Manager, Quality Assurance

About Us

At Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition, we are making significant advances in food and health with new ideas and innovative technologies. We are seeking candidates with energy and enthusiasm to be part of our growing team throughout North America. As an Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition employee, you are part of a diverse, innovative, and collaborative community committed to enhancing lives through nutrition and health. Our team is committed to providing amino acid-based solutions that create better lives for all.

Overview

Responsible for overall operations and activities within the Solutions and Ingredients (S&I) Corporate Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Department and ensure quality systems are established, implemented, and maintained at plants and a corporate location.  Oversee Corporate Quality systems, including planning, coordinating, controlling, reviewing, and communicating policies in the department and meeting departmental goals.  Responsible for supervising the training of plant and Corporate Regulatory and Quality Assurance staff members.

Qualifications

EDUCATION, CERTIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

• BSc. (≥10 yrs.), M.S. or Ph.D. (6-8 yrs.) combined experience in Corporate Food Safety/Quality Assurance, Plant Quality Assurance, and Plant Operations with demonstrated expertise in managing food safety and quality initiatives in the Food/Beverage Industry.

 

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Excellent oral, written, and computer communication skills.
• Ability to transfer scientific knowledge to practical applications.
• Ability to create official documents related to internal quality governance, such as policies, rules, and procedures.
• Strong math and science-related technical skills.
• Knowledgeable in food and feed GMPs.
• Knowledge of FDA FSMA and equivalent USDA FSIS regulations
• Certification training in PCHF, FSVP, HACCP & Food Defense
• Food safety and quality audit experience
• An experienced food safety & quality leader who can effectively work and influence in both a manufacturing plant and corporate environment.
• A proactive collaborator who plans and executes projects, gaining alignment and support across functions to deliver against strategic goals and day-to-day issue management.
• A results-driven individual committed to delivering business impactful solutions.
• Strong practical risk assessment and management skills with an ability to work under pressure.
• A strong team player with the ability to work with diverse cultures who can work well in a dynamic environment and maintains a level of flexibility to support the broader team.
• Passionate about delivering consistent, safe, high-quality products to our consumers and customers that fully comply with all relevant regulations.

Working Conditions / Physical Requirements

OCCUPATIONAL DEMANDS & WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Job demands may require long periods of sitting, telephone and/or computer work, interactions with other employees, brokers, and adjusters, and filing in lateral and upright file cabinets. The employee frequently uses their hands to finger, handle, or touch. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Some off-site office and plant visits or at vendor locations are required.

 

 

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

 

• This position requires communication with different US locations and some overseas locations with time differences (e.g., Tokyo). Travel ~25-30%, primarily domestic.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct leadership and support to plant Food Safety & Quality teams, including strategic planning, project management, and issue resolution.
• Attend Ajinomoto Quality Management System (QMS) meetings.
• Support Corporate Quality Management Representative (QMR).
• Serve as an internal quality auditor in the North America division.
• Review quality complaints/troubles, corrective and preventive actions, and improvement of quality systems.  
• Provide guidance on implementing the Ajinomoto Internal Quality Management System (ASQUA) and FDA FSMA/ USDA relevant quality systems.
• Develop and foster interactions with R&D, supply chain, and manufacturing partners and provide guidance on Food Safety and Quality application systems.
• Oversee handling of customer quality document requests, expectation manuals & questionnaires.
• Together with regulatory compliance team members, support R&D and Commercialization team members in ensuring all their Final Product Technical Standards are correct.
• Oversee customer-fa