Technical Services Manager - Supply Chain

Kettle Cuisine•Everett, WA

About The Position

The Technical Services Manager — Supply Chain owns Kettle Cuisine’s supplier and raw-material assurance system, ensuring materials are approved, documented, risk-assessed, and maintained in alignment with company, customer, regulatory, and food-safety requirements. The role establishes program standards, leads escalations and supplier performance management, and manages Vendor Ingredient Specialists. The manager leads supplier and raw-material approval programs, audits, incoming-goods programs, risk classification, and supplier reviews. This position also maintains supplier documentation standards, monitors compliance trends, develops corrective solutions with Customer Quality Technical and Purchasing teams, and collaborates with the FSQ Internal Auditor and broader FSQA team on supplier performance and food-safety or quality audits. Success includes meeting documentation completeness, currency, and approval targets; ensuring conditional approvals, supplier changes, and high-risk items are visible and appropriately escalated; using supplier performance trends to drive documented corrective or preventive action; and improving documentation-aging visibility, reporting, and system controls. The role is expected to model Kettle Cuisine’s core values and safety culture, develop team members, promote accountability and continuous improvement, and plan work, track results, and resolve issues. Travel to suppliers and Kettle Cuisine sites and work in manufacturing environments are required as needed.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food Safety, or Quality; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
Seven or more years of experience in supplier quality, food safety, technical services, regulatory compliance, or procurement quality.
Experience with supplier approval, audits, CAPA, risk assessment, SQF/GFSI, FSMA, FSVP, and food-fraud controls.
Strong analytical, organizational, project-management, decision-making, and written-communication skills.
Ability to travel to suppliers and Kettle Cuisine sites and work in manufacturing environments.
Self-directed, with high integrity and sound judgment.
Able to make timely, risk-based decisions and document the rationale and controls.
Positive and collaborative, with the ability to build strong supplier and internal relationships.
Organized and able to manage priorities, projects, metrics, and escalations.
Willing to address difficult situations with patience and respect.

Responsibilities

Lead supplier approval, raw-material approval, conditional approval, supplier-audit, and incoming-goods programs.
Maintain and assign risk classifications, review frequency, escalation criteria, and approval standards for raw materials and suppliers.
Analyze and report existing standards against potential future risks, including changing regulations, customer assurance requirements, and food fraud.
Develop and maintain the Supplier Manual, standard forms, and documentation requirements.
Monitor and report supplier compliance trends and recurring documentation gaps, and develop solutions with the Customer Quality Technical Manager and Purchasing teams.
Lead and develop Vendor & Ingredient Specialists.
Direct high-risk supplier reviews, site visits, emergency substitutions, and conditional approvals.
Collaborate with the FSQ Internal Auditor and the larger FSQA team on supplier performance and food-safety or quality audits.
Model and support Kettle Cuisine’s core values and safety culture; develop team members and their careers; create accountability and performance; drive quality assurance and continuous improvement; plan work, track results, and resolve issues.
Ensure supplier and material documentation meets defined completeness, currency, and approval targets.
Ensure conditional approvals, supplier changes, and high-risk items are visible, time-bound, and escalated appropriately.
Use supplier performance trends to drive documented corrective-action or prevention plans and improve documentation-aging visibility, reporting, and system controls.