Company Overview
ChocXO Chocolatier LLC is a leading North American premium chocolate manufacturer, grounded in innovation, quality, and sustainability. Our fully automated, SQF Level 3, USDA-Organic and Gluten-Free Delta, British Columbia facility spans 60,000 sq ft and serves as our operational flagship, producing better-for-you confectionery with unmatched precision. Building on this success, we are expanding our U.S. presence with a new 225,000 sq ft manufacturing, office, and warehouse complex in Rockwall, Texas. Scheduled to open in 2026, this facility will significantly increase our capacity, broaden our capabilities, and position us for the next phase of growth across North America. Anchoring our broader footprint is our 35,000 sq ft facility in Indianapolis, home to the renowned Endangered Species Chocolate (ESC) brand, which reinforces our legacy of responsible, mission-driven chocolate manufacturing. Together, these locations form a powerful, integrated manufacturing platform offering exceptional opportunities for professional growth.
We foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and operational excellence. Our employees are expected to be disciplined, highly engaged, and results-driven professionals who thrive in structured environments, uphold rigorous standards, and embrace the challenge of building a best-in-class chocolate manufacturing business.
Truly Indulgent Low in Sugar Always Organic
Summary
The QA & Food Safety Manager is responsible for ensuring that product quality standards and food safety systems meet company standards, federal regulations and customer expectations. This position provides leadership and training to ensure organizational policies, regulations and procedures are met as related to food safety and compliance with legislation and regulation. The QA & Food Safety Manager is responsible for establishing the processes to improve the effectiveness of the SQF, GFCO, Organic, Kosher, Vegan, Fair Trade and Non-GMO Systems and to demonstrate continuous improvement in food safety and quality culture.
Responsibilities
- Develops, implements, monitors and updates food quality SOPs.
- Issues, reviews and maintains product specifications and certificates of analysis
- Ensures proper Quality Assurance documentation and control is implemented, maintained, and conducts ongoing verifications.
- Develops, implements and trains all employees on quality assurance, food safety and security, and crisis management procedures
- Develop programs to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements
- Develops and maintains FSPCA plans and process to focus on enhancing food safety and preventive controls
- Develops, implements, monitors and updates food safety and sanitation SOPs.
- Ensures policies and procedures are followed during purchasing, receiving, storing, shipping, raw material evaluations, sanitation and compliance with good manufacturing practices.
- Ensures that ESC is achieving improvement on related Key Performance Indicators
- Develop food safety programs, including transport, storage, purchasing, shipping and receiving, equipment and preventive maintenance, personnel and training, sanitation and pest control, recall programs, and operational control programs.
- Keep-to-date knowledge of new food safety risks, regulatory changes impacting food safety and novel approaches to food safety issue and to present this to cross-functional departments
- Manages the sanitation team to conduct thorough cleaning on machines so that lines are operational and to sanitation standards
- Drives and encourages ownership on sanitation practices, Line operators and line workers that exceeds expected levels of cleanliness and orderliness.
- Champions a Lean system and practices in facility
- Improve overall plant cleanliness assigning sanitation personnel and daily plant inspections.
- Establishes the processes to improve the effectiveness of the SQF, GFCO, Organic, Vegan, Fair Trade and Kosher Systems to demonstrate continuous improvement.
- Performs food safety and quality audits to verify compliance with regulatory and Food Safety standards
- Leads the resolution of issues related to quality policies, procedures, regulations, and compliance, and sets action priorities.
- Oversees all customer specifications, technical requirements and product standards are current and updated. Direct, develop, manage and update all quality programs as necessary to comply with customer regulatory and company standards (Quality Programs include Vendor Certification, Incoming Goods Inspection, Sanitation, FSPCA, Pest Control, Non-Compliance/Hold
- Provides leadership in resolving customer complaints, Control the recording of all corrective actions procedure and publish progress reports to be in compliance with SQF requirements
- Contacts the suppliers/ reviews supplier’s data on an on-going basis and keeps the supplier matrix updated on an on-going basis. Follows up with the suppliers on the missing/expired documentations on a regular basis and as per outlined in Vendor Approval program
- Liaise with regulatory agents and inspectors to ensure that the facility is compliant with legislation and regulations.
- Develops, implements, monitors and updates annual QA budget
- Leads a change management process to build organizational understanding of proposed changes, establish support from key leadership stakeholders, and effectively implement new deployment and job models.
- Monitor and review training program for QA staff and ensure that latest OH&S, Quality and FSPCA Practices are included in training program and continually assess employee competencies to ensure all t have a complete working understanding of the Quality Policy& Food safety fundamentals
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in food science or related field
- SQF or any other GFSI certification
- Minimum five years of experience in the food processing industry
- Experience with Plant QA/Sanitation/Food Safety or manufacturing
- Knowledge of FSPCA and other food safety regulations
- Experience in Food Safety Regulations (US and Canada)
- In-depth understanding in food microbiology/food chemistry/toxicology
- Proven track record of continuous improvement successes and efficiencies; familiar with lean manufacturing principles including: 5-S, Six Sigma and Root Cause Analysis
- Leads by example – displays expected leadership qualities and values of the company.
- Delegation -Delegating tasks to the right employee, department, or team.
- Teamwork - building an inclusive workforce.
- Positivity - be on board with the direction of the company.
- Communication - able to clearly and professionally communicate with others. Able to provide honest and effective feedback and able to professionally approach disagreements or difficult conversations.
- Listening – Actively listens to others to indicate others are heard and opinions are valued.
- Emotional Intelligence – Having emotional awareness; the ability to harness emotions and apply them to tasks like thinking and problem solving; and the ability to manage emotions, which includes regulating own emotions and cheering up or calming down other people.
- Decision making – Able to solve problems and make fact-based decisions in a timely manner.
- Collaboration - Promotes collaboration by unifying teams, setting common goals and incentivizing collaborative work.
- Flexibility – Ability to adapt own management style to the diverse needs within their team.
Call-To-Action If you are passionate about maintaining high-quality standards in food production and want to be part of a dynamic team dedicated to innovation, we invite you to apply today!
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $80,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Ability to Commute:
- Indianapolis, IN 46278 (Required)
Ability to Relocate:
- Indianapolis, IN 46278: Relocate before starting work (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
