Product Safety and Quality Advisor

Product Safety and Quality Advisor

Ascendion is an AI-native software engineering disruptor helping businesses innovate faster, smarter, and with greater impact. We partner with enterprise clients across North America, the UK, Europe, and APAC to solve complex challenges in data, experience design, software product engineering, and workforce transformation. Powered by expert engineers, thousands of AI agents, and our Engineering to the Power of AI (Engineering AI) method, we deliver measurable outcomes that build trust, unlock value, and accelerate growth.

We have a culture built on opportunity, inclusion, and a spirit of partnership. Come, change the world with us:

• Build the coolest tech for the world's leading brands
• Solve complex problems – and learn new skills
• Experience the power of transforming digital engineering for Fortune 500 clients
• Master your craft with leading training programs and hands-on experience

Join a culture of high-performing innovators with endless ideas and a passion for tech. Our culture is the fabric of our company, and it is what makes us unique and diverse. The way we share ideas, learning, experiences, successes, and joy allows everyone to be their best at Ascendion.

About the role:

• Lead onboarding and qualification of new suppliers and manufacturing sites, ensuring compliance with food safety, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), and merchandise quality requirements, including risk assessments, audits, and readiness evaluations.
• Collaborate closely with Research and Development (R&D) and Merchandising Development (Merch Development) teams to establish material, process, and performance qualification standards, ensuring packaging solutions are robust, fit for use, and compliant prior to commercialization. Provide quality oversight during pilot runs, scale-ups, and first production, identifying gaps early and driving corrective actions to minimize downstream risk to retail operations.
• Assess manufacturing process capability (e.g., Process Capability Index (Cp/Cpk), control plans, validation activities) to confirm suppliers can produce consistent, high-quality merchandise before transitioning into full-scale manufacturing.
• Act as a trusted quality advisor on innovation governance, balancing speed-to-market objectives with a commitment to product safety, quality, and customer trust.

Key Responsibilities:

• Collaborative.
• Responding to multiple cross-functional teams.
• Product analysis.
• Work autonomously.
• Assist with getting samples analyzed.
• Apply in-depth technical knowledge to projects and gather insights (i.e., testing supplier and product assessment) across a wide variety of merchandising materials/items, including but not limited to toys, textiles, drinkware, and accessories.
• Proactively analyze product and supplier quality signals, metrics, audit data, customer feedback, regulator, and workgroup input.
• Identify trends and lead investigation and resolution of merchandise and consumer product-related concerns from regulators, retail stores, Field Quality Assurance (QA) partners, or internal and external customers.
• Interface and influence suppliers and cross-functional teams, including internationally based partners, to deliver results within demanding timelines.
• Act as a Retail Food Merchandise Product Safety and Quality systems expert in the development of new merchandise initiatives or operating practices.
• Perform product-level tracking and work with suppliers to collect test data points.
• Track product supplier testing.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 3–5 years of experience in product quality, product safety, merchandising, or a related field.
• Basic laboratory experience with the ability to perform product safety testing and evaluations.
• Experience working with merchandising and consumer products across multiple categories, including toys, textiles, drinkware, accessories, and general merchandise.
• Experience with textiles and garments.
• Experience with merchandise such as cups, plates, bottles, drinkware, and similar consumer products.
• Experience with toys and ornamental products.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Arts…