Quality Assurance & Food Safety Manager

Location: New Jersey
Work Arrangement: Fully On-Site
Industry: Food Ingredients / Food Manufacturing
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A growing food ingredient manufacturer in Paterson, NJ is seeking a hands-on Quality Assurance & Food Safety professional to support and lead quality, food safety, regulatory compliance and continuous improvement across its manufacturing operation.
This opportunity would suit an established Quality Manager or a strong Quality Supervisor ready to take the next step in their career.
The successful candidate will combine strong technical food-safety knowledge with a visible presence on the manufacturing floor and the ability to train, develop and influence production and quality teams.

Key Responsibilities

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  Lead and support site Quality Assurance and Food Safety programs across manufacturing operations.
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  Maintain and continuously improve food-safety systems in accordance with FSMA and GFSI-recognized standards such as SQF or FSSC 22000.
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  Support the development, implementation, verification and validation of food-safety and quality programs.
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  Conduct and support risk assessments, root-cause investigations, CAPA and corrective/preventive actions.
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  Maintain HACCP / Food Safety Plans, preventive controls and related documentation.
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  Prepare for and participate in regulatory, customer and third-party audits.
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  Maintain a strong presence on the production floor, identifying opportunities to strengthen food safety, quality and operational practices.
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  Partner closely with Production, Operations, R&D, Sanitation, Warehouse and other departments to resolve quality issues quickly and effectively.
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  Support sanitation verification, allergen controls, environmental monitoring, GMP programs and traceability/recall preparedness.
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  Investigate product, process and customer quality concerns and ensure appropriate corrective actions are implemented.
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  Train, coach and develop QA and production employees on food-safety, quality and compliance expectations.
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  Help build a proactive food-safety and quality culture throughout the facility.
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  Manage multiple priorities and quality initiatives within a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
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  Contribute to longer-term quality strategy, operational improvement and site development.

Candidate Profile

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  Background within food manufacturing, food ingredients, flavors, dry blending, powders, bakery ingredients, seasonings, premixes or a related manufacturing environment.
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  Strong understanding of FSMA, HACCP and GFSI food-safety standards, ideally SQF and/or FSSC 22000.
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  Knowledge of verification and validation of food-safety programs.
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  Experience conducting or supporting food-safety risk assessments and using scientific or technical information to support decisions.
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  Experience with audits, CAPA, root-cause analysis, GMPs, sanitation and continuous improvement.
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  Comfortable working both at a management/documentation level and directly on the manufacturing floor.
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  Demonstrated ability to train, coach and influence employees across different levels of an organization.
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  Able to work effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
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  Degree or educational background in a scientific or technical discipline such as Food Science, Chemistry, Biology, Microbiology, Engineering or a related field.
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  Bilingual English/Spanish is required.
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  Must be able to work fully on-site in New Jersey.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to take a highly visible role within a growing food manufacturing business where Quality and Food Safety are viewed as critical to the company's continued growth.
The position offers the opportunity to influence site standards, develop people, improve systems and make a tangible impact across day-to-day manufacturing operations.