QUALITY ASSURANCE SPECIALIST (FRESH PRODUCE)Reports To: FSQA ManagerLos Angeles, CA / Remote (West Coast)The Fresh Produce Quality Assurance Specialist is responsible for providing quality and food safety leadership and instruction to all Sweetgreen fruit and vegetable growers and packers. The position is pivotal to sweetgreen’s mission of allowing us to safely connect people to real food. This position will help make an impact by providing food safety and quality guidance to our small and mid-size growers. This will ensure our suppliers are always meeting regulatory and sweetgreen minimum standards.Education and Experience Requirements* Bachelor’s of Science Degree; preference will be given to candidates with degrees in Food Science, Microbiology, Biological Science, or related discipline.* Minimum of 3 years of experience in supplier quality assurance and food safety.* Quality assurance and food safety experience with fruit and vegetable growers and packers is a must.Job Requirements* In depth knowledge of the FDA Produce Safety Rule, USDA GAP standards, GFSI, HACCP, SOP’s, and government/industry food safety and quality regulations, codes, and standards.* Knowledge and understanding of food safety principles, root cause analysis strategies, and continuous process improvement, specifically in the produce industry.* Knowledge and understanding of food safety hazards and quality defects associated with agricultural commodity farming and packing.* Proven leader with experience influencing across an organization, gains satisfaction when sharing knowledge, coaching, developing, motivating.* Strong computer skills with experience in FoodLogiQ or comparable systems.* Excellent communicator.* Team player who demonstrates initiative and integrity while being able to work with little supervision.* Ability to travel (max 40% of time).* Location: Remote (West Coast)Responsibilities* Ensure all sweetgreen fresh produce suppliers meet our minimum food safety and quality requirements.* Provide technical guidance and support to all growers and packers in implementing sweetgreen’s QA strategy.* Identify and drive continuous improvement opportunities in food safety and quality across the fresh produce supply chain, especially with our small and mid-sized growers.* Facilitate training opportunities to ensure sweetgreen’s produce vendors are meeting minimum requirements.* Help provide guidance to assess, control and resolve food safety risks in the supply chain in an effective and timely manner.* Work cross-functionally to implement and maintain food safety and quality initiatives along the supply chain* Work collaboratively with the value chain team to deliver the quality assurance initiatives and goals relating to our fresh produce growers and packers.* Assist with on-boarding and approval of new fresh produce suppliers with respect to food safety, quality attributes and product consistency.* Manage existing produce supplier’s quality assurance submissions to ensure all necessary documentation is up to date.* Thoroughly review all new and existing vendor documentation to identify areas of concern or non-conformity and develop gap analysis and corrective actions to resolve.* Stay informed and report on industry changes* Develop and maintain business relationships with appropriate regulatory agencies and act as point of contact for all food safety matters.* Report on metrics to measure quality assurance performance.* Maintain open communication with all departments to provide guidance on quality assurance programs and strategy.* Maintain knowledge of food safety and quality, regulatory requirements including, but not limited to the FDA Produce Rule, USDA GAP, HACCP, FSMA, GMP, food products, packaging and distribution.What you’ll get* Three different medical plans to suit your and your family’s needs* Dental and Vision insurance* Flexible PTO plan* 401k; company match of 50% up to 3% of employee contribution* 5 months paid family leave; we believe in fully supporting new parents* Employee HSA and FSA* Complimentary greens* An opportunity to make a real impact on the people around you, both by growing them and by connecting them to real food* To live the sweetlife and celebrate your passion + purpose* A collaborative team of people who live our core values and have your back* A clear career path with opportunities for development, both personally and professionally* Free sweetgreen swagCome join the sweetlife!About sweetgreensweetgreen is on a mission to build healthier communities by connecting people to real food. We passionately believe that real food should be convenient and accessible to everyone. Every day in each sweetgreen, our 3,500 team members make food from scratch, using fresh ingredients and produce delivered that morning. And in our local communities, we’re committed to leaving people better than we found them. We’re in the business of feeding people, and we’re out to change what that means.sweetgreen provides equal opportunities for everyone that works for us and everyone that applies to join our team, without regard to sex or gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, any service, past, present, or future, in the uniformed services of the United States (military or veteran status), or any other consideration protected by federal, state, or local law.sweetgreen participates in the federal government’s E-Verify program to determine employment eligibility. To learn more about the E-Verify program, please click here.