Quality Assurance Manager

Vaco by Highspring; Louisville (KY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Vaco by Highspring in Louisville, KY, is seeking a Quality Assurance Manager to lead food safety, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance efforts across the organization, ensuring products meet customer and legal requirements and remain SQF Level 2 compliant.

This role partners with Operations, Production, Sanitation, Maintenance, Procurement, and leadership to foster a culture of safety and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, Biology, QA, or related field.
• 5+ years of quality assurance or food safety experience in food & beverage manufacturing.
• 3+ years of leadership or management experience.
• Extensive knowledge of SQF Level 2 certification requirements.
• Experience leading internal, external, customer, and regulatory audits.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and maintain QA and food safety programs per SQF Level 2.
• Ensure FDA/USDA and GMP/HACCP/FSMA compliance.
• Manage QA/QMS documentation; maintain audit readiness.
• Lead root cause investigations and corrective actions.
• Coordinate audits with internal teams and customers.
• Drive continuous improvement and quality metrics.

Skills

Quality Assurance Leadership

Food Safety

Regulatory Compliance

Audits

Continuous Improvement

Education

Bachelor's degree in Food Science or related field

Tools

SQF Level 2 Knowledge

FDA/USDA/GMP/HACCP/FSMA familiarity

Audit Management Software

Job description

The Quality Assurance Manager is responsible for leading and overseeing all food safety, quality assurance, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement initiatives within the organization. This role ensures products meet company, customer, and regulatory requirements while maintaining compliance with SQF Level 2 certification standards. The Quality Assurance Manager partners closely with Operations, Production, Sanitation, Maintenance, Procurement, and leadership teams to promote a culture of food safety, quality excellence, and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

Quality & Food Safety Management

• Develop, implement, and maintain quality assurance and food safety programs in accordance with SQF Level 2 requirements.
• Ensure compliance with FDA, USDA, GMP, HACCP, FSMA, and customer-specific food safety standards.
• Manage the company's food safety and quality management systems, ensuring documentation remains accurate and audit-ready.
• Lead root cause investigations and corrective action plans for product non-conformances, customer complaints, and food safety incidents.
• Monitor quality metrics and trends, identifying opportunities for process improvements and risk reduction.
• Oversee product testing, environmental monitoring, sanitation verification, and quality inspections.

SQF & Regulatory Compliance

• Maintain SQF Level 2 certification and ensure all policies, procedures, and practices align with certification requirements.
• Serve as the SQF Practitioner and primary point of contact for certification audits.
• Prepare for and coordinate all external, internal, customer, regulatory, and third-party audits.
• Ensure timely completion of corrective actions resulting from audit findings.
• Stay current on changing food safety regulations and industry best practices, implementing necessary program updates.

Audit Management

• Lead internal audit programs to verify compliance with food safety, quality, and operational standards.
• Coordinate and support customer audits, supplier audits, and regulatory inspections.
• Identify audit risks and develop action plans to address deficiencies before external assessments.
• Prepare audit reports, communicate findings to leadership, and track corrective actions through closure.
• Drive continuous audit readiness across all departments.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Production, Operations, Maintenance, Sanitation, Supply Chain, and Warehouse teams to ensure quality standards are consistently met.
• Collaborate with R&D and Product Development teams during new product launches and process changes.
• Work closely with Procurement and suppliers to establish and maintain raw material quality standards.
• Support training initiatives to enhance employee knowledge of food safety, quality systems, and regulatory compliance.
• Participate in cross-functional problem-solving efforts to improve product consistency, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop the Quality Assurance team.
• Establish departmental goals, performance metrics, and development plans.
• Foster a culture of accountability, food safety awareness, and continuous improvement throughout the organization.
• Conduct performance evaluations and provide coaching to team members.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, Biology, Quality Assurance, or a related field preferred.

Experience

• 5+ years of quality assurance or food safety experience within the food and beverage manufacturing industry.
• 3+ years of leadership or management experience.
• Extensive knowledge of SQF Level 2 certification requirements and quality management systems.
• Experience leading internal, external, customer, and regulatory audits.

Equal Opportunity Notice

Highspring LLC (d/b/a Vaco by Highspring) and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries ("we," "our," or "Vaco by Highspring") are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race (including but not limited to traits historically associated with race such as hair texture and hair style), color, sex (includes pregnancy or related conditions), religion or creed, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, status as a veteran, union membership, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, or any other protected characteristics as required by applicable law. The company is also committed to ensuring that persons who need them are provided with reasonable accommodations; if an accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact [e-mail].

Vaco by Highspring also wants all applicants to know their rights that workplace discrimination is illegal.

For residents of Ontario, Canada only: to the extent the position for employment is not with Highspring or not otherwise noted as vacant above, candidate should be informed that this role is to replace a presently employed person at Vaco by Highspring's client.

Privacy Notice

Vaco by Highspring respects your privacy and are committed to providing transparent notice of our policies.

• California residents may access Vaco by Highspring HR Notice at Collection for California Applicants and Employees here.
• Virginia residents may access our state specific policies here.
• Residents of all other states may access our policies here.
• Canadian residents may access our policies in English here and in French here.
• Residents of countries governed by GDPR and UK GDPR may access our policies here.

Additionally, submissions to this position are subject to the use of AI to perform preliminary candidate screenings, focused on ensuring minimum job requirements noted in the position are satisfied. More details about Vaco by Highspring's use of AI can be found here (https://www.highspring.com/ai-use-notices/). Further assessment of candidates beyond this initial phase will be conducted by recruiters and hiring managers. Vaco by Highspring does not know and cannot opine on if its client's use of AI products in hiring.

Pay Transparency Notice

Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco by Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to:

• the individual's skill sets, experience and training;
• licensure and certification requirements;
• office location and other geographic considerations; and
• other business and organizational needs.

With that said, as required by local law, Vaco by Highspring believes that the following salary range referenced above reasonably estimates the base compensation for an individual hired into this position in geographies that require salary range disclosure. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses and/or participation in medical, dental, and vision benefits as well as the company's retirement plan (or similar retirement benefits).