A Food Safety Manager is responsible for ensuring compliance with all food safety matters, legislative and regulatory, relating to an organization's day to day operations. Will provide specialist advice to the management and employees of the organization. May organize training to improve employee understanding of best food safety practice.
About the Role The Plus Group is seeking an experienced Food Safety & Quality Assurance Manager to lead food safety and quality across our supply chain, co-manufacturing, warehouse, transportation, and distribution operations throughout California. This position will assess and strengthen our food safety programs, ensure regulatory and SQF compliance, maintain cold-chain integrity, oversee supplier and co-manufacturer quality, and build a strong company-wide food safety culture. The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader with strong knowledge of
HACCP/HARPC, SQF, USDA-FSIS, FDA
requirements, cold-chain management, supplier quality, and food distribution. Key ResponsibilitiesFood Safety & Quality Systems Conduct gap assessments and develop plans to strengthen company food safety and quality programs. Develop, implement, and maintain
HACCP/HARPC
plans and a unified company food safety system. Maintain SQF programs, GMPs, SOPs, SSOPs, allergen controls, sanitation, environmental monitoring, traceability, and recall programs. Establish appropriate controls for fresh meat, pickled/acidified products, and cheese/dairy. Ensure compliance with applicable USDA-FSIS, FDA, CDFA, SQF, and state requirements. Distribution, Cold Chain & Warehousing Oversee food safety and quality throughout warehouse, storage, transportation, and delivery operations. Establish temperature-control requirements and monitor cold-chain performance using data loggers and other monitoring systems. Develop procedures for vehicle sanitation, pre-cooling, loading/unloading, product segregation, and prevention of cross-contamination. Manage temperature excursions, product holds, disposition, and release decisions. Ensure proper inventory rotation, product segregation, sanitation, pest control, and storage practices. Maintain lot-level traceability throughout warehouse and distribution operations. Supplier & Co-Manufacturer Quality Develop and manage risk-based supplier qualification and monitoring programs. Review supplier specifications, COAs, laboratory results, and food safety documentation. Conduct or coordinate supplier and co-manufacturer audits. Qualify and approve co-manufacturing facilities and review their food safety and quality programs. Monitor compliance with product specifications, processes, packaging, labeling, and quality requirements. Manage supplier and co-manufacturer corrective actions. CAPA, Complaints & Audits Investigate deviations, nonconformances, customer complaints, and food safety concerns. Lead root-cause analysis and corrective and preventive actions (CAPA). Support and host customer, regulatory, SQF, third-party, and internal audits. Ensure findings are corrected, documented, and verified. Track food safety and quality KPIs and report trends and significant issues to management. Leadership & Cross-Functional Support Lead, train, coach, and develop assigned Quality Assurance personnel. Promote a strong food safety culture based on accountability and continuous improvement. Partner with Operations, Logistics, Sales, Procurement, and Product Development on new products, suppliers, co-manufacturers, and business opportunities. Establish food safety and quality requirements before new products, suppliers, processes, or materials are introduced. Travel to suppliers, co-manufacturers, warehouses, customers, and other locations as needed. Required Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Microbiology, Quality Assurance, or related field. 5+ years of food industry experience in Food Safety or Quality Assurance. 3+ years of management or supervisory experience. Strong knowledge of HACCP/HARPC, GMPs, sanitation, allergen control, traceability, recalls, and preventive controls. Experience with cold-chain management, food warehousing, transportation, and/or distribution. Experience with supplier quality and/or co-manufacturing programs. Experience conducting audits, investigating quality issues, and implementing CAPA. Strong communication, analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills. Proficiency with Microsoft Office and electronic quality/documentation systems. Ability to travel as required. Certifications PCQI Certification HACCP Certification SQF Practitioner Certification , or ability to obtain Better Process Control School Certification for acidified/pickled products, or ability to obtain Preferred Qualifications 7+ years of food safety or quality experience and 5+ years of management experience. Experience with
USDA-FSIS
regulated meat products. Experience with FDA-regulated dairy and/or acidified/pickled products. Experience with SQF and customer certification audits. Lead Auditor certification or equivalent audit experience. Experience with process validation, scheduled processes, and Process Authority requirements. Experience managing quality across multiple facilities, warehouses, or distribution operations. Bilingual English/Spanish strongly preferred. Schedule Typically Monday-Friday, 8 hours per day , with flexibility for occasional early mornings, evenings, weekends, extended hours, audits, and operational needs. #TPGMOD1
