Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance

Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance

Ready Foods is a family-owned custom food manufacturer based in Denver, Colorado. Since 1972, we've partnered with foodservice operators to bring menu concepts to scale with consistency, quality, and reliability. We produce a wide range of ready-to-eat and ready-to-use products—including soups, sauces, salsas, beans, and regional specialties—and are committed to continuous improvement, operational excellence, and being a true solutions partner to our customers.

This is not a traditional QA role. We are seeking a leader who builds quality into systems and processes—not one who relies on inspection to catch issues after the fact. This role is responsible for leading and evolving our Food Safety & Quality Management System (FSQMS) while partnering across the organization to design processes that prevent defects, reduce variation, and ensure consistent product quality at scale. The Director of FSQA reports directly to the COO.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead and continuously improve our Food Safety & Quality Management System (FSQMS) aligned with FSMA, HACCP and GFSI standards
• Partner cross-functionally to embed quality into daily operations, process design, and new product development
• Drive audit readiness and lead all regulatory, customer, and third-party audits
• Use data, root cause analysis, and Lean tools to reduce variation and improve process capability
• Build and develop a high-performing FSQA team while strengthening a company-wide culture of food safety and quality
• Own and maintain the site food safety plans and prerequisite programs (HACCP), ensuring effective hazard analysis, validations, verifications, and recordkeeping
• Lead sanitation, environmental monitoring, allergen control, and GMP programs to proactively prevent contamination and ensure quality at the source
• Establish and manage supplier approval, incoming material controls, specifications, and risk-based monitoring to protect product integrity from farm-to-fork
• Own the management of quality incidents, customer complaints, holds, and product disposition; lead traceability, mock recalls, and recall readiness as needed
• Lead food defense and food fraud vulnerability assessments and mitigation plans, strengthening facility security and ingredient authenticity controls
• Define and review FSQA KPIs and management review routines; communicate trends, risks, and priorities to plant and executive leadership with clear countermeasures
• Strengthen document control, product specifications, label/claim compliance, and training systems so teams have clear standards and the capability to execute them

Qualifications required include:

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Engineering, or related field required; Master's degree preferred
• 8+ years of leadership experience in food manufacturing, FSQA, or quality systems
• Proven capability to influence cross-functional leaders and drive change without relying on authority alone
• Ability to translate strategy into practical, sustainable systems that improve execution at the front line
• Track record of developing leaders and building organizational capability—not just managing a function
• Deep knowledge of regulatory and food safety requirements (FDA, USDA, FSMA, GFSI)
• Proven ability to build and improve quality systems—not just maintain compliance
• Strong systems thinking and cross-functional leadership skills
• Experience in Lean or continuous improvement environments preferred

At Ready Foods, we are committed to continuous improvement, operational excellence, and building systems that make great work easier. You'll be part of a leadership team focused on long-term capability—not short-term fixes—and a culture where food safety and quality are owned by everyone.

Equal Opportunity Employer This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.