Hello potential future Oatly employee. It’s us, the original oatmilk company that started in Sweden back 25 or so years ago and has since expanded to the U.S. where we’ve continued growing at a rate such that we need more brilliant minds to come work with us to keep the momentum going and the oatmilk flowing.
Sustainability, health, and transparency are the core values that guide everything we do. Basically, we exist to make it easy for people to eat better and live healthier lives without recklessly taxing the planet’s resources in the process. If any of this resonates with you, then maybe you’d like to work for Oatly, too. Now onto the formal stuff.
We are looking for a Quality & Food Safety Manager to join our team. This role will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations and long-term planning of quality functions at manufacturing facility from Receiving, Production and Distribution Operations. The Quality Manager must have experience and working knowledge of quality programs and have familiarity with US and international markets and their requirements. This position has direct reports and interfaces heavily with Plant Management and their teams as well as continuous improvement with global quality. This position requires a cooperative team approach and a clear and consistent communication style.
Here are the things we want to hire you to do:
- Manage all day-to-day quality programs in a hands-on, highly engaged leadership fashion to ensure that the
- Company maintains its marketplace reputation for having the highest quality products in the industry.
- Responsible for maintaining world-class levels of product quality in company-operated manufacturing facilities and establishing quality specifications.
- Leading the quality department on daily operational and strategic level.
- Review and maintain existing quality assurance procedures and developing comprehensive plan to significantly upgrade Company’s quality program and work with Senior Leadership to push these standards throughout the organization.
- Working collaboratively with members of Manufacturing, Marketing, Procurement and R&D teams, implementing agreed-upon enhancements to existing quality programs.
- Continually seek out opportunities to enhance existing quality programs, working closely with key stakeholders (Manufacturing, Marketing, Procurement, R&D).
- Collaborate as a key liaison between Corporate Quality & Regulatory and the Plant Quality Teams to ensure all required BRC Global Standards, FDA/FSMA and FDA/LACF Regulatory standards, HACCP, Kosher and Halal are implemented and maintained.
- Monitor compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices.
- Responsible for reviewing Plant Quality/Food Safety Policy Procedures and Quality Verification Records, pertaining to ingredients, raw materials, finished products and plant audits.
- Coordinate with Plant Leadership and the Sanitation teams to maintain efficient and effective Sanitation processes and sanitation programs are in place.
- Assign monthly internal auditing schedules and monthly environmental monitoring.
- Conduct and maintain inventory of lab chemicals and orders.
- Manage the Plant Microbiological requirements & standards by coordinating with Plant Quality and Operations
- Teams to ensure microbiological conformance to specifications for raw materials, in-process materials and finished products, including the maintenance of the plant environmental micro monitoring program to be above expectations & standards.
- Support the Company’s “Identity Preserved Food Status” Certification processes, such as Gluten-Free, Non-GMO Project Verified, Vegan, Kosher, Glyphosate Residue Free and Halal certification by coordinating with Quality Compliance Manager, as appropriate.
- Ensure FDA/FSMA, GFSI - BRC Standards required HACCP/HARPC - Food Safety Plans, Food Defense Program and Food Fraud (IA) rules & regulations are established and implemented at the facility by coordinating with the Plant Leadership Team and the Corporate Quality & Regulatory Team.
- Coordinate with Plant Management Team to investigate consumer complaints and determine the validity/root cause of the complaint, and to work with appropriate departments to implement effective corrective & preventive actions as well as communicating food-safety related matters to site director and global quality.
- Collaborate as key liaison between US Region Quality/Food Safety & Regulatory Team and the Plant Quality & Operations Team, ensuring all required FDA/LACF and FDA/FSMA regulatory and compliance requirements are implemented and maintained.
- Manage the Hold-and-Release program in a timely manner with proper corrective action and preventive action, as appropriate.
- Responsible for Plant Deviation management and Quality/Food Safety preventive control programs
- Manage and coordinate Global Quality/Food Safety, Regulatory & Quality Continuous Improvement Initiatives and Projects in liaison with Plant Operations Teams and the Regional Quality/Food Safety Teams.
- Responsible for implementing, managing and maintenance of the LIMS system.
- Participate in and provide updates for Control Plan and Site Master Plan.
- Plan, develop and implement food safety, quality and regulatory programs.
- Implement training and development needs for plant personnel and coach towards professional growth.
- Other duties as assigned
Here are the things we think you need:
- Bachelor’s Degree or higher degree in Food Science, Food Microbiology, Food Chemistry, Biology or related Fields.
- 3-5 years of manager or supervisory experience.
- Experience in aseptic processing and filling/packaging preferred.
- Certifications in HACCP, FDA/FSMA - PCQI, BRC/SQF Practitioner preferred.
- Certification in “Better Process Control School” (for Acidified & Low Acidified Foods) preferred.
- Experience in GFSI BRC, SQF, ISO 22000, FSSC, FDA/FSMA Audits and other regulatory audits preferred.
- Experience in Microbiology or managing Microbiology Lab.
- Experience in CIP systems, COP and Facility Sanitation Standards preferred.
- Previous experience evaluating and implementing quality systems and specifications preferred.
- Understanding of quality programs such as Six Sigma or Lean Manufacturing preferred.
- Previous work experience with Statistical Process Control preferred.
- Ability to exert up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body.
And here’s another list of qualities we think make a good Oatly team member:
- You feel connected to our mission of encouraging health, sustainability, and transparency.
- You are a self-starter who doesn’t need direct supervision to motivate you for success – we believe strongly in building a culture of individual accountability and ownership and need partners that can embrace that mentality.
- You are ready to make your mark in a smaller, growing brand leveraging your experience to deliver amazing results and build an outstanding company.
- You have an entrepreneurial spirit and are energized by the process of building something lasting from the ground up.
Another bulleted list felt redundant, so we wrote this long sentence with all the ways we sweeten the deal to work with us, like providing paid vacation, really great benefits, genuinely great coworkers who want to see the company and each other succeed, and a startup vibe with a global company.
The salary for this role will be based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to geographic location, internal equity, experience, education, specialty, and training. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. Compensation may also include bonus, commission, or equity as applicable. Our good faith estimate for base salary is $120,000.
Our team is available to support you through the hiring process with reasonable accommodations to enable a barrier-free interview experience. We will maintain candidate privacy and confidentiality to enable an unbiased and equitable experience. If you need assistance applying for a role due to a disability or special need, please contact [email protected].
Oatly is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.
