Director of Quality Assurance

Upper Crust; Toronto; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 144,000; Full time

Job summary

Upper Crust is seeking a Director of Quality Assurance to steer QA strategy across all bakery manufacturing operations in Toronto. The role reports to the Vice President of QA, ensuring regulatory compliance, driving continuous improvement, and fostering a culture of quality excellence.

The ideal candidate will bring 15+ years in food manufacturing QA, including 5+ years in senior leadership within bakery settings, with hands-on HACCP, BRC/FSSC 22000, FSMA, and CFIA/FDA experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in food science, Microbiology, Food Engineering, or related discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum 15 years in food manufacturing QA and Food safety, including at least 5 years in a senior leadership role in a bakery manufacturing.
• Hands-on leadership experience implementing HACCP, BRC/FSSC 22000, FSMA, and regulatory programs.
• Deep knowledge of Canadian and U.S. food safety regulations, including CFIA, FDA, USDA, and customer requirements.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional, multi-site teams and influence at executive levels.
• Strong communicator, comfortable presenting to senior leadership, customers, and regulators.
• Strategic thinker, integrity-driven, with a proactive mindset toward risk management and operational rigor.
• HACCP/BRC/FSSC 22000, PCQI certifications required. Other relevant food safety certification is valued.

Responsibilities

• Ensure a quality-driven culture throughout the organization, ensuring total quality from raw materials to customer delivery.
• Monitor production processes to ensure adherence to CFIA, Health Canada, FSMA, HACCP, SQF/BRC/FSSC 22000, FDA, GMP, and other requirements.
• Maintain robust QA systems, including audits, corrective/preventive actions, traceability, and crisis management.
• Investigate and resolve quality incidents, customer complaints, and non-conformances.
• Partner with R&D, Production, Procurement, Engineering, and Sales to integrate quality requirements into new product development and existing operations.
• Manage and mentor QA Managers and Supervisors across multiple sites.
• Develop training programs for QA staff and production teams on food safety and quality standards.
• Build succession plans and maintain high-performing teams.
• Analyze quality metrics and trends to identify improvement opportunities.
• Drive initiatives to improve customer satisfaction and reduce quality-related costs.
• Analyze quality KPIs, lead investigations into quality events, and implement continuous improvement initiatives like Six Sigma, Lean tools, or other methodologies.
• Support innovation by ensuring complete quality risk analysis and validation throughout development processes.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Regulatory compliance

Quality management

Communication

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in food science, microbiology, food engineering, or related discipline

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

The Director, Quality Assurance, will support the strategic direction of QA and Food Quality across all manufacturing operations. Reporting to the Vice President of QA, this role ensures compliance with regulatory standards, drives continuous improvement, and fosters a culture of quality excellence across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure a quality-driven culture throughout the organization, ensuring total quality from raw materials to customer delivery.
• Monitor production processes to ensure adherence to CFIA, Health Canada, FSMA, HACCP, SQF/BRC/FSSC 22000, FDA, GMP, and other requirements.
• Maintain robust QA systems, including internal and third-party audits, corrective/preventive actions, traceability, and crisis management.
• Investigate and resolve quality incidents, customer complaints, and non-conformances.
• Partner with R&D, Production, Procurement, Engineering, and Sales teams to integrate quality requirements into new product development and existing operations.
• Manage and mentor QA Managers and Supervisors across multiple sites.
• Develop training programs for QA staff and production teams on food safety and quality standards.
• Build succession plans and maintain high-performing teams.
• Analyze quality metrics and trends to identify improvement opportunities.
• Drive initiatives to improve customer satisfaction and reduce quality-related costs.
• Analyze quality KPIs, lead investigations into quality events, and implement continuous improvement initiatives like Six Sigma, Lean tools, or other methodologies.
• Support innovation by ensuring complete quality risk analysis and validation throughout development processes.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in food science, Microbiology, Food Engineering, or related discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum 15 years in food manufacturing QA and Food safety, including at least 5 years in a senior leadership role in a bakery manufacturing.
• Hands-on leadership experience implementing HACCP, BRC/FSSC 22000, FSMA, and regulatory programs.
• Deep knowledge of Canadian and U.S. food safety regulations, including CFIA, FDA, USDA, and customer requirements.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional, multi-site teams and influence at executive levels.
• Strong communicator, comfortable presenting to senior leadership, customers, and regulators.
• Strategic thinker, integrity-driven, with a proactive mindset toward risk management and operational rigor.
• HACCP/BRC/FSSC 22000, PCQI certifications required. Other relevant food safety certification is valued.

We affirm that this job posting is for a current vacancy and our hiring process, including candidate screening, evaluation, and selection, does not involve the use of Artificial Intelligence or automated decision-making tools.

Salary: Starting from $120,000 per year (depends on qualification and experience)

At Upper Crust, we are committed to fostering a respectful, inclusive, and accessible environment where all employees are valued and supported. We are dedicated to fostering a workforce reflecting the diversity of our community and will consider all qualified applicants for employment. Upper Crust is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to applicants and employees with disabilities or special needs requiring accommodation. If you require accommodation, please notify our Human Resources Team at 416-746-1010 ext. 1480 or via email.

We thank all applicants for their interest in exploring employment opportunities with Upper Crust, however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.