Manager, Food Safety and Quality

Bonduelle Americas; Irwindale (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Bonduelle Americas is seeking a Manager of Food Safety and Quality in Irwindale, CA to oversee FDA/USDA compliance, audits, and quality programs. This leader drives continuous improvement across sanitation, HACCP, QMS, and product quality while serving as PCQI and QA SME for the site.

You will mentor QA teams, coordinate with operations, and ensure customer specifications are met. Travel up to 25% may be required; strong data skills with Tableau/Power BI are preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a business or food science related field preferred.
• PCQI certification preferred.
• HACCP certification required.
• SQF practitioner certification preferred.
• 5 years of experience within the produce industry.
• 5+ years of leadership experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience managing regulatory and third-party audits.
• Advanced working knowledge of Microsoft 365 and experience with large data sets.
• Experience with Tableau/Power BI or similar data visualization tools highly preferred.
• Personable with experience working directly with customers.

Responsibilities

• Lead and maintain compliance with FDA, USDA, state and local regulations.
• Manage regulatory inspections and audits; act as primary contact.
• Ensure labeling compliance and customer specifications.
• Lead root cause investigations for non-conformances and consumer complaints.
• Serve as primary contact for audits, GFSI, Organic, and third-party audits.
• Lead sanitation and continuous improvement across sanitation processes.
• Maintain HACCP, Food Defense, and QMS systems.
• Serve as PCQI; manage document control and quality records.
• Lead internal audits and CAPA management.
• Manage allergen control programs and recall processes.
• Oversee product hold, release, traceability, and mock recalls.

Skills

Leadership

Regulatory knowledge

Audit readiness

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in business or food science

PCQI certification

HACCP certification

SQF practitioner certification

Tools

Tableau/Power BI

ERP systems

Microsoft 365

Job description

• Department: Quality
• Reports to: Director, Manufacturing Food Safety and Quality
• Location: Irwindale, CA

Make a greater impact at Bonduelle Americas!

Bonduelle Americas is a certified B Corp inviting people to embrace a flexitarian lifestyle with an expanding portfolio of plant-rich products available in and beyond the produce aisle. We operate four facilities and employ nearly 3,000 Associates in the US.

Bonduelle Americas is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Groupe Bonduelle (BON.PA), an established global brand with more than 170 years of family heritage bringing the joy of plants to tables around the world. Globally, our ready-to-eat plant-rich food products are grown on 173,000 acres by our grower partners and marketed in nearly 100 countries. Our mission is to inspire the transition toward a plant-rich diet to contribute to people's well-being and planet health.

Join us at Bonduelle Americas for an opportunity to advance your career in a culture that places people first. As a valued member of our company, you will work in a mission-driven environment aimed at preserving the planet’s resources while providing healthy plant-based products to millions of consumers around the world.

Position Summary:

The Manager of Food Safety and Quality is responsible for leading the food safety and quality management systems at the Irwindale, CA manufacturing facility to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, customer standards, and company policies. This role oversees quality assurance, quality control, food safety programs, sanitation oversight and continuous improvement initiatives to ensure the production of safe, legal, and high-quality products. The Food Safety & Quality Manager serves as the site’s subject matter expert on food safety sanitation, regulatory compliance, and audit readiness.

Key Responsibilities:

Food Safety & Regulatory Compliance

• Lead and maintain compliance with FDA, USDA, state and local regulations.
• Manage regulatory inspections and act as primary contact during audits and agency visits.
• Ensure compliance with labeling regulations and customer specifications
• Lead root cause investigations related to non-conformances, consumer complaints and deviations
• Serve as primary contact for all audits, GFSI, Organic, and third-party customer audits
• Lead, mentor, and drive continuous improvement across sanitation processes.

Quality Management System

• Maintain and oversee the plant’s HACCP plan, Food Defense, and QMS system for the facility
• Serve as Preventative Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI)
• Maintain document control, SOPs, policies and quality records
• Lead internal audit program and Manage corrective / preventative actions (CAPA)
• Manage allergen control programs
• Oversee product hold, release, traceability, mock recalls, and recall management processes

Continuous Improvement & Customer Quality

• Acts as a key support resource to the organization through actively monitoring and reporting complaint trends for all customers.
• Works actively with customers, sales, and quality assurance teams to troubleshoot complaint trends and drive continuous improvement by resolving incongruities between customer expectations and BA specifications.
• Manage and monitor quality KPI metrics, trends, and reporting for organization to drive improvement initiatives
• Collection and maintenance of quality complaint data for retail and food service customers
• Owns quality data management and reporting, including presentations and scorecards as required
• Serve as a primary contact for customer quality inquiries
• Manage customer complaint investigations and responses
• Manage Sanitation effectiveness KPIs for continuous improvement in 7 steps, pre-operational inspections, and listeria environmental monitoring

Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead cross-functional teams to reduce defects, waste and rework
• Support facilities and customers through alignment visits to plants, distribution centers, and stores for troubleshooting
• Manage, Train, and coach QA Team Leads, Technicians and all other quality personnel
• Partner with operations to ensure accountability for quality standards
• Promote a strong food safety culture across the facility
• Special projects as required
• Other duties as assigned
• Manage, train, and coach sanitation teams. Will require to periodically work the 3rd shift to collaborate with Sanitation

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in a business or food science related field preferred.
• PCQI certification preferred
• HACCP certification
• SQF practitioner certification
• 5 years of experience within the produce industry.
• 5+ years of leadership experience in a manufacturing environment
• Experience managing regulatory and third-party audits
• Advanced working knowledge of Microsoft 365 and experience with large data sets.
• Experience with Tableau/Power BI or similar data visualization tools highly preferred.
• Personable with experience working directly with customers.
• Strong analytical, communication, and collaboration skills.
• Able to travel up to 25%.
• Experience with ERP systems
• Experience leading sanitation teams

Desired Traits

• Excellence - ability to deliver consistent quality results through a sense of urgency and taking initiative, while also demonstrating flexibility to meet business needs.
• People-minded - ability to foster mutual respect and positive relationships with co-workers, demonstrates listening skills and ensures physical safety of self and others.
• Integrity - honors commitments, acts honestly and accountability.
• Fairness - ensures objectivity and sets a good example for others.
• Confidence - contributes to team spirit and acknowledges the right to try things out.
• Simplicity - maintains cordial relations on a day-to-day basis, genuine human relations.
• Open-mindedness - is tolerant and promotes creativity.

Physical Work Environment: The associate will mainly work in an office environment and use a computer, telephone, and other office equipment as needed to perform duties. The noise level in the work environment is typical of that of an office. The associate is regularly required to sit, talk, or hear; frequently required to use repetitive hand motion, handle or feel, and to stand, walk, reach, bend, or lift to 30 pounds. The associate is occasionally in a manufacturing environment and exposed to wet, cold, and/or humid conditions. The noise level in the manufacturing environment is usually loud.