Quality and Food Safety Applied Microbiology Director

Danone; Hoofddorp; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Danone is seeking a Quality and Food Safety Applied Microbiology Director to drive governance and compliance across manufacturing networks. You will provide microbiological expertise to manage risk, design surveillance and enable early warning across operations globally.

You will lead EMP programs, develop standardised processes with category teams, and partner with cross-functional groups to ensure safe, compliant products. Fluent English and crisis management skills are essential.

Qualifications

• PhD or Master’s in microbiology, food science or related field is required.
• Strong experience in applied food microbiology, food safety or quality within manufacturing or regulatory environments.
• Fluency in English and proven data analysis, trend interpretation and risk assessment skills.

Responsibilities

• Define microbiological criteria and sampling plan stringency for materials and finished products.
• Own the Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP) design, governance and continuous improvement.
• Build an early-warning system with trending, triggers, escalation and intervention playbooks.
• Lead crisis assessments for pathogens, spoilage and EMP events and translate learnings into standards/tools.
• Partner with HACCP and Analytical Excellence teams to embed microbial controls and strengthen lab networks.
• Develop global QFS training and community of practice for sharing best practices.

Skills

Fluency in English

Stakeholder engagement

Crisis management

Education

PhD or Master’s degree in Microbiology, Food Science, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology or related discipline

Job description

Quality and Food Safety Applied Microbiology Director

About the job

Within the Global Quality and Food Safety team, the Standards and Risk Management (SRM) team plays a key role in guaranteeing the integrity and quality of Danone's products by translating science and industry-leading practices into standards, processes and routines to be used by all of Danone.

We are looking for our Quality and Food Safety Applied Microbiology Director, whose primary missions will be to:

• Ensure the ongoing safety and quality of Danone products by establishing and driving QFS governance and compliance in manufacturing environments across the network.
• Provide applied microbiological expertise to manage risk, design surveillance, interpret data and drive early warning detection across operations.
• Act as the primary QFS interface for category innovation, renovation, and productivity projects, driving harmonized standards, governance, and capability to deliver safe, compliant, and high-quality products globally.

This role will report to the Global QFS CoE Operations Director.

The main responsibilities of the Global QFS Applied Microbiology Director are to:

• Define microbiological criteria and sampling plan stringency for raw materials - finished products; align with control and surveillance frameworks.
• Own the design, implementation, governance, and continuous improvement of the Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP) across relevant manufacturing environments.
• Build early-warning system: trending, triggers, escalation and intervention playbooks.
• Lead crisis assessments for pathogens/spoilage/EMP events and ensure learnings convert into standards/tools.
• Partner with HACCP team to embed microbial control strategies into Food Safety Plans.
• Partner with Analytical Excellence to strengthen microlab network capability, method fitness, interpretation guidance, and decision trees.
• Develop QFS training programs and global community of practice for sharing best practices.
• Digital & D ata - maintain accurate QFS data in PLM systems and deploy dashboards for KPIs, risk trends, and audits.

Main interactions:

• QFS VP & Directors – global and regional
• R&I, Regulatory, Operations, Engineering, Procurement, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Co-packers
• External: Certification bodies, FS experts, industry associations

About you

Education and experience:

• PhD or Master's degree in Microbiology, Food Science, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology or related discipline.
• Minimum 8-12 years experience in applied food microbiology, food safety, or quality roles within manufacturing, R&I, or regulatory environments.
• Strong knowledge of HACCP, risk-based food safety systems, and international food safety regulations (e.g. Codex, EU, FDA).
• Proven ability in data analysis, trend interpretation, and risk assessment.
• Familiarity with advanced analytical approaches (rapid methods, genomics, predictive microbiology) is an advantage.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, influencing skills, and crisis composure.
• Crisis management and resilience.
• Fluency in English.

About Danone

Working here you’ll need to enjoy a fast-pace and complexity. But it’s packed with opportunities. You’ll work with some of the best-known brands in the world. Be innovative and entrepreneurial and the impact you could make might just amaze you.