Y Combinator FSQA (Food Safety Quality Assurance) Manager
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Summary
Oversee food safety and quality systems for a smart-oven meal-delivery company, ensuring compliance with SQF standards, managing lab tests, and leading the QA and sanitation teams.
We’re Tovala, a food-tech company reinventing home cooking to save consumers time. Through an innovative combination of hardware, software, and fresh food delivery, we make it incredibly simple for anyone to prepare and enjoy delicious, home-cooked meals without sacrificing time to do whatever matters to them. Through our superior technology, product experience and food quality, we have separated Tovala from the busy pack of other meal delivery businesses. In the process, we’ve amassed a loyal, rapidly growing following and our retention, product engagement and customer NPS are all best-in-class. We’ve raised over $100mm from great investors like Left Lane Capital, Origin Ventures, Y Combinator and Comcast Ventures and have invested strongly in building a unique culture that fosters growth, personal development and camaraderie.
Position Summary:
Under the direction of the Food Safety Quality Assurance Director, the FSQA Manager will fulfill a core operational role by managing and coordinating activities of our Quality Assurance and Sanitation departments by performing specialized tasks including, but not limited to: assuring consistent quality of production by developing and enforcing good manufacturing practice (GMP) systems, validating processes, providing documentation and third-party audit regulation meeting the quality standard expected by the organization and laid out by the prevailing regulatory body. This job involves running tests, keeping a record of defects, analyzing products, and overseeing procedures within food production.
Location: West Valley, UT
How you'll spend your time at Tovala
- Support the development and maintenance of Tovala Food Safety and Quality Systems, designed to meet the regulatory, Food Safety, and Quality requirements to assure compliance with SQF requirements, including sanitation-related activities.
- Manages internal and external complaint programs, including but not limited to: verification that complaints are documented adequately, preparing trend reports, initiating corrective actions, and making appropriate dialogue with customers.
- Develops, implements, and manages quality and food safety programs, policies, and procedures to adhere to regulatory, internal, and 3rd party requirements; including, but not limited to: allergen control, recall and traceability, supplier approval and management.
- Monitor and verify preventive controls and critical control points for food safety plans, including allergen, sanitation, and process preventive controls, etc.
- Monitor the production process and finished product by sensory, weight control, and analytical methods to maintain product consistency and comply with established specifications including color, moisture, pH, weight, size, etc.
- Receive, label, and safely store samples from the R & D team and production line to conduct lab tests and analysis.
- Perform and document all testing with precision and accuracy.
- Maintain and clean lab equipment.
- Perform environmental monitoring swabs, investigate the root cause, and track, and trend the results.
- Conduct internal audit and follow up corrective actions. Perform pre-op and post-op inspections.
- Hires, trains, supervises, motivates, and develops Quality Assurance and Sanitation department team; manages schedules and workflow.
- Maintenance of Chemical Inventory.
- Chemical Training for facilities and team members.
- Master Sanitation Log upkeep.
About you
- 5+ years of food manufacturing production/QA/Lab experience.
- 5 + years of people management experience.
- Experiencing leading teams of at least five people.
- Chemical handling experience.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office and quality management systems.
- Strong decision-making, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
- Excellent communication, and interpersonal speaking skills.
- Must be ok working on your feet for up to 8 hours per day in a cold environment (39 degrees F).
- Associate or Bachelor's degree, Food Science degree or related equivalent degree preferred.
- SQF and PCQI Certifications preferred.
Compensation / Benefits
- Tovala uses market data, geography, and placement of internal employees to determine salary.
- Additionally, we offer all employees real ownership in the company in the form of a competitive equity package.
- Flexible paid time off (with a minimum of 15 days off you HAVE to take).
- Comprehensive healthcare coverage we really invest in401k with match.
- Free Tovala Smart Oven and discounted Tovala meals.
- Paid holidays and our winter holiday office shutdown where the offices and facilities close for a week around Christmas and New Years.
- Various other perks - recognition programs, continued learning stipend, casual dress code, in-office coffee, snacks and drinks, and Tovala swag.
Compensation & Benefits:
Tovala uses market data, geography, and placement of internal employees to determine salary. Additionally, we offer all employees real ownership in the company in the form of a competitive equity package.
- Flexible paid time off (with a minimum of 15 days off you are highly encouraged to take)
- Comprehensive healthcare coverage we really invest in
- 401k with match
- Free Tovala Smart Oven and discounted Tovala meals
- Paid holidays and our winter holiday office shutdown where the offices and facilities close for a week around Christmas and New Years
- Various other perks - recognition programs, continued learning stipend, casual dress code, in-office coffee, snacks and drinks, and Tovala swag
Our Values
> Put the Team First: We put what is best for the broader team ahead of what is best for ourselves or our immediate department.
> Get S#!t Done (Well): We celebrate people at all levels for delivering high impact work that expands the bounds of what we’re able to do.
> Connect the Dots: We engage with curiosity to learn how our work impacts others so that we can problem-solve holistically and work collaboratively.
> Be Direct: We share our perspective openly and directly, even when it feels difficult to do so.
> Embrace the Obstacles: We rise to meet challenges with a sense of urgency, resolve, and optimism.
> Champion the Customer: We consider and prioritize our customer in all of our decisions
At Tovala we‘re committed to building a workplace that represents a variety of backgrounds, skills, and perspectives and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Everyone is welcome here!
Skills
As published by lever · 5 questions · 1 written answer
Basics
Resume/CV, Full name, Email, Phone, Current location, Current company, LinkedIn URL, GitHub URL, Portfolio URL, Other website, I identify my ethnicity asSelect all that apply, What gender do you identify as?
Pick from a list (4)
- We are open to sponsorship - Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for work authorization? optional
- The role requires working onsite Monday–Friday in West Valley, UT. Are you able to commit to a full-time onsite schedule? optional
- Our production floor stays at 39 °F (4 °C) to keep ingredients fresh & safe. Team members spend most of their shift on their feet (up to 8 hours). Are you comfortable standing for extended periods in a 39 °F environment? optional
- Are you bilingual (English / Spanish)? optional
Written answers (1)
- We want to make sure your experience is inclusive! Please feel free to share with our teams your pronouns and how to best pronounce your name. optional