Senior FSQ Manager

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 approximately 40 indirect reports once the plant is fully operational in 2029.

Key Responsibilities:

• 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.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Engineering, Microbiology, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.

• 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.

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

• 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.

Compensation:

• $140,000 – $148,000 base plus eligibility for an annual bonus based on company performance.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive benefits offered, including health, dental, vision, and financial wellness programs and paid time off (PTO).

If this position interests you and you meet the requirements, apply today!

Thank you,
Kelly Wagner
Director
LaSalle Network

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