Senior Manager, Food Safety & Quality

Our client is seeking a Senior FSQ Manager to lead quality, food safety, regulatory compliance, and consumer protection initiatives at a brand-new, state-of-the-art food manufacturing facility in Orangeburg, South Carolina. This newly created leadership role represents a unique opportunity to help build a manufacturing operation from the ground up and establish the quality culture, systems, processes, and team that will support the site from startup through full-scale production.

This is a highly visible, hands-on leadership position that will serve as the senior quality leader for the facility and sit as a key member of the Site Leadership Team. The successful candidate will be an experienced food manufacturing quality leader who thrives in fast-moving, ambiguous environments and can build processes, develop teams, influence cross-functional leaders, and make sound technical decisions in real time. The role will oversee 5 direct reports and 40 indirect reports once the plant is fully operational in 2029.

What's the job?

Serve as the senior Quality and Food Safety leader for the Orangeburg facility and a key member of the Site Leadership Team

Lead the site's quality and food safety agenda from raw materials through finished product release, ensuring standards and systems are consistently executed on the production floor

Maintain a highly visible, hands-on presence in the manufacturing operation to verify standards, coach behaviors, drive accountability, and address issues in real time

Build and establish the site's Quality and Food Safety culture from the ground up, creating an environment where quality is non-negotiable, issues are escalated quickly, and corrective actions are sustained

Serve as the senior site authority for product holds, risk assessments, quality and food safety escalations, and product dispositions

Ensure compliance with company policies, FDA requirements, FSMA, HACCP/HARPC, GFSI standards, customer requirements, and applicable regulatory expectations

Lead site readiness for internal audits, regulatory inspections, customer audits, corporate assessments, and other compliance activities

Develop, implement, and maintain quality and food safety systems, processes, procedures, and controls necessary to support a new manufacturing facility

Lead investigations involving consumer complaints, foreign material events, microbiological failures, labeling concerns, process deviations, and other quality or food safety risks

Drive disciplined root cause analysis, corrective and preventive action (RCCA/CAPA), and continuous improvement initiatives to eliminate repeat failures and strengthen site controls

Partner closely with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Supply Chain, Sanitation, Planning, Warehousing, and Continuous Improvement to identify and resolve issues at their source

Challenge the status quo and make timely decisions when product safety, regulatory compliance, quality, or consumer trust may be at risk

Have the confidence and technical judgment to stop production when necessary to protect consumers, product quality, and regulatory compliance

Lead, develop, and build the site's FSQA team, establishing clear decision rights, shift coverage, performance expectations, and accountability

Build technical capability through coaching, training, floor-based verification, problem solving, and development of quality and food safety talent

Establish strong partnerships with operators, supervisors, mechanics, sanitation teams, and site leadership to embed quality and food safety into daily operations

Provide quality and food safety leadership for capital projects, new product launches, commercialization activities, line trials, process changes, and continuous improvement initiatives

Influence operational decisions and ensure quality and food safety considerations are incorporated into site strategy and execution

Develop a high-performing, engaged FSQA organization capable of supporting the facility as it scales toward full production

Help establish the site's presence and reputation within the Orangeburg community while connecting local operations to broader enterprise quality and food safety strategy

What's needed?

Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Engineering, Microbiology, or a related field required

10+ years of progressive manufacturing quality leadership experience within food manufacturing or consumer packaged goods manufacturing

Minimum of 5 years of plant-level quality management experience

Strong expertise in GMPs, HACCP, sanitation, environmental monitoring, SPC, process controls, and food safety systems

Strong understanding of FDA requirements, FSMA, GFSI standards, regulatory compliance, and customer quality requirements

Proven experience leading quality and food safety programs within a manufacturing environment

Demonstrated ability to build and lead teams, establish accountability, and develop technical capability

Strong operational acumen with the ability to influence cross-functional teams and make sound decisions in a fast-paced manufacturing environment

Experience driving cultural transformation, operational improvement, root cause analysis, and corrective/preventive action initiatives

Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills, with the ability to effectively manage risk and respond to issues in real time

Entrepreneurial, hands-on leadership style with the ability to build processes and teams from the ground up

Strong communication, influencing, coaching, and change-management skills

Ability to work onsite and maintain a consistent presence on the production floor; flexibility is essential, as schedules may vary based on production needs and operational requirements

Advanced degree preferred

Experience with SAP, quality management systems, specification systems, laboratory systems, and manufacturing data systems preferred

Key Details

Compensation: $140,000–$148,000 base salary plus eligibility for an annual bonus based on company performance

Location: Orangeburg, SC

Work Model: Onsite

Schedule: May vary based on production needs and operational requirements

Benefits: Comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and financial wellness programs and paid time off (PTO)

Employment Type: Direct Hire

LaSalle Network is an Equal Opportunity Employer m/f/d/v.

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