Director, Co-Manufacturing Quality

BUILT ON FLAVOR. FUELED BY PEOPLE.

What’s it like to work at Kinder’s? Well, there’s a lot of snacking and geeking out over what we all cooked over the weekend. Beyond that, there’s also plenty of hard work. Because we don’t just like flavor, we’re obsessed with it.

With over 100 products sold nationwide, we’re now a top-five brand in multiple flavor categories at Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods, and more. We’re 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 you’re looking for a place where you can see the real impact of your work... this is it! Every day, you’ll be part of a journey to add flavor to millions of meals and lives.

About the Role:

Kinder’s is seeking an experienced Director of Co-Manufacturing Quality who is passionate about being part of a team of hard-working people focused on bringing the future of flavor to consumers everywhere.

The Director, Co-Manufacturing Quality is a strategic quality leader responsible for establishing and executing the Quality strategy across the company’s co-manufacturing network. This role owns the governance, performance, food safety, quality, compliance, and continuous improvement programs that ensure co-manufactured products consistently meet company, regulatory, customer, and consumer expectations. It will serve as the senior quality leader and subject matter expert for the co-manufacturing network, partnering closely with Co-Manufacturing, Supply Chain, R&D/Product Development, Regulatory, Commercialization, and Corporate Quality to enable business growth while protecting consumers and the brand.

This leader will build scalable systems, establish clear accountability with external manufacturing partners, proactively identify and mitigate quality and food safety risks, and develop a high-performing Co-Manufacturing Quality organization. The role requires strong business acumen and the ability to translate technical quality risks into clear business decisions for senior leadership.

Key Responsibilities Include:

Co-Manufacturing Quality Strategy & Governance

Develop and execute the long-term Co-Manufacturing Quality strategy in alignment with company growth and business objectives.

Establish the Quality governance model, standards, policies, and accountability framework for all co-manufacturing partners.

Define risk-based Quality requirements based on product category, process complexity, facility capability, volume, consumer risk, and business importance.

Establish and maintain a standardized operating model for managing Quality across the co-manufacturing network.

Develop Quality KPIs, scorecards, dashboards, and performance expectations for co-manufacturing partners.

Establish regular business reviews with strategic partners to evaluate Quality performance, risks, trends, and improvement opportunities.

Provide senior leadership with clear visibility into network-level Quality performance and emerging risks.

Identify opportunities to leverage technology, data, and QMS capabilities to improve visibility, efficiency, and consistency.

Co-Manufacturer Qualification, Audit & Risk Management

Own the Quality component of new co-manufacturer qualification and selection.

Lead Quality due diligence for new partners, product transfers, acquisitions, capacity expansions, and significant process changes.

Develop and maintain a risk-based co-manufacturer audit strategy.

Oversee audits, assessments, findings, corrective actions, and verification of sustainable resolution.

Evaluate facility food safety and Quality systems, technical capabilities, process controls, sanitation, allergen management, traceability, environmental monitoring, specifications, and regulatory compliance as applicable.

Establish risk mitigation plans for high-risk partners and ensure timely escalation and resolution.

Partner with Operations, Procurement, Supply Chain, and R&D to determine whether a manufacturing partner is capable of meeting company standards and business requirements.

Quality Performance & Continuous Improvement

Establish network-wide programs to improve product consistency, reduce defects, complaints, deviations, and cost of poor quality.

Lead structured root cause analysis and CAPA processes for significant and systemic issues.

Identify recurring trends across co-manufacturers and drive systemic corrective action rather than site-specific fixes.

Partner with co-manufacturers to establish measurable improvement plans and timelines.

Monitor quality performance through KPIs, trend analysis, statistical tools, and partner scorecards.

Identify opportunities to improve process capability, testing programs, specifications, manufacturing controls, and product consistency.

Share best practices across the co-manufacturing network.

Establish escalation protocols for significant quality and food safety events.

Food Safety, Regulatory & Compliance

Provide Quality leadership and oversight of food safety and regulatory compliance across the co-manufacturing network.

Ensure manufacturing partners meet applicable FDA, USDA, FSMA, HACCP, GMP, and GFSI certification requirements, as applicable to the products and facilities.

Monitor regulatory and industry developments and assess potential impact to the co-manufacturing network.

Partner with Corporate Quality and Regulatory teams on significant compliance matters, regulatory inquiries, and emerging risks.

Ensure appropriate food safety and quality documentation, specifications, testing programs, and records are maintained.

Support company recall readiness and crisis management activities involving co-manufactured products.

Ensure appropriate escalation and communication of material food safety and Quality risks to senior leadership.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Commercialization

Serve as the senior Quality partner to Co-Manufacturing, Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement, R&D, Commercialization, Regulatory, and Corporate Quality.

Provide Quality leadership throughout new product development, commercialization, scale-up, product transfers, and manufacturing changes.

Partner with R&D and Commercialization to ensure products are technically and commercially manufacturable at scale.

Establish Quality requirements and risk assessments for new products and manufacturing processes.

Facilitate fact-based decision making when balancing Quality, Food Safety, cost, supply, speed-to-market, and commercial objectives.

Translate technical risks into clear business implications and recommendations for senior leadership.

Serve as a trusted advisor to the business on external manufacturing Quality risks and opportunities.

People Leadership & Organizational Capability

Lead, coach, and develop the Co-Manufacturing Quality organization.

Establish organizational structure, roles, responsibilities, and capabilities required to support a growing co-manufacturing network.

Set clear performance expectations and develop individual and team development plans.

Build technical and leadership capability within the team.

Establish consistent ways of working, decision rights, escalation pathways, and accountability.

Develop succession plans and organizational capability to support future growth.

Foster a culture of ownership, proactive risk management, continuous improvement, and strong partnership with external manufacturers.

Skills + Experience:

Bachelor's Degree required. Strong preference for degree in food science, engineering, or other relevant domain area

10+ years relevant work experience in QA/QC/FS in