Overview

Bachan's is seeking a collaborative and technically strong Manager, Supplier & Co-Manufacturing Quality to lead the Food Safety and Quality programs supporting our external manufacturing and supplier network.

This role serves as the primary quality partner between Bachan's, Marzetti, and our third-party manufacturing and ingredient suppliers to ensure products consistently meet Bachan's quality standards, regulatory requirements, and customer expectations. The position is responsible for supplier qualification, co-manufacturing quality management, food safety compliance, commercialization support, supplier auditing, corrective action management, and continuous improvement initiatives.

The successful candidate will balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution, helping build scalable quality systems while maintaining the speed, flexibility, and entrepreneurial culture that defines Bachan's.

Responsibilities • What You'll Do

Supplier & Co-Manufacturing Quality
• Develop, implement, and continuously improve supplier and co-manufacturing Food Safety and Quality programs.
• Lead qualification, approval, and ongoing performance management of ingredient suppliers, packaging suppliers, co-packers, and co-manufacturing partners.
• Establish supplier quality expectations, performance metrics, and scorecards to drive continuous improvement and reduce quality risk.
• Partner with Procurement and Operations during supplier selection, capability assessments, and new supplier onboarding.

Food Safety & Compliance
• Support and maintain supplier compliance with applicable Food Safety regulations including FSMA, HACCP, GMP, Preventive Controls, allergen management, sanitation, traceability, and GFSI requirements.
• Conduct supplier and co-manufacturer quality assessments to evaluate compliance with Bachan's and regulatory standards.
• Participate in Food Safety risk assessments and annual supplier audit planning.
• Support regulatory, customer, and third-party audit readiness activities.

Auditing & Corrective Actions
• Develop and maintain Quality Audit Plans for external manufacturing partners.
• Review supplier audit reports and ensure timely completion of corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs).
• Lead root cause investigations for supplier quality issues, deviations, consumer complaints, and product non-conformances.
• Verify effectiveness of corrective actions and ensure sustainable process improvements.

Commercialization & Product Support
• Partner with Commercialization, R&D, Operations, Procurement, and Supply Chain to support successful product launches, reformulations, packaging changes, and manufacturing transfers.
• Support product start-ups and commercialization activities at co-manufacturing facilities.
• Evaluate supplier readiness for new products, packaging, ingredients, and manufacturing processes.
• Collaborate on identification and implementation of new technologies and manufacturing capabilities.

Specifications & Quality Systems
• Support development, implementation, and continuous improvement of Supplier Quality Management System (SQMS) documentation, procedures, audit standards, and quality records.
• Review and support approval of ingredient, packaging, and finished product specifications in partnership with Regulatory, Procurement, and R&D.
• Support finished product release documentation and food safety record reviews as needed.

Cross-Functional Leadership
• Build collaborative partnerships across Procurement, Operations, Commercialization, Regulatory, R&D, Supply Chain, Customer Service, and Manufacturing.
• Serve as the quality representative for supplier-related initiatives across the organization.
• Influence without direct authority to ensure quality expectations are consistently achieved throughout the supply chain.
• Identify opportunities to improve supplier performance, reduce risk, and simplify quality processes while supporting business growth.

Qualifications • What You'll Bring

Qualification Requirements:
• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Microbiology, Chemistry, or related scientific discipline.
• 7-10+ years of progressive experience in Food Safety, Quality Assurance, Supplier Quality, or Manufacturing Quality within the food or consumer packaged goods industry.
• Experience managing supplier quality programs and external manufacturing partners.
• Experience supporting commercialization and new product launches.
• Experience conducting supplier, manufacturing, or GFSI audits.
• Experience leading cross-functional quality improvement initiatives.
• Strong knowledge of: FSMA, HACCP, GMP, Preventive Controls, Supplier Quality Systems, Root Cause Analysis, CAPA processes, Risk Assessment methodologies
• PCQI Certification required or ability to obtain within 12 months.
• Experience with quality metrics, supplier scorecards, and continuous improvement methodologies preferred.

Working Conditions/Environment

Working Conditions/Environment:

This position works in both office and manufacturing environments. Regular travel to supplier and co-manufacturing facilities is required. When visiting manufacturing facilities, the employee must comply with all applicable GMP, Food Safety, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements including hairnets, hearing protection, safety glasses, gloves, and other required protective equipment. Travel is expected to be approximately 30-40%, including overnight travel.