Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance

Summary

Join Vital Farms as the Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance, reporting to the Vice President of FSQA. Lead and mentor a team of food safety and quality experts, building robust corporate programs and procedures. Develop and implement sustainable food safety and quality processes, overseeing operations to meet quality specifications and requirements. Collaborate across departments and with external partners to ensure compliance and continuous improvement. Ensure a robust supplier program and regular product testing, while developing training programs to enhance crew competency. Analyze issues related to food manufacturing, natural sciences, and regulatory compliance, and develop strategic plans to meet business KPIs.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in Food Safety and Quality Management preferred with strong regulatory and GFSI scheme understanding (specifically SQF)
• Holds a bachelor’s degree in food science and technology or related field; Master’s degree in a similar field is desirable
• HACCP Certified, GFSI / SQF practitioner, PCQI, and other applicable certifications
• SQF internal auditing experience, audit certification preferrable
• Knowledge of FDA, USDA, and State food safety regulations
• Able to travel approximately 25% - 50%. May be periods when travel peaks above

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership to a crew of industry leading quality and food safety experts which scale with our growing business
• Build robust corporate food safety and quality programs and procedures setting industry leading expectations for both internal and external manufacturing and suppliers of raw materials and services
• Develop and ensure product specifications that are thorough and of highest standards for food safety and quality
• Oversee the development, implementation, and monitoring of sustainable and scalable food safety and quality processes to meet Vital Farms’ fast-growing needs
• Evaluate operations, both internal and external, from a strategic level to ensure that products and processes meet all quality specifications and requirements
• Identify high-level operational risks and drive mitigation strategies and continuous improvement
• Ensure food safety and quality standards are met by analyzing and trending the results of internal FSQA, product, plant process documentation, regulatory compliance, and third-party audits
• Collaborate across departments to study and improve compliance, processes, and areas, including but not limited to, SQF, internal auditing, document control, product specifications, food safety and HACCP Plans, prerequisite programs, regulatory requirements, customer/consumer complaints, sanitation, commercialization, supplier verification and management, recall and traceability, environmental monitoring
• Ensure a thorough and robust supplier program that is inclusive of all partners and co-manufacturers and that the program meets all relevant standards
• Ensure regular sampling and testing of products to ensure compliance with Food Safety requirements and Vital Farms standards
• Develop or facilitate the development of and implement training programs that increase efficiency and ensure crew competency
• Oversee raw materials and specification retrievals from all incoming ingredients and food contact materials and verify they are sourced from suitable suppliers and specifications are completed
• Oversee customer complaint procedure, reporting and action plans ensuring all items are addressed in a timely appropriate fashion by all relevant departments including product recall practice and procedures
• Understand and analyze issues involving food manufacturing, natural sciences, mathematics (including statistics), technical and legal documents
• Develop and/or execute strategic plans to meet departmental and organizational business KPI’s while complying with regulatory and customer requirements

Preferred Qualifications

• In depth knowledge of shell egg applicable regulations and guidelines and experience in shell egg processing preferred
• A high attention to detail, well organized, and able to juggle many projects at once
• Comfortable in a fast-paced environment
• Passionate about food safety and developing a food safety culture
• Strong sense of servant leadership
• Positive attitude and motivated by contributing to the overall success of the team
• Science base expertise in food safety, quality assurance and regulatory compliance with an understanding of sampling, testing and verification processes within a manufacturing environment
• In depth knowledge and understanding of working with developing requirements, and auditing co-manufacturers, suppliers, and partners to develop and execute finished goods that are rigorously reviewed for all food safety and quality aspects
• You’re no hero – You know the power of teamwork and celebrate the work of others before your own
• You give a sh*t – You believe in acting like an owner and making Vital Farms a place to be proud of
• You raise the standards – You know growth can be hard, but you strive to improve yourself and others each day
• You can walk in someone else’s boots – You seek to understand other’s viewpoints and think that you get to better answers by sitting on the same side of the table
• You don’t walk on eggshells – You’re not afraid to leave the bullsh*t behind and have honest conversations

Benefits

• Competitive pay and benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, and Paid Parental Leave, just to name a few)
• Generous retirement contributions: 401(k) + 3% Contribution from Day 1
• Annual bonus and equity grant (subject to business results and company approval)
• Free eggs and butter, along with friends and family discounts
• Professional development opportunities and an amazing team dedicated to your growth