manager, Operations, Supply Chain, Culinary, People, and Legal on cross-functional issues; present quality and compliance status to the executive team.
• Manage the QA department budget, including laboratory testing, consultants, and equipment calibration.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) plan
• Paid time off and paid holidays; paid sick leave per California and Los Angeles County law
• Free or discounted Everytable meals
• Professional development and certification reimbursement (PCQI, SQF, HACCP renewals)
• Mileage reimbursement for local travel

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive