FSQ RTE Manager

At Link Snacks, we show up hungry, roll up our sleeves, plaid or otherwise, and dive straight into the hard work. We don’t hide from challenges; we hunt them down. We push harder, move faster, and take the kinds of big swings that built this business in the North Woods of Wisconsin four decades ago.

We’re everyday people who deliver extraordinary results. Innovation, creativity, and urgency aren’t buzzwords, they’re expectations. And just like the real protein snacks we make across our global house of brands—Jack Link’s, Lorissa’s Kitchen, Golden Island, BiFi, and Peperami and KOOEE! to name a few—there’s nothing artificial about us. What you see is exactly what you get: humble, gritty, passionate people who show up every day ready to not just be a participate in the meat snack industry that the Link Family created, but to move faster, innovate harder and keep raising the bar so high, the rest of the world needs a ladder just to see it.

Dominating this space across the world takes a team. A team that runs together, succeeds together, and celebrates together. A team that’s full of relentless energy and spirit that can only be fueled by one thing: a fist full of our delicious meat snacks.

Real Meat Protein. Real People. Real Results. THAT is Link Snacks.

The FSQ RTE Manager (Technical Authority) is the single point of authority for food safety within all Ready-to-Eat (RTE) production and packaging operations.

This role is responsible for ensuring that no contamination pathway exists between environmental, personnel, or process risks and finished product. The position operates as a real-time risk controller, making immediate decisions on product safety, production continuation, and release.

In this structure:

• Sanitation executes cleaning (Plant Manager)
• FSQ RTE defines standards and approves effectiveness

This role is accountable for closing the gap between: what should happen vs. what actually happens on the floor.

• Make final decisions on:
  • Product release / hold
  • Line startup approval
  • Production shutdowns
• Lead escalation and response to:
  • Deviations
  • Sanitation failures
  • Environmental risks

• Define and enforce:
  • RAW RTE separation
  • Personnel and material flow
  • Controlled entry/exit points
• Audit zoning behavior daily:
  • Boot wash compliance
  • Tool segregation
• Eliminate all cross-contamination pathways

• Define sanitation expectations:
  • 7-step cleaning system
• Validate cleaning effectiveness through:
  • Direct observation
  • ATP and micro results
• Reject sanitation that does not meet standard

• Own pre-op verification standards
• Audit high-risk equipment and repeat issue areas
• Ensure no production begins under unsafe conditions

• Partner with Micro Lab Manager to:
  • Interpret trends
  • Identify harborage points
• Lead response to Listeria risks
• Eliminate repeat contamination zones

• Define and enforce controls for:
  • Drains
  • Condensation
  • Equipment niches
• Enforce drain segregation and no-spray policies

• Maintain strong floor presence
• Correct GMP violations immediately
• Hold operations, sanitation, and maintenance accountable

Ensure the RTE process is scientifically sound, controlled, and safe.

• Kill step (smokehouse lethality)
• Cooling, drying, post-lethality handling
• RTE contamination prevention (Listeria risk)

• Thermal validation
• Challenge studies
• Scientific basis of controls

• 8+ years in food safety/QA leadership
• RTE food experience (strongly required)
• Deep expertise in:
  • HACCP, FSMA, GMPs
  • Hygienic zoning
  • Sanitation systems
• Proven ability to:
  • Enforce standards
  • Make high-pressure decisions

• RTE environmental positive rate
• Pre-op pass rate and repeat issues
• Zoning/GMP compliance
• Food safety incidents
• Audit performance

The salary range for this role is $94,000- $106,000 (Salary.) Actual salaries will vary based on several factors, including but not limited to external market data, internal equity, location, and candidate skill set and…