Manager, International R&D / QA, Cheese Category

Your Mission

Lead and manage the development of ingredients, focusing on the cheese category, to enable company’s strategy and growth plans for international markets. This includes supplier development around the globe as well as managing quality assurance policies and initiatives. Development responsibilities include formulations, scale up production runs, testing and launching of ingredients.

The position is based within the corporate quality assurance team located in Detroit, MI and reports to the Director of Global Food Safety and Quality Assurance.

How You’ll Make an Impact :

• Make an immediate impact by being the subject matter expert in Dairy Science and processing technology with an emphasis in cheese.
• Use your knowledge of technical application of food science and processing technology to enhance pizza ingredients.
• Collaborates with R&D, QA, Supply Chain and Suppliers to develop cheese and pizza ingredients to achieve defined end product attributes.
• Responsible for supplier product development; testing, validating product performance in restaurants and through shelf life, scaling / commercializing, and finalizing specifications.
• Manages product development projects, collaborating with cross-functional partners such as Supply Chain, Marketing, Operations, and Training to meet timelines.
• Seeks methods to educate and improve knowledge of new technologies, manufacturing processes, supplier capabilities, and ingredient technologies.
• Proactively reviews food law and regulations to identify business impact and opportunities to adapt ingredients.
• Creates, implements and communicates updated policies, procedures and programs that ensure product safety and quality.
• Creates, updates and communicates product specifications and issues changes.
• Executes quality assurance programs and policies for product, suppliers and distributors.
• Identifies and resolves supplier food safety and quality issues.
• Provides technical support and acts as a liaison with the quality control function at suppliers to develop and ensure controls are developed, executed and maintained.
• Investigates and resolves customer complaints
• Assists suppliers with LC ingredient manufacturing and problem resolution.
• Responsible for corporate product recalls and retrievals and maintaining appropriate documentation.
• Administers mock recalls to distribution centers.
• Coordinates sanitation audits, lab testing and samples from distribution centers.
• Assists leadership in policy creation for vendors, vendor evaluations and audits
• Maintains approved manufacturer list for regional vendors.
• Performs other duties as requested by Supervisor.
• May be responsible for management of others, including hiring and performance management.

Who You Are :

Where You’ll Work :