Food Safety & Sanitation Quality Control Manager
7 days ago
Santa Monica
Job DescriptionDescription: Location: Los Angeles, CA Reports To: Director of Operations, Head of Kitchen Operations About goop kitchen goop kitchen is a culinary concept born from goop, the modern lifestyle brand founded by Gwyneth Paltrow in 2008. Launched in 2021 as a “delivery-first” restaurant, goop kitchen brings together Gwyneth’s clean food vision, a digitally-native marketing strategy, culinary and kitchen operations expertise from some of the world’s best restaurants, as well as class leading paybacks on small footprint restaurants. goop kitchen provides guests with access to nutritious, fantastic-tasting food whenever and wherever they want it. The menu includes hearty bowls, vibrant salads, delicious handhelds, rotisserie chicken, pizzas, and more, all gluten-free and made without refined sugars or highly-processed ingredients. Role Summary The Food & Sanitation Quality Control Manager is responsible for developing, managing, and continuously improving goop kitchen’s food safety, sanitation, and quality assurance systems across its kitchen(s) and production workflows. This role ensures that all food handling, storage, processing, and packaging meet internal standards, regulatory requirements (federal, state, local), and third-party certifications (e.g. SQF, GFSI, HACCP) as applicable. The manager will also lead audits, investigations, corrective actions, training, and reporting, and will act as a key liaison with regulatory bodies, clients, and cross-functional teams (culinary, operations, supply chain). Key Responsibilities • Design, implement, and maintain food safety and sanitation management systems (e.g. HACCP, GMPs, SSOP, SOPs) tailored to Goop Kitchen’s model, • Oversee daily sanitation operations, cleaning protocols, and environmental monitoring programs, • Develop and manage quality control / quality assurance (QC/QA) testing protocols, including microbiological, allergen, chemical, and physical hazards, • Plan and execute internal audits, gap assessments, and readiness checks for regulatory and customer audits, • Handle nonconformance investigations, root cause analyses, and drive corrective/preventive actions (CAPA), • Lead onboarding and ongoing training programs for kitchen and operations staff on food safety, sanitation, and quality standards, • Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for sanitation, microbial results, audit scores, corrective actions, etc, • Partner with suppliers, vendors, and co-manufacturers to ensure incoming ingredient quality and compliance, • Maintain documentation and records (logs, checklists, sanitation records, audit reports, certifications) to meet regulatory, customer, or internal requirements, • Coordinate with operations on waste reduction, cross-contamination controls, allergen management, shelf life, traceability/recall systems, • Serve as the point of contact for regulatory agencies (health departments, FDA, local environmental health) during inspections and compliance issues, • Provide guidance on kitchen layout, equipment design, flow, and maintenance to support sanitation and quality, • Stay current with industry best practices, regulatory changes, and emerging food safety technologies Requirements: Required Qualifications & Experience • Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Food Safety, or related discipline (or equivalent experience), • 5+ years of progressive experience in food safety / sanitation / quality assurance roles in a commercial food manufacturing or kitchen operations environment, • Prior management or supervisory experience overseeing sanitation or QA/QC teams, • Solid understanding of HACCP, GMPs, SSOP, microbiology, regulatory requirements (FDA, USDA, local health), and third-party audit standards (SQF, BRC, etc.), • Strong analytical skills, data literacy, and experience with process improvement, • Excellent communication and training skills, with ability to influence cross-functional teams, • Experience with root cause analysis, CAPA, audit protocols, and documentation control, • Proficiency with audit tools, data management, and QC / laboratory software, • Certifications such as HACCP, PCQI, or lead auditor (preferred), • Detail-oriented, proactive, and able to function in a fast-paced environment, • Preferred / Nice-to-Have, • Experience in ghost kitchens, meal delivery, or clean-label food brands, • Experience managing multiple kitchen or facility sites, • Lean / Six Sigma or continuous improvement credentials, • Experience in packaging, shelf-life studies, or food R&D, • Allergen management / control experience, • Performance Metrics / KPIs (Examples), • Audit compliance rates / audit scores, • Number of nonconformances / critical violations, • Time to root cause & closure for CAPAs, • Microbiological or swab test results trends, • Sanitation effectiveness / verification (ATP, protein, etc.), • Supplier nonconformance rate, • Training completion and audit readiness scores, • Cost of poor quality (waste, rework, recalls)