Manager, Quality Assurance - Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America, Inc.

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-facing documents, including complaint response letters and customer concession agreement letters related to food safety and quality.
• Ensure plant Quality systems are established, implemented, and maintained.
• Oversee the performance of the Food Safety and quality system and initiate improvement activities at the plants as needed.
• Oversee the maintenance of documentation and records for the Corporate Safety and Quality Assurance Compliance section.
• Ascertain robust FSVP is maintained.
• Determine Food Safety and quality training needs (corporate and plant level).
• Create and review Food Safety and Quality goals.
• Proactively monitor external QA industry trends and improve internal food safety and quality systems.
• Participate in quality assessment of new product launches. 
• Participate in raw material supplier assessment as needed.
• Support supplier quality assurance and commercialization team in setting risk-based internal specifications for new raw materials.
• Provide direct leadership and support to plant Food Safety and Quality teams to maintain the QMS and comply with quality certifications.

 

Inter-department Cooperation, Process Development & Personnel Development

• Responsible for team development, including—but not limited to—interviewing, performance evaluation, counseling, and disciplining.
• Oversee the planning, implementation, maintenance, and review of the professional development of the corporate safety and quality assurance section.
• Oversee the support of the organizational goals by aligning individual and section goals appropriately and maintaining a positive influence on others.
• Provide leadership and direction to the corporate safety and quality section.
• Plan, prioritize, and work within the department.
• Resolve problems and set deadlines to ensure timely completion of work.
• Develop annual goals and objectives for the department and provide quarterly feedback.
• Coach and train team members to improve work-related skills.
• Prepare reports to monitor and manage departmental objectives.
• Build and maintain a positive work environment.

 

 

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Other duties as assigned.

                                   

 

Salary Range:In support of the pay transparency laws enacted across the country, the expected salary range for this position in between $115-120K. Actual pay will be adjusted based on job-related factors permitted by law, such as experience and training; geographic location; licensure and certifications; market factors; departmental budgets; and responsibility. Our Talent Acquisition Team will be happy to answer any questions you may have, and we look forward to learning more about your salary requirements. EEO Statement:

Ajinomoto is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, disability, age (40 or older) or genetic information (including family medical history) for recruitment, hiring, and promotion decisions.