Quality Assurance Manager

Position: FSQA Manager

Department: FSQA / R&D

Reports to: VP of FSQA / R&D

Date: 05/21/2026

About the Company:

Water Lilies Food, LLC is a private equity-backed manufacturer and distributor of premium Asianinspired food. Founded for over 30 years, the Company is in a high-growth phase, supported by a stateof-the-art manufacturing facility in Bay Shore, NY (Suffolk County Long Island), with a second facility scheduled to come online in Q2 2026.

Water Lilies’ growth strategy is centered on private label partnerships with national and regional retailers, complemented by proprietary control brand offerings where private label programs are not feasible. The category remains underdeveloped, creating meaningful runway for growth through disciplined commercialization, category-led selling, and operationally sound go-to-market execution.

Water Lilies’ vision is to be the preferred supplying partner of premium Asian-inspired food, achieved through delivering our products and services with attention to detail, a continuous improvement mindset, agility, and authenticity. Our culture emphasizes collaboration, respect, and accountability.

Employees are empowered to make a meaningful impact, take ownership of their work, and grow alongside the business. The company is backed by Blue Point Capital Partners, a lower middle-market private equity firm with a strong history of scaling founder-led and growth-oriented manufacturing businesses.

Job Summary:

Reporting to the VP of FSQA / R&D, the FSQA Manager is responsible for overseeing and managing Food Safety and Quality Assurance programs for Water Lilies Food manufacturing operations. This position ensures compliance with USDA, FDA, FSIS, HACCP, SQF, customer, and regulatory requirements while supporting production, sanitation, environmental monitoring, commercialization, continuous improvement initiatives, and customer satisfaction.

The FSQA Manager provides leadership and direction to FSQA personnel and works cross-functionally with Operations, Sanitation, Maintenance, R&D, Regulatory, Procurement, Warehousing, and customers to maintain the highest standards of food safety, product quality, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency.

Responsibilities:

Works closely with QA, R&D, Operations, Sanitation, Maintenance, Procurement, Warehousing, Sales, Customer Service, Vendors, Regulatory Agencies, and Customers.

Major responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Manage and oversee daily Food Safety and Quality Assurance operations within USDA and FDA regulated food manufacturing facilities.
• Ensure compliance with USDA-FSIS, FDA, HACCP, SQF, GMP, SSOP, allergen control, sanitation, and customer-specific requirements.
• Lead and maintain HACCP, Food Safety, Food Defense, Food Fraud, Environmental Monitoring Programs (EMP), allergen management, traceability, recall, and quality systems.
• Oversee implementation, verification, and continuous improvement of SQF and other GFSI certification programs.
• Manage and support environmental monitoring programs including Listeria spp. investigations, corrective actions, vector swabbing, root cause analysis, and preventive actions.
• Oversee CCP, preventive control, operational prerequisite program, and quality monitoring activities.
• Review and verify production records, HACCP documentation, CCP records, metal detector records, sanitation documentation, and quality records.
• Lead investigations related to food safety, quality, customer complaints, foreign material incidents, non-conformances, deviations, and hold/release activities.
• Ensure corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) are implemented, documented, and verified effectively.
• Support commercialization and new product launches by participating in line trials, validations, specification reviews, and process reviews.
• Coordinate and support internal audits, customer audits, USDA audits, third-party audits, and regulatory inspections.
• Develop, implement, and maintain FSQA procedures, policies, work instructions, forms, and training programs.
• Manage product hold, release, disposition, and traceability activities in ERP and warehouse systems.
• Review and trend quality metrics, environmental data, customer complaints, foreign material incidents, and operational KPIs.
• Support supplier quality activities including specification review, supplier approvals, ingredient documentation review, and corrective actions.
• Collaborate with Operations and Maintenance to improve sanitary design, process controls, and operational efficiencies.
• Train, mentor, supervise, and develop FSQA personnel and support a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Support customer requests related to food safety, quality, certifications, specifications, investigations, and regulatory compliance.
• Participate in risk assessments, validations, shelf-life studies, challenge studies, and verification activities.
• Assist with management of certifications such as SQF, Organic, Kosher, Halal, SMETA, and customer-specific compliance programs.
• Support preparation and review of documentation related to exports, customer requirements, and regulatory compliance.
• Maintain and support ERP systems, specification systems, quality databases, and document control systems.
• Other duties and projects as assigned by VP of FSQA / R&D.

Coverage Dauring Absence:

In the absence of the FSQA Manager, the VP of FSQA / R&D will assume responsibility for FSQA-related activities and provide operational oversight to ensure continuity of food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance programs.

Requirements / Competencies:

• Bachelor of Science Degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, Food Technology, or related discipline preferred.
• 5+ years of FSQA management or supervisory experience in food manufacturing; USDA experience strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of USDA-FSIS, FDA, HACCP, SQF, GMPs, sanitation, allergen management, environmental monitoring, and food safety systems.
• Experience managing environmental monitoring programs and investigations in Ready-To-Eat (RTE) food manufacturing environments preferred.
• HACCP and PCQI certification preferred.
• SQF Practitioner experience preferred.
• Experience leading internal audits, customer audits, USDA inspections, and third-party certification audits.
• Strong understanding of food manufacturing operations, sanitation, process controls, and quality systems.
• Experience with ERP systems, Microsoft Office, specification systems, and quality management systems.
• Strong leadership, analytical, organizational, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred.
• Strong computer skills including Microsoft Office, ERP systems, specification systems, and customer portals.
• Low Ego – It’s all about the team and organizational success
• Sense of Urgency – Mindset to deal with critical issues quickly
• Trustworthy – Win with actions, not words
• Hungry – Has the desire to take on challenges and grow
• Collaborative – Partnership across the organization
• Accountable – Holds self and others to a clear standard; constructively handles conflict
• Communicative – Able to effectively connect with others starting at the floor up to C Suite
• Customer Centric – Everything starts with the Customer in mind

Physical Requirements:

• The employee will occasionally move within the office to access office machinery, file cabinets, and collaborate with colleagues. Consistent use of office equipment, such equipment may include but not limited to computers, phones, printers, and copiers. The employee will be required to frequently communicate with both internal staff members as well as external parties or customers and must be able to convey accurate information. This job description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions, it does not exclude or restrict the tasks that may be assigned. This job description is subject to change based on company needs as expressed by management.