Director, Food Safety & Quality Assurance

Roadtex Transportation has become a leader in the nationwide LTL industry, specializing in transporting time and temperature-sensitive products. We handle refrigerated and LTL needs by leveraging no sailing schedules, our nationwide network of 32 strategically placed temperature-controlled facilities, our state-of-the-art tracking, and our specialized equipment and warehousing capabilities. In 2022, Roadtex was acquired by Echo Global Logistics. The acquisition brings a truckload brokerage and expanded transportation management solutions to Roadtex's customers while providing Echo with our national warehouse footprint and advanced temperature-controlled transportation solutions.

Position Summary

The Director of Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA) owns the design, implementation, and governance of the enterprise Food Safety Management System (FSMS) across the company's national temperature-controlled and ambient 3PL network. This role is the central authority for food safety, quality systems, food defense, food fraud prevention, and regulatory and customer compliance, and leads the organization's transition to and sustainment of FSSC 22000 certification.

Reporting directly to the President, Warehousing, the Director operates with director-level scope and decision authority, establishing standards, enforcing compliance, and ensuring consistent execution at every site. The role begins as a working leader with two Quality Assurance Associates and is expected to scale the function as the certification program and network mature.

This is a build role. The successful candidate is equally comfortable writing an SOP, walking a sanitation verification, chairing a Management Review, and presenting audit posture to a Fortune 500 customer's quality team.

Scope

The FSMS owned by this role is comprehensive and integrated, covering:

* Food Safety. HACCP, prerequisite programs, sanitation, pest, allergen, temperature integrity

* Quality. Quality management system, document control, CAPA, internal audit, management review, change control

* Food Defense (TACCP). Intentional adulteration vulnerability assessments and mitigation

* Food Fraud (VACCP). Economically motivated adulteration risk assessment and supplier safeguards

* Regulatory Compliance. FSMA (including Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food), FDA, USDA where applicable, state warehouse and food handler licensing

* Customer Compliance. Quality agreements, customer-specific requirements, third-party audit response

Duties and Responsibilities

Primary Responsibilities Food Safety, Quality & Compliance Leadership

* Own and lead the enterprise FSMS strategy across all warehouse and transportation operations

* Establish standardized policies, procedures, and controls aligned to FSSC 22000 requirements (including the 22000-Q quality extension where adopted)

* Serve as the enterprise authority on food safety risk, quality system performance, food defense, food fraud, and audit readiness

* Chair the Food Safety Team and lead the Management Review process in accordance with FSSC 22000 Clause 9

* Drive alignment across operations, transportation, sales, and executive leadership on food safety and compliance posture

Quality Management System (QMS)

* Design, implement, and govern a scalable QMS across multi-site operations

* Develop and maintain SOPs, work instructions, forms, and document control processes with full version integrity

* Establish and operate the internal audit program, nonconformance management, and CAPA system with measurable closure performance

* Standardize processes across the network while preserving site-level operational practicality

* Own change control for any modification with food safety or quality impact

Certification & Audit Management

* Lead FSSC 22000 certification readiness, achievement, and sustainment, including all Stage 1 and Stage 2 audit activities

* Own all internal and external audits, FSSC, AIB, NSF, customer audits, and regulatory inspections

* Serve as primary interface for certification bodies, customer quality teams, and regulatory agencies

* Drive corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) to root cause and timely closure with verification of effectiveness

* Maintain audit-ready documentation and evidence at all times, not as a periodic exercise

Regulatory & Customer Compliance

* Ensure compliance with FSMA, FDA, USDA where applicable, and all state and local food safety regulations

* Oversee HACCP plans, hazard analysis, food defense (TACCP), and food fraud (VACCP) vulnerability assessments and mitigation

* Manage organic, kosher, halal, and other specialty certification programs as applicable

* Negotiate, approve, and govern customer Quality Agreements; lead customer onboarding from a food safety standpoint

* Own the supplier and service provider approval program, including pest control, sanitation chemicals, calibration services, and external laboratories

Operational Integration

* Partner with operations and transportation leadership to embed food safety into daily execution

* Conduct routine, unannounced facility assessments focused on actual operating conditions, not announced walk-throughs

* Lead root cause analysis for deviations, holds, recalls, damages, customer complaints, and compliance gaps

* Own the mock recall and traceability exercise program; ensure recall readiness across the network

* Lead the crisis response process for food safety events, including customer notification, regulatory reporting, and product disposition decisions

Training & Culture

* Develop and deliver food safety, quality, food defense, and food fraud training programs

* Establish clear expectations for site-level ownership and accountability for food safety outcomes

* Promote a culture where food safety is embedded in daily operations and where any associate is empowered to escalate

* Build food safety competency assessment into onboarding and ongoing development for operations leadership

Performance Management & Reporting

* Define and track FSMS key performance indicators including audit outcomes, CAPA closure, hold and release cycle time, customer complaint rate, environmental monitoring trends, training completion, supplier performance

* Report monthly to the President and quarterly to executive leadership on food safety risk, compliance posture, and certification status

* Lead Management Review at the cadence required by FSSC 22000 with documented inputs, outputs, and decisions

* Drive continuous improvement through structured problem-solving and trend analysis

Team Leadership & Function Build

* Lead, develop, and direct two Quality Assurance Associates in Year 1; define their work, training plan, and performance standards

* Build the Year 2+ FSQA function plan and recommend strategy based on certification scope, network growth, and customer portfolio

* Establish governance routines for Food Safety Team meetings, site QA huddles, leadership scorecard reviews

Decision Rights & Authority

To be effective, the Director of FSQA holds the following standing authorities, recognized by executive leadership and reflected in policy:

* Establish, enforce, and amend food safety, quality, and compliance standards across all facilities

* Place product on hold and authorize release based on food safety and quality criteria - without operational override

* Pause or restrict operations at any facility where food safety or regulatory risk is identified, pending resolution

* Approve or reject processes, customers, vendors, suppliers, and practices that affect food safety, quality, or regulatory posture

* Require corrective actions and hold site leadership accountable for execution and closure

* Own the FSSC 22000 certification scope, certification body selection, and audit response

* Sign customer Quality Agreements on behalf of the company and represent the company in customer quality forums

* Escalate any food safety or compliance risk directly to the President without intermediate filtering

* Own the FSQA budget - including external lab, pest control, sanitation, calibration, audit, training, and certification costs

Qualifications

Required

* Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Biology, Chemistry, or related field or equivalent experience

* 8+ years of progressive experience in food safety, quality, or compliance within food-grade operations, with at least 3 years in a leadership or program ownership role

* Hands-on experience with GFSI-recognized standards, FSSC 22000, SQF, or BRCGS, including direct involvement in certification or recertification

* Strong working knowledge of FSMA (including the Sanitary Transportation Rule), HACCP principles, FDA regulations, and USDA where applicable

* Demonstrated experience leading audits, managing CAPA programs, and engaging directly with certification bodies and regulatory agencies

* Proven ability to build or scale a quality and compliance system from gap-state to certified-state

* Excellent written and verbal communication; able to write a defensible SOP and present credibly to a customer

Preferred

* Direct experience in third-party logistics (3PL), cold storage, or temperature-controlled distribution

* Multi-site or network-level program ownership

* Specific experience leading an FSSC 22000 certification from gap assessment through Stage 2 audit

* Certifications: PCQI, HACCP (IFSH or equivalent), FSPCA Lead Instructor, ISO 22000 Lead Auditor, SQF Practitioner, or ASQ CQA / CMQ-OE

* Experience with food defense (TACCP) and food fraud (VACCP) vulnerability assessment methodologies

* Experience operating under customer-specific quality programs from major CPG, foodservice, or retail customers Working Conditions

* Some travel to warehouse and transportation locations across the national network (up to 20%)

* Routine work in temperature-controlled environments, including freezer, cooler, and ambient, with appropriate PPE

* Cross-functional collaboration with operations, transportation, sales, HR, and executive leadership

Benefits

For more information about our benefit offerings, please visit our careers page at https://www.echo.com/company/careers.