Senior Food Safety & Quality Assurance Manager - Americas

Wingstop

1d

About The Position

To serve as the regional technical lead for Food Safety, Quality Assurance, and
Product Specification & R&D support across AMRS (Canada, Mexico, Latin America &
Caribbean).

This role owns the technical integrity of Wingstop’s products across their full
lifecycle: from concept and specification development, through supplier
validation and commercialization, to ongoing quality performance in market.
Partnering closely with Culinary, Supply Chain, Global FSQA, and Brand Partners,
this leader ensures every product delivered into AMRS restaurants is safe,
compliant, operationally executable, and aligned with Wingstop’s flavor and
brand standards.

This is a highly cross-functional role requiring both technical depth and
commercial awareness — balancing innovation enablement with risk mitigation.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Food Engineering, or related scientific field (or equivalent experience).
• 6+ years of progressive experience across food safety, quality assurance, technical services, or product development within QSR, poultry, food manufacturing, or food retail.
• Demonstrated experience supporting product commercialization, specification development, and supplier-based R&D initiatives.
• Strong working knowledge of GFSI standards, HACCP systems, allergen control, labeling regulations, and recall management across multi-country environments — particularly within Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Experience translating culinary or product concepts into technically robust and commercially viable specifications.
• Proven ability to conduct root cause investigations and implement corrective and preventive actions.
• Strong analytical capability to interpret audit findings, production data, and complaint trends to proactively mitigate risk.
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to influence Culinary, Supply Chain, Operations, and external suppliers without direct authority.
• Willingness and ability to travel across AMRS markets (~30–40%).

Nice To Haves

• Spanish fluency strongly preferred; Portuguese a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the development, approval, and maintenance of product specifications, formulations, ingredient statements, allergen matrices, and labeling documentation for all AMRS food and packaging items.
• Partner with Culinary and cross-functional stakeholders to translate product concepts into technically sound, manufacturable, and compliant specifications.
• Lead technical validation for New Product Development (NPD) and Existing Product Development (EPD), including nutritional validation, regulatory review, shelf-life studies, organoleptic testing, and operational feasibility assessments.
• Attend and oversee production trials, first productions, and commercialization runs to ensure product integrity and specification adherence.
• Ensure product changes, reformulations, and regional adaptations are properly risk-assessed, documented, and communicated.
• Lead supplier approval, validation, and ongoing performance management across AMRS, ensuring compliance with Wingstop standards, GFSI benchmarks, HACCP programs, and regional regulations.
• Develop and execute supplier quality strategies using KPIs, audit results, complaint data, and risk assessments to drive continuous improvement.
• Analyze supplier production reports and third-party audit findings (GFSI, SEDEX, regulatory) and ensure timely closure of corrective and preventive actions.
• Validate and approve new supplier facilities to support growth, redundancy, and market expansion.
• Oversee TraceGains governance in partnership with Global FSQA, ensuring document accuracy and system compliance.
• Serve as the regional authority on food safety compliance, monitoring evolving regulatory requirements across AMRS markets and proactively advising stakeholders.
• Lead recall readiness and execution for AMRS, partnering cross-functionally to ensure rapid, compliant, and brand-protective response.
• Investigate food safety and quality incidents, conducting structured root cause analysis and implementing corrective actions with suppliers and Brand Partners.
• Implement and monitor compliance with Wingstop’s animal welfare, sustainability, and responsible sourcing standards within the regional supply base.
• Partner with Brand Partners to strengthen food safety culture, complaint investigation processes, and operational compliance practices in market.

Benefits

• Unlimited paid time off for exempt employees
• One paid volunteer day of your choice
• Competitive bonus structure for eligible roles
• Team member stock purchase plan
• Health savings or flexible spending account options
• 401k – (dollar for dollar on the first 3% and then 50 cents on the dollar for the next 2% for team member contributions up to 5% of eligible compensation)
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits
• Basic life and AD&D insurance provided
• Pet insurance
• Education Assistance
• Wellness reimbursement program
• Paid maternity and paternity leave
• Lunch provided every Tuesday and Thursday in office
• Discount on Wingstop gift cards
• Onsite game room

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees