Charlotte
Job DescriptionDescription: About Plat Du Jour (PDJ) Plat du Jour (PDJ) is a precision meal platform producing high-quality, ready-to-eat meals and food components in a structured food manufacturing environment. PDJ is built on consistency, operational discipline, and uncompromising food safety standards. This is not a restaurant kitchen — our operation is driven by process control, production precision, and quality assurance at scale. The FSQA Manager is the person who builds, owns, and defends the system that makes all of that possible. Position Overview PDJ is seeking an experienced, hands-on FSQA Manager to lead and own PDJ's food safety and quality management function. This is a foundational leadership role — PDJ is an early-stage operation, and this person will be responsible for building the QA infrastructure from the ground up: establishing programs, writing SOPs, implementing food safety systems, and then managing them day to day with rigor and discipline. The FSQA Manager reports directly to the Founder & CEO and oversees the QA Technician(s) on staff. This role works in close partnership with the Production Manager / Sous Chef, Procurement & Purchasing Manager, and Shipping, Receiving & Fulfillment Manager to ensure that food safety and quality standards are upheld across every function that touches the product — from ingredient receiving through final delivery. The ideal candidate is a food safety professional who is equally comfortable writing a HACCP plan, walking the production floor to enforce GMPs, coaching a QA Technician, and presenting compliance status to the CEO. This is a role for someone who understands that food safety and quality assurance is not a department — it is a culture, and they are responsible for building it. Key Responsibilities Food Safety Program Ownership & Compliance • Own, develop, implement, and continuously improve PDJ's food safety management system, including HACCP plans, prerequisite programs (PRPs), GMP standards, and food safety SOPs, • Ensure full compliance with applicable regulatory requirements including USDA, FDA, FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act), and relevant state and local food safety regulations, • Serve as PDJ's primary point of accountability for all food safety regulatory matters, inspections, and third-party audits, • Maintain and update all food safety documentation, HACCP records, corrective action logs, and regulatory compliance files, • Lead preparation and response for all internal audits, third-party certifications, regulatory inspections, and customer food safety assessments, • Monitor and stay current on changes to food safety regulations, industry standards (GFSI, SQF, BRC), and best practices applicable to PDJ's operation Quality Control & Production Compliance • Establish and maintain PDJ's quality standards for all finished products, including specifications for appearance, weight, portioning, packaging integrity, labeling accuracy, and shelf life, • Oversee daily QA floor monitoring across prep, production, packaging, and fulfillment to ensure consistent compliance with food safety and quality standards, • Review, verify, and approve all food safety and production QA documentation including temperature logs, cooling logs, sanitation logs, batch records, and receiving records, • Lead root cause analysis and corrective and preventive action (CAPA) processes for any food safety deviations, quality failures, or customer complaints, • Manage allergen control program including segregation protocols, labeling verification, changeover procedures, and cross-contact risk mitigation, • Oversee traceability and recall readiness programs, ensuring PDJ can execute a mock or actual recall accurately and efficiently, • Partner with the Production Manager / Sous Chef on product hold decisions, finished product disposition, and corrective actions for production non-conformances Team Leadership & QA Technician Management • Directly supervise, train, schedule, and develop QA Technician(s), ensuring they are consistently executing floor monitoring, documentation, and GMP enforcement responsibilities, • Establish clear performance expectations for QA team members and provide ongoing coaching, feedback, and development, • Build and maintain a food safety culture across all production departments through regular training, reinforcement, and clear communication of standards and expectations, • Conduct and document food safety and GMP training for all production, kitchen, and fulfillment staff at onboarding and on an ongoing basis, • Serve as the facility's food safety resource and point of escalation for any food safety concern raised by any team member Supplier & Ingredient Quality • Partner with Procurement & Purchasing to establish and enforce ingredient and supplier quality standards, including approved supplier programs and vendor food safety documentation requirements, • Review and approve incoming ingredient specifications, certificates of analysis (COAs), and supplier food safety documentation, • Support receiving inspection protocols and ensure inbound ingredients and materials meet PDJ's quality and food safety standards before entering production, • Escalate supplier quality issues to Procurement and leadership and participate in supplier corrective action processes as needed Cross-Functional Collaboration & Reporting • Serve as the primary QA liaison across all departments, providing food safety guidance and partnering with Production, Procurement, Fulfillment, and Nutritionist/R&D functions, • Provide regular food safety and quality performance reporting to the CEO, including KPIs, audit findings, corrective action status, and program updates, • Collaborate with the Nutritionist to ensure finished product labeling — including allergen declarations and nutrition facts — aligns with ingredient and formulation records, • Support new product development and menu transitions from a food safety and quality standpoint, ensuring all new recipes and ingredients are evaluated before entering production, • Perform other duties as assignedRequirements: Qualifications • 5+ years of experience in food safety, quality assurance, or regulatory compliance in a food manufacturing, commissary, CPG, or food production environment, • Demonstrated experience managing or building a QA or food safety function, including HACCP plan development, SOP writing, and food safety program management, • Deep working knowledge of USDA, FDA, and FSMA requirements as they apply to a food manufacturing operation; prior hands-on experience working directly with USDA regulatory requirements — including USDA inspections, USDA compliance programs, or a USDA-inspected facility — is required, • Experience leading or preparing for third-party food safety audits strongly preferred; SQF (Safe Quality Food) certification experience — including direct involvement in SQF audits, SQF program implementation, or working in an SQF-certified facility — is preferred, • Strong understanding of GMPs, allergen control programs, sanitation and environmental monitoring, and traceability and recall procedures, • Experience supervising or mentoring QA staff in a food production environment, • HACCP certification required; PCQI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individual) certification under FSMA strongly preferred, • ServSafe Manager Certification required or must be obtained within 60 days of hire, • Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Food Safety, or a related field preferred; equivalent professional experience will be considered, • Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple compliance workstreams simultaneously, • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to train staff, document programs, and present compliance information clearly to leadership, • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and Google Workspace
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