Senior Sanitation & Food Safety Program Lead

DO & CO AG; Hempfield Township (Westmoreland County); On-site; USD 90,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Daily meals

Medical benefits

401(k) eligibility

Career development

Global leader

Job summary

DO & CO seeks an experienced Sanitation & Food Safety Program Specialist to advance sanitation programs across its U.S. operations.

The role requires hands-on food safety expertise to assess complex production environments, lead root-cause investigations, and translate technical requirements into practical, sustainable solutions. The candidate will oversee SSOPs, environmental monitoring, and corrective actions, collaborating with cross-functional teams and supporting regulatory inspections and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science or related discipline.
• At least five years of progressive experience in food manufacturing, airline catering, commissary operations, sanitation, food safety, or quality assurance.
• Strong working knowledge of food sanitation, GMPs, HACCP, Environmental Monitoring Programs, sanitation verification, and preventive controls.
• Demonstrated experience conducting sanitation inspections, investigations, root‑cause analyses, and corrective‑action follow‑up.
• Experience identifying microbiological, sanitation, hygienic‑design, allergen, and cross‑contamination risks in complex food‑production environments.
• Strong analytical, organizational, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Capable of working independently while effectively influencing and collaborating with cross‑functional teams.
• Willing and able to travel regularly among DO & CO’s U.S. facilities.
• Flexible availability, including early mornings, nights, weekends, and overnight sanitation or pre‑operational activities when required.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical oversight and guidance for sanitation programs across DO & CO’s U.S. facilities.
• Develop, standardize, and continuously improve SSOPs, Master Sanitation Schedules, cleaning procedures, and verification standards.
• Conduct sanitation assessments across production areas, ready-to-eat environments, equipment, coolers, freezers, dishrooms, drains, docks, and waste areas.
• Evaluate cleaning methods, chemicals, concentrations, contact times, equipment, sanitation contractors, and service providers.
• Identify hygienic-design concerns and sanitation vulnerabilities and partner with facility teams to implement sustainable solutions.
• Establish standardized pre-operational inspection and release programs across facilities.
• Conduct independent inspections to verify sanitation effectiveness and production readiness.
• Identify food residue, grease, biofilm risks, standing water, damaged surfaces, inaccessible areas, and other sanitation deficiencies
• Ensure corrective actions are completed and effective before equipment or production areas are released for use.
• Maintain consistent documentation, escalation, and follow-up procedures for significant findings.
• Support the development and continuous improvement of Environmental Monitoring Programs, with particular focus on ready-to-eat and high-risk areas.
• Review sampling plans, locations, frequencies, zoning, ATP results, and environmental trend data.
• Lead or support investigations involving recurring environmental findings or pathogens, including Listeria species and Listeria monocytogenes.
• Verify intensified cleaning, resampling, mitigation activities, allergen-cleaning validation, and corrective actions.
• Ensure sanitation tools are properly segregated, dedicated, and color-coded where required.
• Verify the proper selection, concentration, labeling, storage, dispensing, and use of sanitation chemicals.
• Ensure cleaning practices follow manufacturer instructions and established sanitation procedures.
• Evaluate equipment and facilities for harborage points, damaged surfaces, standing water, condensation, deteriorated seals, and other contamination risks.
• Participate in sanitation reviews for new equipment, renovations, construction projects, and process changes.
• Partner with Maintenance, Engineering, Operations, FSQA, chemical suppliers, and facility leadership to resolve sanitation-related deficiencies.
• Review pest‑control programs, activity trends, and corrective actions with FSQA and facility leadership.
• Assess waste-handling areas, docks, compactors, recycling areas, and exterior conditions for sanitation and pest risks.
• Verify sanitation procedures supporting Halal segregation and shared‑equipment controls.
• Evaluate cleaning and tool‑control practices designed to prevent allergen and Halal/non‑Halal cross‑contact.
• Lead sanitation‑related investigations and root‑cause analyses.
• Develop risk‑based corrective and preventive action recommendations.
• Verify the completion and sustained effectiveness of sanitation CAPAs.
• Identify recurring findings across facilities and recommend long‑term, systemic solutions.
• Escalate significant sanitation and food safety risks to FSQA leadership.
• Develop and deliver technical training on SSOPs, GMPs, chemical safety, sanitation verification, environmental pathogen controls, and cross‑contamination prevention.
• Coach Sanitation Managers, supervisors, FSQA personnel, Operations teams, and frontline employees.
• Verify training effectiveness through field observations and follow‑up assessments.
• Support FDA inspections, customer audits, third‑party audits, and internal food safety assessments.
• Assist facilities with regulatory observations, customer findings, CAPAs, and effectiveness verification.
• Promote sanitation as a critical food safety preventive control and shared organizational responsibility.

Skills

Strong communication

Analytical skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Willing travel

GMPs knowledge

Root-cause analysis

HACCP knowledge

Environmental monitoring

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science or related discipline

PCQI certification

Job description

DO & CO seeks an experienced Sanitation & Food Safety Program Specialist to advance sanitation programs across its U.S. operations.

The role requires hands-on food safety expertise to assess complex production environments, lead root-cause investigations, and translate technical requirements into practical, sustainable solutions. The candidate will oversee SSOPs, environmental monitoring, and corrective actions, collaborating with cross-functional teams and supporting regulatory inspections and