Food Safety Manager

Judge Direct Placement; Modesto (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Judge Direct Placement is seeking a Food Safety & Quality Assurance Manager in Modesto, CA. The role leads FSQA programs, ensures compliance with GFSI standards, and serves as the site liaison with USDA/FSIS/AMS.

You will oversee audits, corrective actions, and continuous improvement initiatives to maintain product safety and quality. Ideal candidates hold a Bachelor's degree with 5+ years in food processing and supervisory experience, plus proficiency with SAP and data-management systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 5+ years in food processing with supervisory experience.
• Experience with SAP and data management systems preferred.
• Ability to manage cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary FSQA leader, overseeing food safety programs (HACCP, SSOP).
• Ensure compliance with GFSI standards, audits, and food safety regulations.
• Liaise with regulatory agencies (USDA, FSIS, AMS).
• Retain and evaluate non-conforming products and disposition decisions.
• Lead USDA regulation implementation and FSQA programs (GMPs, pest control, allergen control).
• Oversee product monitoring programs for regulatory, customer, and internal compliance.
• Supervise and ensure competency of personnel, visitors, and contractors.
• Design and coordinate training programs with HR and operations to promote food safety culture.
• Lead root cause investigations for pathogen-related issues with Operations.
• Drive investigations into quality non-conformance and customer/consumer complaints; implement CAPAs.
• Collaborate with Operations and regulators to address non-compliance; report trends to leadership.
• Evaluate and improve FSQA programs to align with standards.
• Manage FSQA data systems and reporting; communicate insights for improvement.
• Lead cross-functional projects including new product commercialization; monitor FSQA KPIs.

Skills

FSQA leadership

HACCP

GMPs

Regulatory liaison

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

SAP

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Judge Direct Placement is seeking a Food Safety & Quality Assurance Manager in Modesto, CA area!

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary FSQA leader, overseeing the implementation, verification, and validation of food safety programs (e.g., HACCP, SSOP).
• Ensure compliance with GFSI standards, company internal audit requirements, and all applicable food safety regulations.
• Manage relationships with regulatory agencies (USDA, FSIS, AMS) and act as the site’s primary liaison.
• Retain and evaluate non-conforming products against customer, regulatory, and internal specifications; determine and execute product disposition, including release decisions.
• Lead the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of USDA regulations and company FSQA programs, including environmental monitoring, GMPs, pest control, allergen control, and finished product compliance.
• Oversee all product monitoring programs to ensure alignment with legal, customer, and company requirements.
• Supervise and ensure competency of all personnel, visitors, and contractors in maintaining food safety and quality standards.
• Design and coordinate training programs in partnership with HR, Operations, Sanitation, Maintenance, and FSQA teams to promote a strong food safety culture.
• Lead root cause investigations for pathogen-related issues, partnering with Operations to resolve processing, sanitation, and maintenance deficiencies.
• Drive investigations into product quality non-conformance and customer/consumer complaints; implement corrective and preventive actions.
• Collaborate with Operations leadership and regulatory bodies to address and resolve non-compliance issues; provide reports and trend analysis to corporate leadership.
• Evaluate and continuously improve FSQA programs and procedures to ensure alignment with regulatory and company standards.
• Manage FSQA data systems and reporting; analyze trends and communicate insights for continuous improvement.
• Lead cross-functional projects focused on enhancing product safety, quality, and process efficiency, including new product commercialization initiatives.
• Monitor and drive performance against FSQA key performance indicators (KPIs) to achieve corporate objectives.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required
• 5+ years of work experience in food processing with supervisory and management experience for food safety and quality systems.
• Proficient use of Microsoft Office products is required and experience with SAP and enterprise data management systems is strongly preferred.
• Previous managerial experience supervising salaried and non-salaried team members is required.
• Demonstrated proficiency leading and managing cross-functional teams is required.