Food Safety and Quality Specialist III

Food Safety and Quality Specialist III

Join Oregon Freeze Dry and take a leading role in ensuring the safety and quality of our products. We are a purpose‑driven company with decades of experience in freeze‑drying technology.

This role is a critical member of the Quality team, leading food safety and quality programs, ensuring compliance with regulatory, customer, and company standards, and driving continuous improvement.

• Lead food safety and quality programs, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, client expectations, and company standards.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for clients, auditors, and external stakeholders on food safety and quality matters.
• Collaborate cross‑functionally to implement new or updated food safety and quality programs effectively.
• Develop and execute monitoring plans, interpret test results, and lead investigations into deviations, including customer complaints.
• Support and drive corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs), ensuring accountability and alignment across teams.
• Lead customer, third‑party, and regulatory audits evaluating the overall QMS.
• Create and deliver training materials to ensure compliance across relevant departments.
• Maintain and update documentation to support food safety and quality programs in your area of focus.
• Support product release activities for your area of focus.
• Provide guidance and mentorship to junior FSQA staff, fostering team development.

• Lead QA involvement in pre‑solicitation reviews and specification evaluations to identify and mitigate potential food safety and quality compliance gaps.
• Review existing government contracts and product specifications, recommending revisions or clarifications to ensure consistent delivery of high‑quality, compliant products.
• Partner with Legal, Finance, and Supply Chain in the cross‑functional contract review process, providing QA insight on feasibility, regulatory compliance, and risk mitigation.
• Communicate new contract specifications across QA and relevant departments to ensure alignment with operational and compliance requirements.
• Serve as a subject matter expert in customer‑facing engagements, influencing contract language and specifications to enhance product defensibility, manufacturability, and adherence to evolving food safety and quality standards.
• Support the development and preparation of Engineering Support Activity (ESA) requests by providing QA insights to clarify or update product specifications.
• Develop and maintain standardized processes documenting QA requirements, product specifications, testing plans, and contract‑critical information to guide teams from product development through contract execution.

• HAACP and PCQI certification required.
• Strong knowledge of FDA and USDA regulatory compliance, food processing procedures, and GMPs highly desired.
• Experience working with government contracts preferred.
• Proven ability to conduct root‑cause analyses and risk assessments.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office applications and comfortable using computer systems for documentation and reporting.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to exercise independent judgment and discretion in applying knowledge to variable situations.
• Adaptable to changing goals and priorities to meet business and departmental needs.
• Committed to continuous improvement of processes and procedures.
• Skilled at facilitating cross‑functional meetings and driving collaborative solutions.
• Experience in laboratory, academic, or industry settings preferred.

• Healthcare coverage (medical, dental, vision) tailored to your needs.
• FSA or HSA options for added flexibility.
• 401(k) with employer match and immediate vesting.
• Life and disability insurance.
• Pet insurance.
• Paid company holidays, PTO and sick time.
• Community support opportunities.
• Employee discounts on Mountain House products.
• Referral bonuses.

Oregon Freeze Dry is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a Drug‑Free Workplace. Qualified candidates of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply and will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or disability. All applicants who receive a conditional offer of employment may be required to take and pass a pre‑employment drug screen and background check.