Senior Manager, Quality Operations Engineer

Misfits Market•Hanover, MD

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Operations Quality Engineering is a leadership position responsible for the strategic direction, daily operations, and long-term success of the company’s Quality and Food Safety department. This role oversees the Quality Engineer II (QE II), Quality Assurance Supervisors, and Quality Technicians to ensure total compliance with Safe Quality Food (SQF) standards, National Organic Program (NOP) requirements, and Fulfilled By Misfits (FBM) initiatives. The Manager serves as the primary SQF Practitioner and HACCP Coordinator, maintaining the integrity of the facilities Food Safety and Quality Plans.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Industrial, Mechanical, Manufacturing), Food Science, Supply Chain, or a related technical field.
Greater than 5 years of experience in a Quality Assurance, Continuous Improvement, or Process Engineering role within a manufacturing, food production, or high-volume fulfillment environment.
Strong proficiency in Data Analysis and Statistical Process Control.
Experience with Project Management methodologies.
Knowledge of Lean Six Sigma principles (Green Belt is a plus).
Familiarity with FDA, USDA-AMS & FSIS, GFSI, FSMA regulations, HACCP Certified, and SQF Practitioner Certified.
Exceptional communication skills—ability to translate technical quality concepts into clear instructions for warehouse associates.
Deep familiarity with USDA (AMS/FSIS) and FDA regulatory requirements.
Ability to spend 50% of time on the warehouse floor in cold environments (36°F and below).

Nice To Haves

Green Belt certification

Responsibilities

Manage, coach, and mentor Quality Engineers (QE II) and Quality Supervisors, focusing on high-level problem-solving and process improvement rather than tactical tasks.
Guide supervisors and engineers through the manager promotion track, ensuring they achieve required SQF Certifications.
Define and track departmental Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), such as achieving a 95% target score on SQF audits and maintaining 100% compliance for organic audits.
Partner with Operations, Merchandising, and Operational Excellence teams to champion a collaborative food safety culture.
Investigate internal errors (picking mistakes, damaged goods) and external customer complaints. Perform root cause analysis to prevent these issues at the source.
Lead the development, implementation, and maintenance of the SQF system (Editions 9/10).
Lead the multidisciplinary HACCP team, coordinate monthly meetings, and perform mandatory validation checklists for all Food Safety Plans.
Serve as the primary point of contact for third-party, regulatory (FDA/USDA), and customer audits.
Trigger and manage Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for audit non-conformances, customer complaints, or product recalls.
Serve as one of the few authorized personnel permitted to provide systematic release for held products and equipment.
Oversee mock recall and mock trace exercises (one step forward, one step back) to ensure a target recovery rate of 100% (+/- 2%).
Monitor the effectiveness of daily hygiene and monthly Good Distribution Practices (GDP) audits, ensuring facility-specific SOPs (e.g., color-coded waste disposal) are followed.
Enhance and implement the Gold Standard, Box experience program, leveraging consumer insights and data driven controls to continuously improve customer experience.
Partner with cross-functional teams to improve Jalapeño WMS functionality, including photo documentation for QC functions and enhanced transaction history tracking in line with FDA Traceability requirements.
Utilize advanced tools like Tableau, SQL, and Statistical Process Control (SPC) to analyze quality trends and roll up Voice of the Customer (VOC) reports.
Identify and deploy new electronic Food Safety and Quality Management System.