Senior Manager, Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA)

UPSIDE Foods•Emeryville, CA

1d•$150,000 - $170,000•Onsite

About The Position

UPSIDE Foods is building the food system of the future by producing real meat from animal cells and is transitioning from pre-commercial production toward commercial scale. This role is responsible for food safety and quality assurance across production operations, encompassing both FDA and USDA regulated processes. The individual will be accountable for the FDA Food Safety Plan and USDA HACCP plan, as well as a unique integrated quality management system currently under development. The role also involves leading the company through SQF and ISO-9000 certifications, which requires designing systems, gaining organizational adoption, and ensuring regulatory compliance. This is a 'working' manager position, requiring significant time on the production floor to support operational issues and develop necessary documentation and data. It is ideal for someone who wants to build food safety and quality systems from the ground up, rather than maintain established ones.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Biology, Chemical Engineering, or a related technical field
7+ years in FDA food safety and quality assurance
3+ years leading people
PCQI certified with experience building and implementing Food Safety Plans
Working knowledge of 9 CFR 416 and 417, and 21 CFR 117
Hands-on experience implementing or substantially building a quality management system — ISO 9001, a GFSI-benchmarked scheme, or equivalent
Proven ability to write clear procedures that people actually follow, and to get adoption in an organization that has not previously worked to a formal system

Nice To Haves

Direct experience in a USDA-FSIS inspected establishment, including day-to-day interaction with in-plant inspection personnel
HACCP certification and demonstrated ownership of a HACCP plan through reassessment
ISO 9001:2015 Lead Auditor certification
Experience taking an organization through initial ISO 9001 certification
Background in cell culture, fermentation, biopharmaceutical, or other aseptic manufacturing environments
Experience in a startup or scale-up moving from pilot to commercial production
Familiarity with GFSI schemes (SQF, BRCGS, FSSC 22000)
Statistical process control and data analysis capability

Responsibilities

Own the FSP and HACCP end to end — preventive controls, hazard analysis, critical control points, monitoring, verification, and reassessment under 9 CFR 417
Maintain Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures and the sanitation verification program under 9 CFR 416
Own the Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP), including zone-based sampling design, trend analysis, and the investigation and corrective action process when results move the wrong direction
Maintain preventive controls and the food safety plan for FDA-regulated stages of production under 21 CFR 117
Own allergen control, sanitation chemical management, pest control oversight, and the master sanitation schedule
Lead recall readiness, including mock recalls, traceability exercises, and hold-and-release procedures
Serve as the primary point of contact for USDA-FSIS in-plant inspection personnel and manage the daily working relationship on the USDA production floor.
Maintain the establishment's Grant Of Inspection (GOI) and all conditions attached to it
Manage regulatory correspondence, including responses to USDA Noncompliance Records, and drive the corrective and preventive actions that close them
Own label review and FSIS label approval submissions
Lead FDA Inspections and pre-market consultation activity for new cell lines, media formulations, and process changes
Track food safety regulatory developments across a category where the rules are still forming
Lead the design, documentation, and rollout of a quality management system conforming to FDA and USDA-FSIS food safety standards
Buildout the documented information architecture — document control, revision control, record retention, and the approval workflows that keep them current
Implement risk-based thinking as a working practice rather than a paperwork exercise, including risk and opportunity registers tied to actual process decisions
Stand up the internal audit program: auditor training and qualification, audit schedule, audit execution, and finding closure
Establish the management review process and prepare the inputs that make it a decision-making forum rather than a status report
Own nonconforming output control, the CAPA system, and root cause analysis methodology — and coach the organization on using them properly
Build supplier and external provider controls, including qualification criteria, approved supplier lists, incoming material controls, and performance monitoring
Own calibration and measurement traceability across production and laboratory equipment
Select and manage the accredited certification body, and lead the organization through Stage 1 and Stage 2 certification audits
Drive continual improvement as an operating habit, using data from audits, nonconformances, customer feedback, and process metrics
Lead, develop, and grow the FSQA team, including hiring as the function scales
Partner with Manufacturing, Process Engineering, Facilities, and R&D so quality requirements are built into processes rather than inspected in afterward
Own FSQA training content and delivery for production personnel, including onboarding and annual refreshers
Serve as a quality voice in change control, ensuring process and equipment changes are assessed for food safety and regulatory impact before implementation
Report quality performance to leadership with metrics that drive decisions