Customer and Product Quality Specialist

We are looking to hire a Customer and Product Quality Specialist immediately in a Hybrid (50/50) capacity at our Global Headquarters in Hunt Valley, Maryland. While the role will have a traditional Monday-to-Friday daytime schedule, there will be occasional B and C shift requirements to support commercialization.

The best people deserve the best rewards. In addition to the benefits you’d expect from a global leader (401k, health insurance, paid time off, etc.) we also offer:

• Career growth opportunities
• Flexibility and Support for Diverse Life Stages and Choices
• Wellbeing programs including Physical, Mental and Financial wellness

Reporting to Director of Customer and Product Quality up through into Americas Quality and Regulatory organization, the Customer and Product Quality specialist provides analytical insight, customer program support, and product knowledge while in collaboration with manufacturing sites, Product Development, and assigned customers. The role supports deployment of customer requirements, specification management, and continuous improvement initiatives to ensure food safety, regulatory compliance, and customer satisfaction.

This position also provides on-site commercialization support during product launches, scale-ups, and trials to ensure customer expectations, quality standards, and regulatory requirements are effectively translated into manufacturing execution, driving right-first-time outcomes and mitigating risk.

• Support Customer Intimacy and Growth – Deployment of Customer Requirements, partnering with the customer on current programs, new launches and initiatives, QNs, audit support, and support to the manufacturing facilities to meet customer expectations including issue resolution for complaint management and improvements. 30%
• Deliver Business Success and Track Performance – Analyze data from products, customers, sites, gaps to customer standards through support of product maintenance, on site commercialization support specifications, deviations, and sampling 30%
• Support Quality Culture and Comprehensive Continuous Improvement initiatives – Data Analysis and Improvement– Data intelligence, DPM, CPM, specifications, failures, RCA, QN resolution. Partner with PD, sites, and customer to ensure Comprehensive Continuous Improvement tools are incorporated into ways of working ensuring consistency on product quality 25%
• Support and prevent escalated issues – Provide technical support to customers and facilities to support resolution of food safety and quality issues. Partner with Department Leadership to provide guidance and risk elimination proposals to the manufacturing sites and programs. 10%
• Training and Development – Reinforce Quality Culture and development and delivery of Customer and Product knowledge training content to Americas Quality and Supply Chain functions. 15%
• Travel expectation up to 40% for product support
• Engages Supply Chain, QA Ops, Commercialization, and Product Development functions as needed

• Bachelor’s degree in food science or related discipline.
• Certification focused on Quality and Food Safety for Supply Chain preferred: PCQI (or HACCP), RCCA, Yellow Belt or green belt desired.
• 2 years of relevant food experience, plant experience in QA environment preferred; experience in one Quality focus areas or related function, including Supply Chain, Product Development.
• Customer Focus: understanding and awareness, exhibit behaviors to support customer requirements; maintain responsiveness and a sense of urgency; engage in commercialization activities supporting PD, Sales, Supply Chain.
• Quality and Regulatory Culture, Programs, and Standards: key liaison with QA Ops, build trust with diverse stakeholders, strong coordination and project management; translate technical language into plain terms; understand Quality and Food Safety priorities; awareness of best practices; understand how all Quality and Regulatory Elements connect; supports internal, end-to-end excellence.
• Cross Functional Acumen: develop understanding of processes, procedures, focus of cross functional partners;…