Sr. Director, Food Safety & Quality Assurance

BUILT ON FLAVOR. FUELED BY PEOPLE.

Whats it like to work at Kinders Well theres a lot of snacking and geeking out over what we all cooked over the weekend. Beyond that theres also plenty of hard work. Because we dont just like flavor were obsessed with it.

With over 100 products sold nationwide were now a top-five brand in multiple flavor categories at Costco Walmart Whole Foods and more. Were not your typical CPG company. Privately held and founder-led we like to think of ourselves as a pirate ship in a sea of cruise ships. Our crew is adventurous and fearless. We chart our own course and chase big ideas to make food unforgettable.

As we expand globally and approach $1 billion in revenue we need more smart-and-scrappy flavor-obsessed people to come aboard. If youre looking for a place where you can see the real impact of your work... this is it!Every day youll be part of a journey to add flavor to millions of meals and lives.

About the Role:

The Senior Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance is accountable for setting the enterprise-wide vision strategy and execution of food safety and quality for a high-growth consumer-focused brand. This role plays a critical leadership position in defining and scaling Kinders quality systems ensuring that every product delivered to market is safe compliant and consistently exceptional in taste and performance.

Partnering closely with executive leadership and cross-functional teams this leader will build the organizational capabilities processes and partnerships required to support rapid growth while maintaining best-in-class food safety quality assurance and regulatory compliance standards.

This role is central to protecting Kinders brand consumers and long-term growth. The Senior Director of Food Safety & Quality Assurance will not only ensure compliance but will shape how quality is embedded into every decision product and partnership as Kinders continues to scale.

Key Responsibilities Include:

Quality Assurance Strategy & Leadership

• Build lead and inspire a high-performing Corporate Quality Assurance organization with the structure talent and systems to support Kinders growth trajectory.
• Establish a culture of continuous improvement accountability proactive risk management and strong collaboration across internal teams and external manufacturing partners.
• Set the long-term quality strategy aligned with business growth innovation pipelines and brand standards.

Food Safety & Quality Systems

• Design evaluate and continuously optimize scalable food safety and quality programs aligned with industry best practices and regulatory requirements.
• Implement data-driven frameworks to monitor performance identify risk and drive corrective and preventive actions.
• Partner closely with Manufacturing Quality leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure consistent understanding adoption and execution of quality standards across contract manufacturing partners.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that elevate product quality and enhance consumer satisfaction.

Testing & Verification Programs

• Develop and optimize balanced risk-based testing programs to ensure compliance with internal standards and external regulations.
• Maintain comprehensive testing databases including trend analysis deviations and corrective actions.
• Use insights from testing data to proactively mitigate risk and improve product quality.

Consumer Quality & Feedback Management

• Establish and maintain systems to capture track and analyze consumer feedback and quality-related inquiries.
• Identify trends and systemic issues; lead corrective actions with vendors or internal partners including reformulation strategies when necessary.
• Partner with Customer Service to support responses to quality-related consumer inquiries and issue resolution.

Crisis Management & Recall Readiness

• Own and lead Kinders food safety and quality crisis response strategy ensuring swift decisive action to protect consumers and the brand.
• Develop scenario-based training tabletop exercises and proactive risk assessments to strengthen organizational preparedness.
• Refine and maintain recall procedures and response protocols.

Supplier Audit & Compliance Management

• Refine audit programs documentation standards and supplier communication frameworks.
• Partner with Operations and Product Development on qualification and approval of new contract manufacturing partners.
• Lead investigations into quality issues ensuring robust root cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions.
• Conduct supplier and vendor quality business reviews to identify trends and improvement opportunities.

Regulatory & Documentation Excellence

• Develop and maintain best-in-class regulatory systems and methodologies to ensure compliance across formulations packaging and labeling.
• Ensure accuracy and compliance of all labels specifications and regulatory documentation.
• Establish and govern centralized documentation and specification management systems for raw materials packaging finished goods formulations and labels creating a single source of truth.
• Monitor regulatory developments and serve as the primary liaison for regulatory compliance activities.
• Partner with Product Development to manage ingredient documentation claims substantiation (e.g. organic non-GMO) and testing protocols.

Cross-Functional Partnership & Risk Management

• Lead cross-functional quality forums to ensure alignment between quality standards and aggressive commercialization timelines.
• Drive shared understanding of key quality risks and facilitate informed trade-offs between quality brand and commercial objectives.
• Identify food safety and business risks (e.g. sensory variance packaging integrity appearance) and elevate insights to senior leadership with clear recommendations.

Experience Skills:

Required Experience & Capabilities

• 10 years of progressive leadership experience in Food Safety and Quality Assurance within the CPG food industry.
• Deep technical expertise in food safety and quality systems including microbiology allergen management HACCP FSMA FDA/USDA labeling and regulatory compliance.
• Demonstrated experience leading quality organizations in high-growth innovation-driven environments.
• Strong background in food manufacturing audits supplier management and contract manufacturing oversight.
• Proven ability to design and scale systems standards and processes across internal teams and external partners.
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to translate technical expertise into clear actionable business strategies.
• Highly analytical data-driven and results-oriented with strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Strong project management skills and end-to-end understanding of new product development processes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Food Science Chemistry Microbiology or a related field.
• Experience supporting rapid commercialization and product launch pipelines.
• Track record of leading through complexity ambiguity and change in fast-growing organizations.

Pay Transparency Location:

The expected starting salary range for this role is $200000- $250000 per year. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range based on the location of the role. The amount a particular employee will earn within the salary range will be based on factors such as relevant education qualifications performance and business needs. This role will be based in our Walnut Creek CA office.

SEASONED FOR SUCCESS:

• No two days here are the same.
• We try to be good team members and good communicators but we dont live by hierarchy and structure everyone is a difference maker here.
• We make a lot of decisions in the face of incomplete information our team embraces ambiguity and tries to make good decisions fast rather than great decisions slow.
• We believe our job is to take smart risk not to eliminate risk.
• We believe in growing our skills and becoming a better company with more managerial expertise but we are an entrepreneurial company at heart.
• We arent trying to be average we want to do exceptional things and we are willing to work hard to achieve them.

BENEFITS THAT BRING MORE TO THE TABLE:

We offer a range of total rewards that may include paid time off 401k bonus / incentive eligibility equity grants competitive health benefits and other family-friendly benefits including parental leave. Kinders benefits vary based on eligibility and can be reviewed in more detail during the interview process.

OUR RECIPE FOR BALANCE:

We believe great culture starts with people. Were a people-first company built on connection collaboration and balance. Most of our work happens in the office to spark creativity and community but we also offer flexibility so team members have the autonomy to work outside the office when needed to support their work-life balance and personal commitments.

WHERE EVERY INGREDIENT MATTERS:

Kinders is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race color ancestry national origin gender citizenship marital status religion age disability gender identity results of genetic testing veteran status as well as any other legally-protected characteristic. If you have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar law and you need any accommodation during the application process or to perform these job requirements please reach out to us at