Quality Manager

On Target Executive Search; New York (NY); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

On Target Executive Search is seeking a Quality Manager for a fast‑paced beverage bottling facility in Ulster County, NY. You will lead the QA/QC team across all shifts, own food safety programs, audit readiness, and supplier quality, ensuring compliance from raw materials through finished goods.

The role demands hands‑on leadership, expertise in HACCP/SQF, PCQI certification, and experience with blow‑mold PET packaging, hot‑fill and cold‑fill processes, and CAPA driven improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a food/quality related field.
• 5+ years of QA leadership in a manufacturing setting, preferably beverages.
• Experience with high-speed bottling, blow molding, PET packaging, hot-fill/cold-fill processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Quality department across all shifts and ensure prompt communication of issues; quarantine affected product.
• Oversee incoming raw materials inspection, COA verification, and supplier qualification.
• Manage calibration programs and records for QA equipment.
• Own process and product quality for in-house bottle manufacturing, blow molding, and fill operations; verify temperatures and CO2 integrity.
• Lead sanitation verification, master sanitation schedule adherence, and pre-operational inspections.
• Run flavor/sensory trials and shelf-life testing program.
• Collaborate with Production/Maintenance to optimize yields and investigate root causes for CAPA.
• Oversee audits (customer, regulatory, third-party GFSI/SQF) and maintain audit readiness.
• Maintain food safety programs including allergen control and labeling accuracy; ensure regulatory compliance.
• Recruit and develop QA/QC staff; prepare quality reporting and KPIs for plant leadership.

Skills

QA Leadership

HACCP

SQF

GFSI

CAPA

Calibrations

CCP

Supplier Quality

Education

Bachelor's degree in Food Science/Engineering/Quality

Job description

Quality Manager-MUST COME FROM JUICE OR DAIRY INDUSTRY

Location: Ulster County, New York

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced, hands‑on, and detail-oriented Quality Manager to lead the entire Quality department for our bottling facility, which operates both hot‑fill and cold‑fill production lines and manufactures its own PET bottles in‑house via blow molding. This role owns quality across the full production day — from incoming raw materials and in‑house bottle manufacturing through filling, packaging, and finished goods release — and is accountable for food safety compliance, calibration, sanitation verification, customer and regulatory audit readiness, and leading a cross‑trained QA/QC team across all shifts.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the Quality department across all shifts, reviewing daily quality documentation covering the entire production day, ensuring quality issues are communicated promptly (including to night shift), and that affected product is quarantined pending disposition.
• Oversee incoming raw material and ingredient inspection and manage the supplier quality program, including specification and COA verification and approved vendor qualification.
• Manage calibration programs and records for all quality-related equipment.
• Own process and product quality across in‑house bottle manufacturing (blow molding, including preform and blown‑bottle inspection) and both hot‑fill and cold‑fill production, including fill temperature/hold‑time verification and CO2/package integrity checks.
• Oversee sanitation paperwork and verification, including pre-operational inspections and master sanitation schedule adherence.
• Lead flavor and sensory taste trials and maintain a shelf‑life/stability testing program.
• Partner with Production and Maintenance to ensure yields and product specifications consistently meet expectations, and ensure customer complaints are reviewed and resolved through root cause investigation and CAPA activities.
• Understand and operate coding equipment, and own monitoring and verification of Critical Control Points (CCPs) under the HACCP plan.
• Lead all audits — customer, regulatory, and third‑party GFSI/SQF — maintaining continuous audit readiness.
• Maintain food safety and regulatory compliance programs, including foreign material control, environmental monitoring, allergen control, and labeling/claims accuracy.
• Recruit, cross‑train, and develop QA/QC staff, and prepare quality reporting and KPIs for plant leadership.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, Quality Management, or related field.

5+ years of Quality Assurance leadership experience in manufacturing environment, preferably beverage manufacturing.

Experience in high-speed bottling, beverage, food, or CPG manufacturing preferred; experience with blow-molded PET packaging and hot-fill/cold-fill process validation strongly preferred.

Strong knowledge of quality systems, food safety, calibration, and production quality management.

SQF Practitioner and HACCP certification required; PCQI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individual) certification preferred.