Food Safety Manager

MeridianMade; Allerton (IA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time Off

Health Benefits

401(k) with company match

Parental leave

Regulatory and quality training

Job summary

MeridianMade is a domestic manufacturing and innovation platform specializing in infant- and high-care nutrition manufacturing. The Food Safety Manager leads sanitation across our Allerton, Iowa facility, ensuring compliance with cGMP and SQF standards while scaling operations.

The role reports to the Director, Quality Assurance and focuses on building a formal sanitation program, training staff, and maintaining documentation to support regulatory compliance and product safety.

Qualifications

• Four-year college degree in food science or related field or five years’ experience in food/pharmaceutical manufacturing with sanitation experience.
• Experience with GMP, HACCP, and environmental sanitation programs is preferred.
• Experience with third-party regulatory agencies such as GFSI, SQF, and FDA is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Schedule and manage the sanitation team to ensure plant operations meet mandatory sanitation requirements.
• Train sanitation and plant employees to achieve sanitation objectives.
• Build and maintain a Master Sanitation Schedule and related documentation.
• Meet cleaning frequencies established in the Master Sanitation Schedule.
• Lead improvement teams and recommend sanitation improvements.
• Maintain chemical inventory and liaise with suppliers for sanitation issues.

Skills

Sanitation management

GMP/HACCP knowledge

Leadership experience

Regulatory compliance

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in food science or related

Tools

ERP systems

Quality management software

Job description

MeridianMade is a domestic manufacturing and innovation platform helping quality-led functional nutrition brands go from formulation to finished goods.

Built on a decade-long investment in the platform now operating as MeridianMade — including three domestic facilities purpose-built to infant- and high-care manufacturing standards — our team brings 30+ years of functional protein manufacturing experience and deep expertise in regulated food innovation.

Our two core services: MeridianMade Manufacturing, our domestic contract manufacturing and packaging infrastructure, and MeridianMade Incubation, the science and go-to-market engine that takes brands from scientific concept to shelf-ready product. Together, they replace a fragmented vendor list with one accountable partner.

MANUFACTURING Three U.S. facilities, one integrated infrastructure covering high-care nutritionals and protein development: wet mixing and reaction, spray drying, dry blending, protein production, and packaging, including high-care stick packs. Our Reading, PA; Allerton, IA; and Portland, OR facilities are FDA-registered and built to infant formula-grade cGMP standards. Every engagement includes process optimization, supply chain, warehousing, logistics, and lab testing.

INCUBATION Capabilities span product development, formulation, medical affairs and clinical network, clinical strategy and evidence generation, claims development and substantiation, regulatory strategy, ingredient sourcing, manufacturing, go-to-market strategy, retailer and buyer relationships, and signal intelligence and quality management. One cross-functional team builds regulatory, science, and go-to-market planning in from day one.

BREADTH Our experience helps us serve brands across infant and toddler nutrition; functional proteins and ingredients (collagen, whey isolate, hydrolysates, caseinates); women's health and adult nutrition (healthy aging, GLP-1 support, menopause); and medical nutrition.

Why This Role Exists

This role is at the heart of what’s next for our Allerton, Iowa facility. The Food Safety Manager owns sanitation and food-safety performance across a powder infant- and functional-nutrition manufacturing and packaging environment, and plays a pivotal role in establishing and documenting a formal, fully compliant sanitation program as we scale. This position carries real accountability and works directly in service of the best-in-class domestic manufacturing platform we’re building.

Reports to: Director, Quality Assurance

Location: Allerton, Iowa

Start date: immediate

Roles & Responsibilities

• Schedule and manage the sanitation team to ensure plant operations meet mandatory sanitation requirements for machinery, equipment, and facility.
• Train sanitation and plant employees to achieve and maintain sanitation objectives.
• Build and maintain a Master Sanitation Schedule and related documentation.
• Meet cleaning frequencies established in the Master Sanitation Schedule.
• Make recommendations for improvements and lead improvement teams.
• Maintain chemical inventory quantities on an ongoing basis and interact with the chemical supplier for advice on training or sanitation issues.
• Participate in the development and auditing of SSOPs.
• Strictly enforce safety and GMP policies and maintain superior plant cleanliness.
• Maintain the site cleaning validation program.
• Maintain the site Pest Management Program and liaise with the pest management contractor.
• Oversee site contractors and vendors as they relate to quality and facility GMP adherence.
• Monitor the site waste removal program.
• Monitor equipment and material receipt into the manufacturing facility.
• Lead site sanitation-related non-conformities and investigations.
• Help develop and implement strategic sanitation program, policies, plans, and processes to ensure sanitary performance meets cGMP/SQF standards and supports food safety requirements for regulatory compliance.
• Participate in audits, facility inspections, and pre-operational inspections.
• Maintain all CIP systems, including all related documentation.

What We’re Looking For

• Four-year college degree in food science or a related field, or five years’ experience in food/pharmaceutical manufacturing with facility and equipment cleaning and sanitation experience.
• At least two years of management experience preferred, but not required.
• Proficiency with database, internet, spreadsheet, and word processing software.
• Knowledge of GMP, HACCP, and environmental sanitation programs preferred.
• Experience with third-party regulatory agencies such as GFSI, SQF, and FDA preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge of CIP and COP processes.
• Ability to handle chemical storage containers using lift equipment.
• Commitment to all safety policies and procedures, cGMP compliance, and corporate and regulatory food safety, quality, and sanitation requirements.
• Willingness to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local standards for the manufacture of infant formula and other non-infant nutritional foods.

What We Offer

• Generous Paid Time Off – starting with up to 144 hours of vacation, 40 hours of sick time, 14 Company paid holidays, a birthday holiday, and 2 floating holidays per calendar year.
• Health Benefits – benefit eligible on 1st day, 100% paid for employee and 90% paid for family coverage.
• 401 (k) with company match up to 6%
• 16 weeks of paid parental leave
• Our Commitment to Quality:
  • Our facilities were designed from day one to the highest quality standards because we believe that’s the only credible foundation for functional nutrition manufacturing.
  • We value experience working in highly regulated food, pharmaceutical, or nutrition environments and who value and understand quality as a core competency.
  • Our team has over 300 years of combined expertise in regulated food innovation and manufacturing.
  • You’ll be working alongside people who’ve built and run quality systems at the highest levels globally.

We’re excited about your interest in joining MeridianMade! Our Talent Acquisition team reviews applications in the order they are received and will reach out directly to schedule interviews. We kindly ask that you refrain from contacting hiring managers or current employees directly.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.