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Food Safety & Quality EPIC Manager

Emeryville, CA

The Food Safety & Quality Manager (FSQA Manager) will play a key strategic role in helping with defining, establishing, and enforcing the food safety and quality systems that will come to define cultivated meat food production, processing, and packaging processes required to ensure safe and delicious meat food products for consumers at pilot and commercial scale.


The FSQA Manager will be responsible for ensuring appropriate methods are strategically integrated into the plant goals, taking long- and short-term views on product quality and food safety as products, processes, and company priorities are developed as it relates to the FSQA lab, plant testing and plant HACCP/Preventive Controls monitoring. This role is a key leadership position, aiding in company precedent for scaled cultivated meat quality and food safety. This role will be a part of a world-class quality management team. The ideal candidate is eager to take on new challenges, is not afraid to fail and is willing to identify mistakes and learn from them.  


As manager of FSQA, the position will be expected to protect the brands through continuous improvement in the areas of compliance to food safety, quality, regulatory, sanitation and corporate standards. This includes participating in the innovation process to ensure complete quality and food safety risk analysis and validation of compliance documentation.


Responsibilities include…

  • Aid in the design and implementation of a Food Safety & Quality Management System that will be a critical pillar of manufacturing cultivated meat and an example for this new way of making food.
  • Oversee the FSQA staff and work in concert with the Food Safety staff, R&D staff and Regulatory team. The FSQA team is responsible for Analytical and Microbiology labs, maintenance of lab and plant floor equipment and calibration programs, day to day oversight of testing outlined in the plant Food Safety and HACCP plans, regulatory compliance, kosher, organic, halal, etc. certifications, label applications and compliance with various customer quality and food safety programs and overall administration of the plant food safety and quality systems.
  • Support the checkout, start-up, commissioning and validation of the plant and labs.
  • Acts as the subject matter expert on behalf of the organization for Food Safety and Quality and day-to-day issues at the plant.
  • Build and lead a staff that is results oriented and driven to serve their internal and external customers while developing and implementing regulatory strategy and managing those systems and programs in order to meet all corporate goals and objectives.
  • Demonstrable ability to support both FDA and USDA relationships, inspection regimens, post-market compliance plans, adverse event reporting, and label approval processes associated with the plant.


About you…

  • 5+ years experience in food manufacturing with at least three years in a senior leadership role.
  • Excellent people management skills as well as experience in the management of food safety, quality systems and technical services functions.
  • Ability to set challenging, reasonable performance expectations for analytical testing performance, microbiological performance, FSMA/HACCP/HARPC programs, (PCQI certification preferred)
  • Experience and working knowledge of continuous improvement processes as well as the ability to effectively collaborate with company leadership at suppliers and customers.
  • Experience developing/implementing GFSI programs including: lab validation, Supplier Management, Sanitation/Pre-OP, Internal & External Auditing, CAPA/Root Cause Analysis, Document Control, Crisis Management, Customer Complaints, Environmental Monitoring, Food Defense, Food Fraud and Allergen Management
  • A deeply technical background that can easily translate evidence into action
  • A collaborative nature that works well independently and with others
  • A willingness to work with teammates to build a healthy professional environment to produce delicious, safe meat products


Who you’ll work with…

  • The role is very cross functional both within the plant and the greater company. You will work with all departments associated with the plant, as well as several departments within R&D, Food R&D, Supply Chain, among others within the company
  • This role will partner with every function in the company! It’s a rare opportunity to learn about all parts of the business and industry.


Key Contributions in First Year…

  • Develop and implement food safety plans and critical metrics to assure compliance with regulatory requirements
  • Establish quality training and systems including GMP, food safety, , regulatory requirements, and quality measurement systems


UPSIDE Benefits!

  • Stock options for all full-time incoming team members!
  • 90-100% employer-paid healthcare premiums for team members (medical [including HSA and FSA], dental, and vision)
  • Pet insurance for your furry family members!
  • Unlimited PTO 
  • DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) Council and People Engagement Programs
  • Company-sponsored learning & development opportunities

 

UPSIDE Foods is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Our company-wide mission is to create a product for everyone, so we are deeply committed to having teams and leaders that reflect this mission.

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