Director of Quality Assurance - Asian Cuisine

Description

Job Overview

The Director of Quality Assurance provides strategic leadership and oversight for all food safety, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance programs across the organization. This role ensures adherence to USDA, FDA, and local health department regulations, manages HACCP programs, and drives continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen food safety culture. The position leads crisis management, environmental and social governance programs, and ensures compliance with customer requirements and internal standards.

The Director oversees technical services, SafetyCulture, and compliance teams, ensuring alignment with organizational standards. This team provides comprehensive support and guidance to the operations field team, fostering regulatory compliance, operational excellence, and a strong food safety culture.

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Supervisory Responsibilities

• Directly supervises QA team leads, food safety specialists, and quality inspectors.
• Provides mentorship, performance evaluations, and professional development opportunities for QA team members.
• Oversees the recruitment, training, and onboarding of new QA personnel.

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Key Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and maintain comprehensive food safety and quality assurance programs aligned with regulatory and customer requirements.
• Serve as HACCP Coordinator and lead preventive controls programs.
• Oversee internal audits, regulatory inspections, and third-party certification audits (e.g., FDA, USDA, SteriTech, Health Permitting, etc.).
• Manage crisis response plans and ensure timely resolution of non-compliance issues.
• Lead environmental and social governance initiatives.
• Provide training and support to operations teams to reinforce food safety culture.
• Review and approve labeling, specifications, and written programs.
• Direct and mentor a team including managers, regulatory support staff, and technical services.
• Ensure compliance with health permits, licensing, and renewals for retail store openings.
• Drive continuous improvement through root cause analysis and corrective action planning.

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Competencies

• In-depth knowledge of USDA, FDA, FSIS, and local health regulations.
• HACCP, SteriTech, and NSF program auditing management.
• Strong understanding of food safety risk assessment and mitigation strategies.
• Ability to communicate complex regulatory requirements clearly.
• Cross-functional collaboration with operations, compliance, legal, R&D, and executive leadership.

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Required Skills/Abilities

• Align quality assurance and food safety objectives with the organization’s strategic roadmap and growth initiatives.
• Develop and implement long-term compliance strategies to support new product launches and market expansion.
• Drive continuous improvement projects that enhance operational efficiency and food safety culture across all sites.
• Collaborate with executive leadership to integrate ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) goals into quality and safety programs.
• Monitor regulatory trends and proactively adjust company policies to maintain compliance and competitive advantage.
• Establish measurable KPIs for quality and safety performance that support overall business objectives.
• Lead cross-functional planning sessions to ensure QA initiatives are embedded in company-wide goals.
• Support operations and technical services teams in achieving roadmap milestones through training, guidance, and resource allocation.
• Ability to communicate professionally and effectively across all forms of media (written, verbal, digital)
• Skilled in preparing clear and concise reports and presentations
• Root cause analysis and corrective action implementation.
• Data-driven approach to continuous improvement.

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Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in food science, Biology, Chemistry, or related field (required)
• Master’s degree in food science, Biology, Chemistry or related field (preferred)
• Minimum of 6-10 years of experience in quality assurance or food safety roles, with at least 3 years in a senior or managerial capacity with increasing levels of responsibility.
• HACCP Certification (Processors, RTE, Retail), Seafood (Required).
• ServSafe Food Protection Manager (Required).

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Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Ability to access and navigate distribution facilities, host locations, including cold storage areas.
• Occasionally required to lift up to 25 pounds.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally with varying notice and periods.

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Work Environment

• Primarily office-based with regular visits to distribution centers, kiosk, warehouses, and supplier facilities.
• Exposure to various warehouse environments, including cold storage and food preparation areas.

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Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

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Equal Opportunity Statement

GBC Food Services, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.