Sr. Director, Food Safety & Quality Assurance

Kinder's•Walnut Creek, CA

23d

About The Position

The Senior Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance is accountable for setting the enterprise-wide vision, strategy, and execution of food safety and quality for a high-growth, consumer-focused brand. This role plays a critical leadership position in defining and scaling Kinder’s quality systems, ensuring that every product delivered to market is safe, compliant, and consistently exceptional in taste and performance. Partnering closely with executive leadership and cross-functional teams, this leader will build the organizational capabilities, processes, and partnerships required to support rapid growth while maintaining best-in-class food safety, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance standards. This role is central to protecting Kinder’s brand, consumers, and long-term growth. The Senior Director of Food Safety & Quality Assurance will not only ensure compliance but will shape how quality is embedded into every decision, product, and partnership as Kinder’s continues to scale.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive leadership experience in Food Safety and Quality Assurance within the CPG food industry.
Deep technical expertise in food safety and quality systems, including microbiology, allergen management, HACCP, FSMA, FDA/USDA labeling, and regulatory compliance.
Demonstrated experience leading quality organizations in high-growth, innovation-driven environments.
Strong background in food manufacturing audits, supplier management, and contract manufacturing oversight.
Proven ability to design and scale systems, standards, and processes across internal teams and external partners.
Exceptional communication skills with the ability to translate technical expertise into clear, actionable business strategies.
Highly analytical, data-driven, and results-oriented with strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
Strong project management skills and end-to-end understanding of new product development processes.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Microbiology, or a related field.
Experience supporting rapid commercialization and product launch pipelines.
Track record of leading through complexity, ambiguity, and change in fast-growing organizations.

Responsibilities

Quality Assurance Strategy & Leadership
Build, lead, and inspire a high-performing Corporate Quality Assurance organization with the structure, talent, and systems to support Kinder’s growth trajectory.
Establish a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, proactive risk management, and strong collaboration across internal teams and external manufacturing partners.
Set the long-term quality strategy aligned with business growth, innovation pipelines, and brand standards.
Food Safety & Quality Systems
Design, evaluate, and continuously optimize scalable food safety and quality programs aligned with industry best practices and regulatory requirements.
Implement data-driven frameworks to monitor performance, identify risk, and drive corrective and preventive actions.
Partner closely with Manufacturing Quality leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure consistent understanding, adoption, and execution of quality standards across contract manufacturing partners.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives that elevate product quality and enhance consumer satisfaction.
Testing & Verification Programs
Develop and optimize balanced, risk-based testing programs to ensure compliance with internal standards and external regulations.
Maintain comprehensive testing databases, including trend analysis, deviations, and corrective actions.
Use insights from testing data to proactively mitigate risk and improve product quality.
Consumer Quality & Feedback Management
Establish and maintain systems to capture, track, and analyze consumer feedback and quality-related inquiries.
Identify trends and systemic issues; lead corrective actions with vendors or internal partners, including reformulation strategies when necessary.
Partner with Customer Service to support responses to quality-related consumer inquiries and issue resolution.
Crisis Management & Recall Readiness
Own and lead Kinder’s food safety and quality crisis response strategy, ensuring swift, decisive action to protect consumers and the brand.
Develop scenario-based training, tabletop exercises, and proactive risk assessments to strengthen organizational preparedness.
Refine and maintain recall procedures and response protocols.
Supplier, Audit & Compliance Management
Refine audit programs, documentation standards, and supplier communication frameworks.
Partner with Operations and Product Development on qualification and approval of new contract manufacturing partners.
Lead investigations into quality issues, ensuring robust root cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions.
Conduct supplier and vendor quality business reviews to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
Regulatory & Documentation Excellence
Develop and maintain best-in-class regulatory systems and methodologies to ensure compliance across formulations, packaging, and labeling.
Ensure accuracy and compliance of all labels, specifications, and regulatory documentation.
Establish and govern centralized documentation and specification management systems for raw materials, packaging, finished goods, formulations, and labels — creating a single source of truth.
Monitor regulatory developments and serve as the primary liaison for regulatory compliance activities.
Partner with Product Development to manage ingredient documentation, claims substantiation (e.g., organic, non-GMO), and testing protocols.
Cross-Functional Partnership & Risk Management
Lead cross-functional quality forums to ensure alignment between quality standards and aggressive commercialization timelines.
Drive shared understanding of key quality risks and facilitate informed trade-offs between quality, brand, and commercial objectives.
Identify food safety and business risks (e.g., sensory variance, packaging integrity, appearance) and elevate insights to senior leadership with clear recommendations.