Director of Food Safety and Quality Systems

Shamrock Foods Company; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Shamrock Foods Company seeks a Director of Food Safety & Quality Systems to lead and continually enhance enterprise food safety and quality programs. You will ensure compliance with FSMA, HACCP, SQF, GMP and applicable regulatory standards while collaborating with cross-functional teams to drive process improvements and lean manufacturing initiatives.

The role requires extensive experience in dairy, meat, seafood and edible oils manufacturing, plus strong audit and vendor management skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in food safety & quality assurance.
• 3+ years of direct management experience.
• Working knowledge of regulatory compliance with USDA, FDA, CFR, PMO and implementing and managing third-party auditing schemes (GFSI, SQF).
• Demonstrated expertise in Dairy, meat, seafood and edible oils manufacturing and processing including UHT manufacturing.
• Ability to review regulatory requirements and evaluate compliance, and experience with regulatory inspections.
• 20% plus travel required.
• Must be flexible and willing to work the demands of the department which may be subject to evenings, weekends and holidays.

Responsibilities

• Develop Food Safety Plan by conducting and documenting facility hazard evaluation/analysis, developing and implementing preventive controls, and verifying plan effectiveness against FSMA requirements
• Maintain GMP requirements to current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs)
• Remain current and serve as division SME on all mandated food safety regulations, laws, policies and procedures of the FDA & USDA as mandated by the PMO, CFR & FSMA.
• Ensure that all Shamrock divisions are audit ready and serve as the co-host of regulatory inspections.
• Serve as multi-facility SQF Practitioner developing and validating SQF program procedures and policies (QA Managers are also required to be SQF practitioners).
• Drives simplification and standardization of audit process and execution across Shamrock Enterprise to ensure compliance with new and emerging regulatory standards and requirements
• Coordinate all regulatory, customer, and third-party audits
• Visit and confer with representatives of ingredient and packaging suppliers to obtain information related to vendor quality standards. Ensure vendor management program includes quality and food safety review for all materials.
• Work with R&D in the development of new product formulations and label compliance review.
• Establish and maintain enterprise quality management systems, policies and procedures that enable Shamrock to comply with regulatory requirements and current regulatory expectations.
• Develop and maintain FSQA training for Shamrock Foods Company. (Set annual training requirements and training frequencies)
• Develop and maintain Shamrock vendor management program and policies, including auditing, performance monitoring and inspection readiness programs.
• Interface directly with division QA leaders to assure cross functional alignment of goals and objectives ensuring compliance and realization systems related best practices.
• Partner with IT/IS to develop and integrate a QMS roadmap that allows for scaling of systems to ensure continued compliance and growth of our business.
• Act as an expert resource and provide expertise, support, and guidance to internal and external partners in resolving complex food safety and product quality challenges and solutions for potential compliance risks.
• Participate in a monthly Quality Management Review meeting (QMR) to review specific set of quality and compliance metrics to state of control and drive targeted actions for continuous improvement.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

Food safety expertise

Quality assurance

Regulatory compliance

Audit coordination

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science/related

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

GFSI SQF audits

FSMA

FDA CFR compliance

Job description

Posting Details

• • Posted on October 22, 2026

Locations

• Phoenix, AZ 85009, USA
• On-site
• Manufacturing
• Full-Time
• Requisition #: DIREC011556

Description

The Director of Food Safety & Quality systems directs and continually develop, enhance and maintain enterprise food safety and quality programs including FSMA, HACCP, SQF, and GMP. (S)he will work with division quality leaders to develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure continued compliance with all regulatory, FSMA, PMO, CFR, SQF Certification, third-party and customer requirements while working with cross departmental operational groups in the development of process improvement and lean manufacturing initiatives.

Essential Duties

• Develop Food Safety Plan by conducting and documenting facility hazard evaluation/analysis, developing and implementing preventive controls, and verifying plan effectiveness against FSMA requirements
• Maintain GMP requirements to current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs)
• Remain current and serve as division SME on all mandated food safety regulations, laws, policies and procedures of the FDA & USDA as mandated by the PMO, CFR & FSMA.
• Ensure that all Shamrock divisions are audit ready and serve as the co-host of regulatory inspections.
• Serve as multi-facility SQF Practitioner developing and validating SQF program procedures and policies (QA Managers are also required to be SQF practitioners).
• Drives simplification and standardization of audit process and execution across Shamrock Enterprise to ensure compliance with new and emerging regulatory standards and requirements
• Coordinate all regulatory, customer, and third-party audits
• Visit and confer with representatives of ingredient and packaging suppliers to obtain information related to vendor quality standards. Ensure vendor management program includes quality and food safety review for all materials.
• Work with R&D in the development of new product formulations and label compliance review.
• Establish and maintain enterprise quality management systems, policies and procedures that enable Shamrock to comply with regulatory requirements and current regulatory expectations.
• Develop and maintain FSQA training for Shamrock Foods Company. (Set annual training requirements and training frequencies)
• Develop and maintain Shamrock vendor management program and policies, including auditing, performance monitoring and inspection readiness programs.
• Interface directly with division QA leaders to assure cross functional alignment of goals and objectives ensuring compliance and realization systems related best practices.
• Partner with IT/IS to develop and integrate a QMS roadmap that allows for scaling of systems to ensure continued compliance and growth of our business.
• Act as an expert resource and provide expertise, support, and guidance to internal and external partners in resolving complex food safety and product quality challenges and solutions for potential compliance risks.
• Participate in a monthly Quality Management Review meeting (QMR) to review specific set of quality and compliance metrics to state of control and drive targeted actions for continuous improvement.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, or related field required. Master’s degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in food safety & quality assurance
• 3+ years of direct management experience
• Working knowledge of regulatory compliance with USDA, FDA, CFR, PMO and implementing and managing third-party auditing schemes (GFSI, SQF).
• Demonstrated expertise in Dairy, meat, seafood and edible oils manufacturing and processing including UHT manufacturing.
• Ability to review regulatory requirements and evaluate compliance, and experience with regulatory inspections
• 20% plus travel required.
• Must be flexible and willing to work the demands of the department which may be subject to evenings, weekends and holidays.

Corporate Summary

At Shamrock Foods Company, people come first – our associates, our customers, and the families we serve across the nation. A privately-held, family-owned and -operated Forbes 500 company, Shamrock is an innovator in the food industry and has been since being founded in Arizona in 1922.

Our Mission

At Shamrock Foods Company, we live by our founding family’s motto to “treat associates like family and customers like friends.”

Why work for us?

Benefits are a major part of your overall compensation, and we believe offering them at an affordable cost is not only the right thing to do, but it helps keep you and your family healthy. That’s why Shamrock Foods pays for the majority of your health insurance, allowing you to take home more of your paycheck. And it doesn’t stop there - our associates also enjoy additional benefits such as 401(k) Savings Plan, Profit Sharing, Paid Time Off, as well as our incredible growth opportunities, continued education and wellness programs.

Equal Opportunity Employer

At Shamrock Foods Co all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other basis protected by applicable law.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.