Quality Manager

Location
:
Portland, OR Job Type
:
Full-Time, On-Site Compensation
: $82,816.49 - $ base salary Additional Compensation
: 10% target annual incentive

A leading provider of culinary and food service solutions to the aviation and travel industry is seeking an experienced Food Safety & Quality Assurance Manager to lead food safety and quality programs at a large-scale food production facility in Portland.

This is a hands‑on leadership role for someone who understands food production from the inside—not simply someone who has managed quality systems from a desk. You will spend significant time on the production floor working directly with operations and food production teams, identifying potential issues, conducting audits, reviewing food safety practices, and ensuring corrective actions are completed.

The ideal candidate brings strong food safety expertise, leadership experience, regulatory knowledge, and the ability to work effectively in a fast‑paced environment.

Lead the site's food safety and quality programs and ensure compliance with company, customer, and regulatory requirements.

Spend regular time on the production floor conducting daily food safety and quality walks and identifying potential risks or areas for improvement.

Conduct and oversee food safety audits, including temperature monitoring, HACCP log reviews, swab testing, sanitation checks, and other quality inspections.

Partner closely with Production and Operations leadership to identify issues, implement corrective actions, and follow up to ensure problems are resolved.

Lead or actively participate in customer, regulatory, and third‑party audits, including providing required documentation and completing audit sign-offs.

Conduct food quality and product verification activities, including evaluating prepared food, weighing products, comparing products against customer specifications, and ensuring proper preparation and handling.

Ensure food is produced, stored, labeled, and handled in accordance with applicable FDA, USDA, FSMA, HACCP, and cGMP requirements.

Train employees at all levels on food safety practices, procedures, and expectations.

Maintain detailed food safety records, documentation, logs, reports, and corrective action tracking.

Monitor food safety and quality data, identify trends and risks, and implement improvements.

Oversee and develop the Food Safety/Quality team, currently consisting of a supervisor and three clerks.

Coach, train, develop, and hold team members accountable while building bench strength for future growth.

Work collaboratively with Operations, Production, HR, and other business leaders to maintain a strong food safety culture.

Support continuous improvement initiatives and ensure food safety standards remain consistently high across all shifts.

Required

5+ years of experience in food safety and/or quality within a regulated food production or food manufacturing environment.

Direct hands‑on experience working with food production and food quality. This may include experience with recipes, prepared/hot food, temperatures, food storage, labeling, expiration dates, and other day‑to‑day food production processes.

Prior leadership or management experience, including the ability to train, coach, develop, and hold employees accountable.

Experience working directly on a production floor and partnering with Operations and Production teams.

Experience with food safety audits and regulatory requirements, including FDA and/or USDA.

PCQI and HACCP certifications.

Strong knowledge of FDA/USDA regulations, FSMA Preventive Controls, HACCP principles, and current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs).

Strong communication, problem‑solving, organizational, and analytical skills.

A…