Job Description

Food Safety & Quality Manager Location: Chicago, IL Salary: $95,000–$105,000 + annual performance incentive About Us Element Bars is a growing contract manufacturer of premium nutrition bars serving nationally recognized consumer brands. We manufacture a variety of snack and nutrition products in an FDA-regulated facility and maintain certifications including SQF, Organic, and OU Kosher. Our Food Safety & Quality Management System is well established, documented, and actively maintained. We are not looking for someone to build a quality system from scratch—we're looking for an experienced professional to own it, protect it, continuously improve it, and ensure it evolves with changing regulatory and customer requirements. Position Summary The Food Safety & Quality Manager is responsible for maintaining and continually improving our Food Safety & Quality Management System while supporting the company's growth and commitment to manufacturing excellence. This position will work closely with Operations, R&D, Supply Chain, Production, and Executive Management, while serving as the primary quality contact for many of our brand customers. Because we are a contract manufacturer, collaboration with customer Quality and Regulatory teams is a significant part of the role. The successful candidate is organized, detail-oriented, technically strong, and comfortable balancing regulatory compliance with practical manufacturing operations. Responsibilities Maintain and continuously improve the SQF-certified Food Safety & Quality Management System. Serve as the site's SQF Practitioner and lead certification and surveillance audits. Ensure ongoing compliance with FDA regulations, current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs), HACCP, preventive controls, and applicable food safety requirements. Monitor evolving regulatory requirements and customer standards, implementing necessary updates to programs and procedures. Lead internal audits and coordinate third-party and customer audits. Manage CAPA activities, root cause investigations, environmental monitoring, supplier quality programs, document control, and verification activities. Review customer quality requirements and coordinate responses with internal teams. Serve as the primary quality contact for customer quality departments during onboarding, routine business, investigations, and continuous improvement initiatives. Monitor product quality trends, nonconformances, consumer complaints, and quality metrics. Work collaboratively with Operations to improve processes while maintaining practical, efficient manufacturing practices. Support training programs that reinforce food safety culture throughout the organization. Promote continuous improvement while maintaining the integrity of an already strong quality system. Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Biology, or a related scientific discipline preferred. Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible experience in food manufacturing quality and food safety. Experience in an FDA-regulated food manufacturing environment. Strong working knowledge of: SQF HACCP Preventive Controls (PCQI preferred) FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) cGMPs Environmental Monitoring Programs CAPA and Root Cause Analysis Experience interacting directly with retail or brand customer quality organizations. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities. Preferred Certifications Certified SQF Practitioner Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI) HACCP Certification Internal Auditor training or equivalent food safety auditing experience #J-18808-Ljbffr

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