Head of Quality Assurance & Product Development

SANY Nutrition Group LLC is a leading manufacturer of high-quality protein bars, functional snacks, chocolate products, and bakery items. We combine innovation, advanced manufacturing, and food science expertise to deliver premium products for private label and branded customers across North America. As we continue to grow, we are looking for dedicated professionals to join our team and help build a world-class manufacturing operation.

Position Summary

The Head of Quality Assurance \& Product Development leads the company’s food safety, quality systems, regulatory compliance, audits, and new product development activities.

This senior leadership role manages products from initial concept and prototype through testing, production line trials, commercialization, and full-scale manufacturing. The position ensures that all products meet safety, quality, nutritional, regulatory, cost, and customer requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Quality Assurance and Food Safety

• Lead and continuously improve the company’s quality and food safety systems.

• Ensure compliance with HACCP, GMP, allergen control, sanitation, traceability, recall, and preventive control requirements.

• Establish product specifications, testing procedures, release standards, and quality checkpoints.

• Manage non-conformances, customer complaints, root-cause investigations, and corrective actions.

• Promote a strong food safety and quality culture across the organization.

Audits and Certification

• Lead preparation for and completion of SQF or similar GFSI-recognized audits.

• Maintain continuous audit readiness.

• Manage internal, customer, supplier, regulatory, and third-party audits.

• Ensure audit findings and corrective actions are completed on time.

• Maintain quality documentation, certifications, and controlled records.

Product Development

• Lead new product development from concept and laboratory prototype to production line.

• Manage formulation, ingredient selection, sensory testing, stability studies, shelf-life testing, and packaging validation.

• Coordinate pilot trials, scale-up, line trials, and first commercial production runs.

• Ensure products meet taste, texture, nutrition, cost, quality, and manufacturing requirements.

• Improve existing products based on customer feedback, quality results, and production performance.

Regulatory and Commercialization

• Ensure formulations, ingredients, labels, claims, and packaging comply with applicable regulations.

• Review nutrition facts, ingredient statements, allergen declarations, and product claims.

• Work with Production, Engineering, Procurement, Sales, and Marketing to successfully commercialize products.

• Define manufacturing instructions, critical process parameters, and finished-product standards.

• Support troubleshooting, yield improvement, waste reduction, and production efficiency.

Supplier and Customer Quality

• Approve ingredients, packaging materials, and suppliers.

• Conduct supplier evaluations, audits, risk assessments, and corrective actions.

• Support customer audits, technical requests, specifications, complaints, and product-development projects.

• Present the company’s quality and product-development capabilities to customers and partners.

Leadership

• Lead and develop Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Regulatory, Laboratory, and Product Development teams.

• Establish departmental goals, performance indicators, budgets, and priorities.

• Provide senior management with regular updates on quality, audits, product development, regulatory risks, and customer issues.

• Serve as the senior technical authority for food safety, quality, regulatory compliance, and product commercialization.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Nutrition, Chemistry, Microbiology, or a related field.

• Significant senior-level experience in quality assurance and product development within food or nutrition manufacturing.

• Proven experience preparing for and successfully completing SQF or similar food safety audits.

• Strong audit experience, including internal, customer, supplier, regulatory, and third-party audits.

• Hands-on product-development experience from initial prototype through pilot trials, production line trials, and full-scale manufacturing.

• Strong knowledge of HACCP, GMP, allergen management, sanitation, traceability, labeling, and food regulations.

• Experience developing food, nutrition, protein, functional snack, supplement, or meal-replacement products.

• Strong leadership, project management, problem-solving, and communication skills.

Preferred Experience

• Experience with protein bars, nutrition bars, functional snacks, confectionery, sports nutrition, or supplements.

• Experience in private-label or contract manufacturing.

• Knowledge of vegan, gluten-free, high-protein, low-sugar, clean-label, non-GMO, halal, or kosher products.

• Familiarity with FDA, USDA, EU, UK, or other international food regulations.

Key Performance Indicators

• SQF or equivalent audit results

• Audit finding closure rates

• Customer complaint and product rejection rates

• Product-development timelines

• Prototype-to-production success rate

• Finished-product compliance

• Supplier quality performance

• Manufacturing yield and waste reduction

• Regulatory and labeling compliance

Authority

The Head of Quality Assurance \& Product Development has the authority to place materials or products on hold, approve or reject products, stop production when serious food safety or quality risks are identified, and approve formulations, specifications, labels, and progression from prototype to commercial production.

Reports to: CEO, General Manager, or Chief Operating Officer.

The SANY Nutrition Group Company are equal employment opportunity employers. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.