Food Safety and Quality Assurance; FSQA) Manager

Albert Uster Imports, Inc. (“AUI”) is a privately held gourmet food company headquartered in the Washington, DC area (Gaithersburg, MD) with warehouse locations in Kansas City, Las Vegas, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Gurnee and Gaithersburg. AUI falls under the Vestar Capital Partners portfolio with affiliate organization, Roland Foods, LLC.

AUI is currently hiring for a Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA) Manager responsible for managing AUI’s total Food Safety & Quality Management system. The FSQA Manager will hold primary accountability for AUI’s achievement of the Good Distribution Practice (GDP) in the “Warehouse & Distribution” sector category. This role will lead the development and delivery of FSQA, customer complaint investigation/resolution processes, and services within all product lines offered by AUI to its customers.

The FSQA Manger will communicate with top management on a monthly basis and ensure the Quality Department collaborates and communicates cross‑departmentally with the Logistics, Purchasing, Innovation, Culinary, Customer Experience and Marketing teams so that the food safety/quality control processes and results are understood and meet internal/external standards. The manager will foster a high degree of customer loyalty through proactive pursuit and maintenance of the highest quality, and the communication of appropriate solutions to problems that may arise.

The ideal candidate will have a nuanced appreciation of quality assurance processes and a proven ability to link pertinent statistics to business decision making processes while utilizing innovative approaches to resolve complex problems and a solid system understanding to identify improvement opportunities. This role will be reported directly to the Senior Director, FSQA & Compliance. As a response to the pandemic, Albert Uster Imports office employees have transitioned to a hybrid working schedule, requiring employees to report in‑person Monday through Wednesday, with the option to telework on Thursday and Friday each week.

Due to the collaborative, cross‑functional nature of the organization, employees at the Gaithersburg office are required to work in‑person for the above mentioned days, outside of any People & Culture‑approved disability accommodation request.

• Ensure proper monitoring and documentation are maintained across all seven distribution centers and the repacking department in alignment with the Food Safety Program
• Oversee process management and product quality/food safety compliance
• Manage and document all red flag testing and quality control processes, including product sample testing, sample check programs, and laboratory testing
• Coordinate and document shipping tests for new products
• Conduct and maintain records for monthly self‑inspections covering food defense programs, cleaning and sanitation, FIFO compliance, temperature control, etc.
• Support and prepare for FDA, USDA, and customer (2nd Party) audits and inspections
• Ensure proper product receiving controls are followed and documented
• Maintain accurate records and corrective actions related to food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance initiatives

• Manage the re‑certification of seven distribution centers according to each food safety standard level (GDP) in conjunction with the warehouse and logistics managers
• Act as the GDP Practitioner responsible for verifying and validating the GDP standards and warehouse employee training of all food safety and product quality aspects

• Ensure that proper…