R&D FSQA Senior Manager - Thermal Process Authority

Overview The Senior Manager - Process Authority, North America is a senior technical leadership role within Pepsi Co's Global Food Safety Center of Excellence (FSCoE). This role serves as the regional Process Authority (PA) for North America, ensuring the manufacture of safe, stable, legal, and compliant products across Pepsi Co's food and beverage portfolio in PFNA and PBNA sectors. This role provides strategic and technical leadership across innovation and supply chain activities, with primary accountability for thermal and alternative processing validation, kill step verification, process deviation management, and preventive controls compliance.

The incumbent leads a team of process authority professionals and partners closely with sector FSQA, R&D, Supply Chain, and Quality leaders to enable flawless innovation, risk-based decision-making, and continuous improvement. Responsibilities Technical Authority - Serve as the Process Authority for North America across all food and beverage categories, including retort, aseptic, hot fill, baking, frying, extrusion, and other thermal/alternative processing technologies.

Process Validation - Lead the design, execution, and approval of process validation protocols for new and existing equipment, processes, products, and packaging in conjunction with R&D, Technical Services, and co-manufacturers. Preventive Controls & FSMA Compliance - Ensure all processing systems deliver commercial sterility and preventive controls aligned with FSMA, 21 CFR Part 113/114, Pepsi Co standards, and applicable regulatory requirements.

Process Deviation & CAPA Management - Lead technical assessment of process deviations, variances, and non-conformances; provide timely disposition decisions and drive corrective/preventive actions. PA Letters & LONOs - Oversee the issuance of Process Authority letters, Letters of No Objection (LONOs), and technical opinions supporting innovation, renovation, and supply chain operations. Enabling Innovation - Provide subject matter expert (SME) leadership to enable innovation execution, including Portfolio of the Future (PoTF) and Portfolio of Transformation initiatives, while maintaining food safety standards.

Co-Manufacturer Oversight - Support PA governance for third-party manufacturers (3PMs), ensuring compliance with Pepsi Co thermal processing and food safety requirements. Risk Assessment & Challenge Studies - Lead microbiological risk assessments and challenge study design/interpretation for products requiring process validation (e.g., acidified foods, low moisture foods, RTE products). Standards & Continuous Improvement - Contribute to the development, deployment, and maintenance of global PA standards, validation protocols, and Ways of Working (WoW) to drive efficiency and cost optimization.

Team Leadership - Lead and develop a team of ~5 direct report Process Authority professionals across NA. Drive people capability through coaching, mentoring, structured training, and bench strength building. Stakeholder Collaboration - Partner with sector R&D, Technical Development Centers, Supply Chain Quality, and Engineering to mitigate process-related risks in the innovation pipeline and supply chain operations. Industry Engagement - Represent Pepsi Co in relevant industry organizations (e.g., IFTPS, IAFP) and maintain awareness of emerging regulatory trends, technologies, and best practices.

Compensation and Benefits:
The expected compensation range for this position is between $123,500 - $206,750. Location, confirmed job-related skills, experience, and education will be considered in setting actual starting salary. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range during the hiring process. Bonus based on performance and eligibility target payout is 15% of annual salary paid out annually. Paid time off subject to eligibility, including paid parental leave, vacation, sick, and bereavement.

In addition to salary, Pepsi Co offers a comprehensive benefits package to support our employees and their families, subject to elections and eligibility:
Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, Health, and Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Insurance (Accident, Group Legal, Life), Defined Contribution Retirement Plan. Qualifications Education (Required) Master's degree or Ph.D. in Food Science, Food Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Microbiology, or a closely related technical discipline. Education (Preferred) Better Process Control School (BPCS) certification PCQI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individual) certification Experience (Required) Minimum 12-15 years of progressive experience in Process Authority, thermal processing, food safety, and/or microbiology within the food/beverage industry.

Deep technical expertise in thermal bacteriology, lethality determination, process calculations, and food safety risk assessment. Demonstrated knowledge of FDA regulations (21 CFR Part 113, 114), FSMA Preventive Controls, and…