Food Quality Manager

At Didion, we're committed to delivering safe, high-quality food ingredients while creating a culture where people and processes continuously improve. We're looking for a Mill Quality Manager who can bring structure, accountability, and leadership to our quality organization while helping us build the systems needed to support future growth.

This is more than a compliance role. We're seeking a leader who can identify recurring challenges, implement sustainable solutions, develop team capabilities, and strengthen cross-functional partnerships. If you're energized by improving processes, coaching teams, and making a meaningful impact on food safety and quality performance, we'd love to meet you.

During your first year, you'll play a key role in:

• Building and strengthening departmental training programs and partnering on the integration of quality training into Didion's learning platform.
• Establishing clear expectations, priorities, and accountability within the Quality team.
• Driving continuous improvement initiatives that enhance food safety, product quality, and operational consistency.
• Strengthening partnerships across Operations, Human Development, Sales, and R&D to achieve business objectives.

• Lead the Mill Quality Management System (QMS) and promote a culture of food safety and quality excellence.
• Conduct and oversee internal audits and ensure compliance with company, regulatory, and certification requirements.
• Serve as a key member of the Food Safety Team and support HACCP and preventative control programs.
• Lead investigations into quality incidents and implement effective corrective and preventive actions.
• Partner with Operations and other departments to identify root causes and implement sustainable solutions.
• Support and maintain FSSC and other GFSI-recognized food safety programs.

• Act as the primary point of contact for customer quality concerns.
• Ensure customer complaints receive timely investigation, communication, corrective action, and closure.
• Support external audits, customer visits, and regulatory inspections.
• Manage customer quality responses and oversee follow‑up activities.
• Lead, coach, and develop quality team members while creating a high‑performance, accountable culture.
• Set clear expectations and provide consistent communication and feedback.
• Develop training programs that build technical capability and support long‑term succession planning.
• Foster strong cross‑functional relationships throughout the organization.
• Analyze quality trends and performance metrics to identify improvement opportunities.
• Lead initiatives focused on reducing repeat issues, customer complaints, and quality deviations.
• Utilize root‑cause methodologies such as 5 Whys, Cause Mapping, and corrective action programs.
• Help establish dashboards and reporting tools that drive visibility and accountability.

The ideal candidate is:

• A confident leader who can earn credibility with strong operational teams.
• Able to remain focused on priorities without getting distracted by daily noise.
• Comfortable holding others accountable while maintaining positive working relationships.
• Driven to improve systems and processes rather than continually fighting the same problems.
• Highly organized, structured, and solutions‑oriented.
• Skilled at communicating with different audiences, from frontline team members to customers and leadership.

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Biology, Milling Science, or a related scientific field.
• Minimum of 3 years of leadership experience in food manufacturing quality, food safety,…