Senior Quality Assurance Manager – Food Manufacturing

Senior Quality Assurance Manager – Food Manufacturing

Toronto, ON

Full-Time, Permanent

On-site (5 days per week)

Work Location: This is a fully in-person role based at the company’s Toronto operations. The Senior Quality Assurance Manager is expected to be on-site five days per week, providing visible leadership and direct oversight of food safety and quality practices.

About the Company

We are a Toronto-based food company entering an exciting stage of growth. As we scale our operations, strengthen our systems, and prepare for continued expansion, we are building the infrastructure that will support our next chapter. We move quickly, solve problems hands-on, and value people who see what needs to be done and take ownership of making it happen.

This is an opportunity for an experienced food safety and quality leader to build a function, establish clear expectations, and ensure those expectations are consistently met as the business scales. You will combine strategic oversight with hands-on execution and bring the judgment and leadership presence to make difficult decisions when needed.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for a seasoned, hands-on Senior Quality Assurance Manager to lead our food safety and quality function. You will own the systems, policies, and practices that protect our products and customers, set clear standards across the operation, and hold teams accountable for meeting them. This role requires proven experience leading food safety and quality in a manufacturing environment, building scalable systems, and making sound decisions under operational pressure.

The right person earns credibility through technical expertise, sound judgment, and consistent follow-through. You must be comfortable challenging decisions, addressing non-compliance directly, and holding firm when production timelines or commercial priorities conflict with food safety and quality requirements. You will explain what needs to change, establish clear corrective actions, and ensure issues are resolved before work proceeds.

What You'll Do

Food Safety & Quality Systems

• Lead the food safety and quality strategy and own the development, implementation, and effectiveness of a management system that supports current operations and future growth.
• Set and enforce food safety and quality policies, procedures, standards, and documentation requirements, with clear responsibilities and consistent follow-through.
• Ensure compliance with applicable Canadian food safety requirements and relevant industry standards.
• Set expectations for sanitation, hygiene, allergen control, and pest control; verify that operational teams consistently meet them and address gaps promptly.

Compliance, Audits & Risk Management

• Lead risk-based inspections and audits of food handling, production, and processing areas; assign corrective and preventive actions, establish deadlines, and verify effectiveness before closing issues.
• Lead regulatory inspections and external audits, serve as the primary contact for regulatory agencies, and own the response to findings and ongoing audit readiness.
• Stay current on changes to Canadian food safety regulations, industry best practices, and requirements relevant to the company's current and target markets.
• Advise senior leadership and cross-functional teams on regulatory requirements, market-entry risks, and the food safety and quality implications of business decisions.

Operational Quality & Continuous Improvement

• Establish food safety and quality performance measures, report significant risks and recurring issues to leadership, and drive measurable improvements.
• Lead investigations into customer complaints and food safety or quality incidents; determine root causes, require corrective action, and verify that improvements are sustained.
• Set supplier quality expectations and work with suppliers and internal teams to resolve raw material and finished product issues.
• Make and uphold risk-based decisions to place affected materials or products on hold, stop unsafe or non-compliant activities, and require corrective action before restart or release. Escalate significant risks promptly, with clear recommendations and documented decisions.

Leadership, Accountability & Quality Culture

• Set training priorities and ensure employees and leaders understand food safety and quality requirements, their responsibilities, and when to stop work or raise a concern.
• Provide visible leadership on the production floor and across functions. Establish clear expectations, challenge practices that put standards at risk, and hold leaders and teams accountable for corrective actions.
• Address repeated non-compliance and resistance to required changes directly and professionally. Coach teams, follow up consistently, and escalate unresolved issues to the appropriate leader.
• Communicate decisions clearly and confidently with employees, senior leadership, regulators, and suppliers, including when the message is difficult or unpopular.

What You Bring

• Bachelor's degree in food science, food safety, microbiology, or a related field; a master's degree is an asset.
• At least eight years of progressive food safety and quality experience in food manufacturing or processing, including at least three years leading a quality assurance function or team with responsibility for key food safety and quality decisions.
• In-depth knowledge of Canadian food safety requirements, including the Food and Drug Regulations and the Safe Food for Canadians Act and Regulations.
• Familiarity with or experience applying U.S. food safety requirements, including the Food Safety Modernization Act, Foreign Supplier Verification Program, and Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food rule.
• Strong knowledge of HACCP principles, food safety management systems, preventive controls, and relevant industry standards such as those recognized by GFSI.
• Demonstrated experience leading audits, regulatory inspections, risk assessments, incident investigations, and corrective and preventive actions through to resolution.
• A track record of building or strengthening food safety and quality systems in a growing manufacturing business, with the ability to set priorities and deliver results with limited resources.
• Proven ability to establish credibility with operational teams and senior leaders, challenge decisions constructively, manage difficult conversations, and secure compliance with required standards.
• A professional food safety certification, such as Certified HACCP Auditor or Certified Food Safety Manager, is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of quality and food safety management systems such as ISO 22000, BRCGS, or SQF is an asset.

How You Work

• Leadership presence: You set direction, communicate expectations clearly, and earn respect through expertise, consistency, and follow-through.
• Accountability: You take ownership of the quality function and require clear action owners, deadlines, and evidence that issues have been resolved.
• Decisiveness: You make timely, evidence-based decisions and are prepared to say no, stop an activity, or hold a product when requirements are not met.
• Independent judgment: You assess risk objectively and hold your position under pressure while remaining open to relevant evidence and sound alternatives.
• Experience with growth: You bring structure to a fast-moving business, anticipate risks as operations scale, and prioritize the systems and controls needed.
• Hands-on leadership: You remain visible in the operation and are willing to investigate issues, develop procedures, train employees, and verify execution yourself.
• Firm standards and practical solutions: You distinguish non-negotiable requirements from areas where flexibility is appropriate and give teams a clear path to meeting expectations.
• Direct and respectful communication: You address issues early, explain the rationale for decisions, and maintain productive relationships through disagreement.
• Composure under pressure: You handle resistance calmly, make difficult calls, and follow through until the required standard is met.

If you bring the experience, judgment, and leadership presence to build and lead a strong food safety and quality function in a scaling Toronto company, we would like to hear from you.