Senior Quality Assurance Manager

Senior Quality Assurance Manager

Location:

California

Department:

Food Safety \& Quality Assurance

Mackenzie Stuart are currently partnering with a leading flavor \& food ingredient manufacturer known for developing custom-formulated specialty ingredients and flavors for brands, retailers, and co-manufacturers across a wide range of food applications.

We are seeking a transformational

Senior Quality Assurance Manager

to lead quality and food safety at a manufacturing site. This person will drive a strong quality culture, strengthen compliance programs, and partner across functions to improve performance, reduce waste, and enhance customer confidence.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and champion a plant-wide quality culture.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives and support root cause analysis to reduce complaints and non-conformances.
• Manage complaint investigations, corrective actions, and technical problem solving.
• Oversee food safety and regulatory compliance, including SQF, HACCP, FDA, allergen, foreign material, and preventive controls.
• Lead certification programs including

Halal, Kosher, RSPO, Organic, and GFCO

.

• Own and maintain the Environmental Monitoring Program.
• Prepare for and support audits and regulatory/customer inspections.
• Develop and track quality KPIs and reporting using data tools such as

Power BI

and

TraceGains

.

• Coach, mentor, and develop the QA team.
• Partner cross-functionally to resolve quality issues and strengthen customer satisfaction.

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, Engineering, or related discipline.
• 7–10 years of QA and food safety experience in food, beverage, ingredients, or CPG manufacturing.
• SQF Practitioner and PCQI certification required.
• HACCP certification required.
• SQF or BRC Practitioner required.
• Experience leading GFSI certification programs.
• Experience managing regulatory inspections and customer audits.
• Strong knowledge of FSMA, HACCP, GMPs, and corrective action systems.
• Experience with quality and technical aspects of fruit preparations, fillings, flavors, and exposure to dairy, bakery, or foodservice customers is preferred.
• Lean or Six Sigma training is a plus.
• Strong leadership, organization, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Success in This Role Will Be Measured By

• Audit and certification performance
• Reduction in customer complaints and non-conformances
• Regulatory compliance outcomes
• Food safety program effectiveness and recall readiness
• Improvement in quality performance metrics

Why Join

• Join a mission-driven company focused on quality and innovation.
• Competitive compensation and benefits.
• Strong growth potential.
• Supportive, collaborative culture.
• Commitment to sustainability, food safety, and ethical sourcing.