Quality Manager – Food & Beverage Manufacturing

Compensation: $130,000–$140,000 base + 15% bonus
Relocation Assistance: Strong relocation package available
Employment Type: Full-Time

Position Overview

Our client, a well-established food and beverage manufacturer, is seeking an experienced Quality Manager to lead the plant's Quality function.

This position has responsibility for product and packaging quality, food safety, regulatory compliance, laboratory operations, sanitation, and Quality/Food Safety Management Systems. The Quality Manager will lead the site's Quality team and work closely with plant leadership to improve quality, food safety, operational performance, and cost.

Required Industry Experience

Candidates must have Quality leadership experience within beverage or liquid-food manufacturing.

Relevant environments may include:

• Beverage and bottling operations
• Hot-fill or cold-fill processing
• Juice and other liquid-food production
• Sauces and condiments such as ketchup and mustard
• Cooking or edible oils
• Other high-volume liquid-food manufacturing

Candidates whose experience is exclusively outside beverage or liquid-food manufacturing are unlikely to be a fit for this position.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the plant Quality Department and drive performance against quality, food safety, and continuous improvement KPIs.
• Serve as the site's SQF Practitioner and oversee SQF systems, Food Safety Fundamentals, HACCP programs, and Food Safety and Quality Plans.
• Maintain compliance with GFSI, FDA, CFIA, GMP, customer, corporate, OSHA, and environmental requirements.
• Ensure raw materials, packaging materials, in-process products, and finished goods meet established specifications.
• Oversee plant Quality activities including inspections, laboratory and microbiological testing, sanitation, water treatment, and syrup blending.
• Manage laboratory resources, analytical equipment, testing procedures, and Quality data.
• Lead internal audits and support external, regulatory, customer, and certification audits.
• Develop and maintain Quality SOPs, work instructions, controlled documents, and food safety records.
• Lead investigations into non-conformances and drive root cause analysis, corrective actions, and preventive actions (CAPA) through completion.
• Ensure plant employees receive appropriate food safety and Quality training.
• Hire, onboard, coach, evaluate, and develop Quality team members.
• Manage Quality Department labor, waste, and other fixed and variable costs.
• Prepare capital requests and manage approved Quality-related projects.
• Support new product launches, process validations, waste-reduction initiatives, and continuous improvement projects.
• Build a strong culture of quality, food safety, accountability, and employee engagement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Quality, Manufacturing, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of direct Quality management experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Quality leadership experience in beverage or liquid-food manufacturing is required.
• Experience leading Quality personnel and managing departmental performance.
• Strong working knowledge of HACCP, GMP, GFSI, FDA requirements, food safety, food defense, and Quality Management Systems.
• SQF Practitioner certification or significant SQF system experience strongly preferred.
• Experience with audits, root cause analysis, CAPA, sanitation, laboratory/testing activities, and continuous improvement.
• Strong analytical, leadership, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to analyze Quality data using statistical methods and identify trends.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint; experience with SAP and laboratory data systems is beneficial.

Compensation & Relocation

The anticipated base salary range is $130,000–$140,000, plus a 15% annual bonus opportunity.

Candidates slightly above the stated base range may still be considered based on experience.

A strong relocation package is available for qualified candidates.

Work Environment

This is a plant-based Quality leadership position in a fast-paced food and beverage manufacturing environment. The schedule may vary based on production requirements and can occasionally include evenings, weekends, overnight coverage, or overtime.

Production areas include moving equipment and varying temperatures and require appropriate PPE. Travel is minimal.