Quality Manager

Job Title: Quality Manager

Job Description

The Quality Manager leads Quality Assurance, Documentation, and Regulatory teams in the U.S. and China, managing and enhancing the company's Quality Management System while ensuring compliance with relevant food and ingredient regulations. This role oversees supplier qualification, FSVP compliance, audits, CAPAs, and risk assessments, and serves as the primary regulatory resource for internal stakeholders and external partners. The Quality Manager drives customer quality support, partners closely with cross-functional teams, and champions continuous improvement and KPI-driven quality initiatives within a growing ingredient manufacturing environment with a modern office and strong culture.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage Quality Assurance, Documentation, and Regulatory teams in both the U.S. and China, providing clear direction, coaching, and performance management.
• Manage, maintain, and continuously improve the company's Quality Management System (QMS), ensuring it remains effective, compliant, and aligned with business needs.
• Oversee supplier qualification processes, including evaluation, approval, and ongoing monitoring of suppliers to meet quality and regulatory standards.
• Ensure compliance with FSVP and other applicable regulatory requirements, implementing appropriate controls and documentation.
• Plan, coordinate, and manage internal and external audits, including customer audits, regulatory inspections, and third-party assessments.
• Lead the development, implementation, and follow-up of Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPAs), ensuring timely resolution of quality and compliance issues.
• Conduct and oversee risk assessments related to products, processes, suppliers, and regulatory changes, and implement mitigation strategies.
• Lead customer quality support activities, including responding to questionnaires, managing specifications, providing regulatory documentation, and investigating customer complaints.
• Serve as the primary regulatory resource for the organization, interpreting regulations, advising internal teams, and communicating with external regulatory and industry contacts.
• Partner cross-functionally with Operations, Procurement, Sales, Customer Service, and Executive Leadership to align quality and regulatory strategies with business objectives.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives across quality and regulatory functions, using KPIs and data to identify trends, improve processes, and enhance product and service quality.
• Establish, monitor, and report on key quality and regulatory performance indicators, providing insights and recommendations to leadership.
• Support the development and maintenance of quality control procedures and documentation in accordance with FDA, FSMA, FSVP, GMPs, and HACCP requirements.
• Ensure that regulatory and quality documentation is accurate, complete, and readily accessible for internal use, audits, and customer requests.
• Foster a culture of quality, compliance, and accountability across the organization through training, communication, and collaboration.

Essential Skills

• Proven expertise in quality assurance within food, dietary supplements, or ingredient manufacturing or distribution.
• Strong regulatory affairs experience related to food, dietary supplements, or ingredient manufacturing or distribution.
• In-depth knowledge of FDA regulations, FSMA, FSVP, GMPs, and HACCP principles and their practical application in a manufacturing and distribution environment.
• Demonstrated experience managing and developing a Quality Management System (QMS), including implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement.
• Experience managing customer audits, including preparation, on-site support, and follow-up actions.
• At least 5 years of experience in Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs within the relevant industries.
• At least 2 years of experience leading Quality or Regulatory teams, including direct people management.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to guide, motivate, and develop team members across multiple locations.
• Excellent audit and quality control skills, including planning, execution, and reporting.
• Ability to serve as a knowledgeable regulatory resource and effectively communicate complex regulatory information to diverse audiences.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills with a focus on continuous improvement and KPI-driven decision-making.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Biology, Regulatory Affairs, or another scientific discipline.
• Experience working in ingredient manufacturing environments or similar technical settings.
• Experience in documentation management and regulatory support for customers and internal teams.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with Operations, Procurement, Sales, Customer Service, and Executive Leadership.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for interacting with internal stakeholders, customers, and regulatory bodies.
• Comfort working across time zones and cultures, particularly with teams based in China.
• Demonstrated ability to drive continuous improvement initiatives and manage quality-related KPIs.

Work Environment

This role operates within a growing ingredient manufacturing organization that offers a modern office setting and a positive, collaborative culture. The Quality Manager oversees a small, distributed team of approximately five individuals, including regulatory and QA staff in the U.S. and team members in China. Typical working hours are around 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the need for occasional flexibility to accommodate communication and coordination with colleagues in China across different time zones. The environment is professional and quality-focused, with regular interaction across operations, procurement, sales, customer service, and leadership, and the use of standard quality and regulatory tools and documentation systems.

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Irvine, CA.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $100000.00 - $120000.00/yr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Standard Benefits: 401K match up to 4%, Health, Dental, Vision, and various optional insurance coverage plans and annual bonus incentive based on organizational and individual performances.

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Irvine,CA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Sep 9, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.