SQA Manager (External Manufacturing & Warehouse / Logistics), North America

Oatly AB • Philadelphia, PA

5d

About The Position

This role will be responsible for ensuring food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance across external manufacturing partners, warehouses, and logistics providers supporting Oatly products in North America. Reporting to the Global Director, SQA, this role manages supplier quality and food safety for processes and products, ensuring products produced at Co Manufacturers are appropriately risk assessed, approved, released, or blocked in accordance with Oatly requirements, GFSI standards (BRCGS/SQF/ISO 22000), and FDA/FSMA Regulatory requirements.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, or related field
• HACCP certification and FSMA PCQI certification required
• 5+ years of experience in food safety and quality roles within the food industry
• Experience with supplier quality management and auditing
• Strong knowledge of food safety systems, regulations, and GFSI standards (BRCGS, SQF, FSSC 22000)
• Experience working with ERP systems (e.g., D365) and product lifecycle management tools
• Strong analytical, structured, and risk-based problem-solving skills
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills

Nice To Haves

• You feel connected to our mission of encouraging health, sustainability, and transparency
• You are a self-starter who doesn’t need direct supervision to motivate you for success – we believe strongly in building a culture of individual accountability and ownership and need partners that can embrace that mentality
• You are ready to make your mark in a smaller, growing brand, leveraging your experience to deliver amazing results and build an outstanding company
• You have an entrepreneurial spirit in that you’re comfortable with ambiguity and are energized by the process of building something lasting from the ground up
• You enjoy sharing your quirkiness and talents with your coworkers

Responsibilities

• Approve and manage external manufacturing, warehouse, and logistics partners from a quality and food safety perspective
• Ensure supplier compliance with Oatly standards, GFSI schemes, and regulatory requirements
• Approve new production lines (commissioning/validation) at new and existing external manufacturers
• Conduct supplier risk assessments, including HACCP and food safety plan reviews
• Own supplier audits, deviation management, and CAPA follow-up
• Drive supplier performance through KPIs and supplier development plans, in line with the defined global strategy
• Support product traceability and planned traceability tests for all Co-Manufacturers (including hybrid partners)
• Provide backup support to the Release Manager to secure the release of externally produced products
• Lead food safety and quality investigations related to external manufacturing, warehouse, and logistics partners
• Coordinate root cause analysis and corrective actions with suppliers handled by Oatly
• Support deviations, complaints, and regulatory investigations
• Provide risk-based recommendations during supply disruptions
• Work closely with Q&RA team, Procurement, Operations, Logistics, Innovation, and Site QA teams
• Support product development and specification changes with process and product risk input
• Authority to block, release products produced by external Co-manufacturers
• Lead approval decisions and recommend supplier disqualification based on quality or food safety risks, in consultation with the Global Director SQA
• Escalate and stop material use and product release when food safety risk is identified

Benefits

• flexible vacation (take it when you need it)
• really great benefits (yes, pet insurance is in there)
• paid volunteer days off throughout the year (doing good is fun)
• free six packs of oatmilk
• genuinely great coworkers who are rooting for each other and the company to thrive

What This Job Offers

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