Director of Quality Assurance (100% On-Site)

Job Description

Job Description

Salary : $150,000 -$200,000

About Us

Who doesn’t love meat? Summer BBQs and friends around the campfire enjoying a succulent, delicious burger, packed with protein.

Yep, meat rocks. The only problem is meat comes with baggage greenhouse gases, environmental degradation, nutritional concerns, and the welfare of animals.

But what if the meat we love could be a force for good, helping to reverse these challenges?

Omeat's mission is to pioneer game-changing solutions to the health, environmental, and animal-welfare challenges posed by animal agriculture.

We’re developing a scalable approach to producing cultured meat meat grown from cells, outside the animal that's every bit as delicious and nourishing as conventional meat.

We’re looking for team members who want to change history. Fellow visionaries ready to sink their teeth into one of the greatest challenges humanity faces, creating a new future a future full of hope with clear-running streams, teeming oceans, thriving wildlife, and healthy communities. Are you in?

The Role

Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA) Director will be responsible for providing strategic leadership, guidance, and risk management for all food safety and quality programs with the overarching goal of ensuring Omeat’s Quality Systems meet food safety standards, Federal and State requirements and any other aspects to ensure the supply of safe product with consistent quality This team member will oversee all food safety and quality assurance programs, systems, personnel, activities, and operations.

This position plays a critical role in regulatory submissions, strategy, and interactions with regulatory agencies. Our ideal candidate has extensive experience within the food manufacturing, Biotech FDA & USDA.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership, guidance, and risk management for food safety and quality programs and systems to include, but not limited to, HACCP and Preventative Controls.
• Responsible for proper compliance and accuracy in the development, revision, and management of all quality programs, supporting programs, audits, and documentation.
• Provide expertise and serve as a subject matter expert for programs and activities related to food safety / microbiology, regulations, and quality systems.
• Lead, supervise, and coach FSQA management and direct-reporting personnel, ensuring continuing professional development, training, and overall employee well-being.
• Maintain training and development systems for the team and company to be up to date.
• Provide support and decision-making planning as needed to executive leadership, sales, marketing and R&D teams, while maintaining a food safety culture.
• Provide oversight and technical support for import / export sales, production decisions, environmental programs, sanitation, and compliance.
• Manage departmental budgets, track departmental expenditure, and ensure compliance with budgeting policies, working closely with the executive leadership team.
• Ensure production team involvement with the regulations, updating compliances and Food Safety responsibilities.
• Manage food quality concerns on the floor and within the plant.
• Communicate regularly with upper management to ensure safe products are going out and documentation is maintained for all quality programs, including but not limited to pre-requisites and customer concerns.
• Ensure sanitation procedures align with food safety standards and quality assurance protocols.
• Engage in collaborative efforts aimed at problem-solving, involving interdepartmental cooperation and coordination, reaching out across departments to address and resolve issues collectively.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in life sciences, engineering or a related field.
• Expertise in cGMP compliance, FDA & USDA regulations, and international guidelines dealing with bioprocessing, food manufacturing and Quality Assurance, quality standards, policies and procedures is required.
• In-depth understanding of quality processes / systems (e.g., change control, event handling, CAPA), risk management and manufacturing control strategies is preferred with a good understanding of ISO regulations related to pharmaceutical and food manufacturing.
• Must have a minimum of 10 years of experience in manufacturing or assembly.
• Demonstrated people and technical leadership and building and developing high-performing technical functions and teams.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.

Additional Details

• Food manufacturing work environment (steam, heat, and cold). Working in a cold sterile laboratory environment.
• Flexible schedule while working an expected 40+ hours / week
• Based in Thousand Oaks, CA
• Minimal travel anticipated

Benefits

• Health benefits (medical, dental, and vision coverage)
• Flexible vacation time
• 401(k) matching
• 16 weeks of 100% Paid Parental Leave

Omeat is proud in its commitment to creating a diverse workforce and providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, national origin, age, disability, citizenship status, genetic information or characteristics, marital status, status as a Vietnam era veteran, special disabled veteran, or other protected veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws, and any other characteristic protected by law.