Utz Quality Foods is seeking a strategic, enterprise-minded
Quality Assurance and Food Safety leader to join our team in
Hanover, PA. This role will help shape the future of QAFS across our manufacturing, distribution, corporate, and third-party partner network. In this highly visible role, you will set the vision, standards, governance, and performance expectations that protect consumers, strengthen our brands, and support continued business growth.
This is an opportunity to lead at scale, partner with senior leaders across the business, and build proactive, sustainable systems that keep quality and food safety at the center of how we operate. If you are a strategic QAFS leader who builds strong teams, drives accountability, and believes quality is both a discipline and a culture, we would love to hear from you.
What You'll Do- Set enterprise QAFS strategy, priorities, standards, governance, and long-range roadmaps across the network.
- Lead, coach, and develop senior QAFS leaders while building organizational capability and succession strength.
- Oversee core QAFS programs, including GFSI/SQF, FSMA, GLPs, product commercialization, audit readiness, root cause problem solving, and preventative action.
- Partner cross-functionally with Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Procurement, R&D, Commercial, Distribution, Engineering, and executive leadership to align QAFS priorities with business strategy.
- Lead escalation, crisis management, regulatory response, and enterprise consumer complaint programs.
- Use KPIs, audits, complaint trends, and performance data to identify risk, drive accountability, and prioritize continuous improvement.
- Champion a strong food safety and quality culture across company-operated and partner operations.
What You'll Bring- Bachelor's degree in Food Science or a related field, or equivalent experience; Master's degree or MBA preferred.
- 12+ years of progressive quality assurance and food safety experience in food manufacturing, corporate quality, distribution, and/or third-party operations.
- 5+ years of multi-site leadership experience, including leading leaders across a complex network.
- Strong knowledge of food safety, regulatory, manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, FSMA, and GFSI requirements.
- Experience leading audits, managing regulatory relationships, and driving continuous improvement through root cause analysis, data, and risk-based decision making.
- Proven ability to influence executive stakeholders, build alignment, and develop high-performing teams.
External Recruitment Process - Easy Application (5 mins): Introduce yourself and answer a few key questions to get started.
- Engaging Chat Interview (20-25 mins): Share your experiences in an online chat, highlighting how your values align with ours.
- Live Interview: Selected candidates will meet with the hiring manager to explore their alignment with the team and overall Utz company culture.
