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Salary: USD 95,000 - 110,000 / annual
UPSIDE Foods is the world's leading cultivated meat company, having achieved FDA and USDA approval and commercialization of cultivated meat in the United States. The company has raised over $600 million from investors including Cargill, SoftBank, Temasek, Tyson, and Whole Foods.
The Quality Engineer plays a key role in defining, establishing, and enforcing the food safety and quality systems that will shape how cultivated meat is produced, processed, and packaged as the company scales. You will ensure the right quality and food safety methods are built into plant goals across the FSQA lab, plant testing, and HACCP and Preventive Controls monitoring, taking both a long- and short-term view as products, processes, and company priorities develop.
Key responsibilities include:
**Food Safety and Quality Systems:** Implement and execute the Food Safety & Quality Management System spanning both FDA and USDA operations. Act as the subject matter expert for food safety and quality, addressing day-to-day plant issues and supporting daily USDA inspections. Own EMP testing, pre-op startup, in-process sampling and testing, internal audits, GMP compliance, and final release processes.
**Lab, Testing, and Compliance Programs:** Partner with R&D and Regulatory on analytical oversight of testing, FSQA-owned programs, and HACCP plans. Support third-party certifications (kosher, organic, halal), label applications, and compliance with customer quality and food safety programs. Guide FSQA team members toward results serving internal and external customers.
**Supplier and Regulatory Support:** Support the supplier quality program including document review, auditing, and trials. Support FDA and USDA relationships including inspections, post-market compliance plans, adverse event reporting, and label approval. Help develop and execute regulatory strategy for the plant's food safety and quality programs.
You will drive continuous improvement in food safety, quality, regulatory, sanitation, and corporate standards, and participate in the innovation process to ensure quality and food safety risk analysis is complete and compliance documentation is validated. Much of what you build will set precedent for scaled cultivated meat production.
**Requirements:**
*Required:*
- 5+ years of experience in food manufacturing
- Experience managing food safety, quality systems, and technical services functions, with strong people skills
- Ability to set clear, challenging performance expectations for analytical testing, microbiological performance, and FSMA, HACCP, and HARPC programs
- Experience developing or implementing GFSI programs, including lab validation, supplier management, sanitation and pre-op, internal and external auditing, CAPA and root cause analysis, document control, crisis management, customer complaints, environmental monitoring, food defense, food fraud, and allergen management
- Working knowledge of continuous improvement and ability to collaborate effectively with leadership at suppliers and customers
- Deeply technical background with ability to translate evidence into action
- Collaborative nature; work well independently and with others; help build a healthy team environment
*Preferred:*
- PCQI certification
