Traditional Medicinals

Herbal wellness tea producer prioritizing sustainability

Vice President of Quality

Validation, Compliance & Quality SystemsUpdated on Nov 3

Full-timeSebastopol, CA, USA$230.3k - $302k

About the Job

Requirements

Minimum 15 years of progressive quality leadership experience, including responsibility for quality systems, manufacturing quality, supplier quality, and organizational leadership.
Demonstrated experience leading multi-site quality organizations and/or external manufacturing networks.
Experience leading quality organizations within complex manufacturing and/or supply networks.
Experience developing organizational strategy and leading transformational initiatives.
Experience building and developing high-performing leadership teams.
Proven ability to influence executive and cross-functional stakeholders.
Superior leadership skills to develop talent, design organizational structure, and lead teams through organizational growth and change.
BS or MS degree in pharmacognosy, chemistry, food science, microbiology, engineering, or a comparable scientific discipline.
Excellent working knowledge of current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) for Dietary Supplements and/or Over-the-Counter Drugs (United States).
Experience managing Food Safety Systems (HACCP, ISO 22000, FSSC 22000, BRC, SQF, or related systems).
Experience managing Quality Management System and Laboratory Information Management System systems.
Excellent working knowledge of Lean principles.
Experience presenting quality strategy, risk assessments, and business recommendations to executive leadership.
Ability to balance strategic thinking with operational execution.
Ability to lead organizational change through clear, transparent communication, building trust, and alignment.
Ability to scale quality systems, processes, and operational capabilities to achieve continuous improvement.
Collaborative leadership style with the ability to build effective cross-functional partnerships.
Regular on-site presence at the Sebastopol, California manufacturing facility is required; remote work is not available.
Ability to travel up to 20–30%, including to the Rocky Mount, Virginia manufacturing facility and occasionally to co-manufacturers, suppliers, and other business partners.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute the company's enterprise quality strategy.
Lead quality-related business transformation initiatives, including digital quality systems and data-driven decision making.
Provide executive leadership for supplier quality, manufacturing quality, and laboratory quality capabilities.
Partner with Operations, Supply Chain, Regulatory, Innovation, Research and Development, and Commercial teams to support strategic business objectives.
Build organizational capability through talent development, succession planning, and leadership development.
Advise executive leadership regarding quality-related risks, opportunities, and investments.
Establish enterprise quality metrics, analytics, and reporting capabilities that enable proactive risk management and data-driven decision making.
Foster a culture of quality, accountability, continuous improvement, and consumer focus across the organization.
Balance quality, efficacy, sustainability, and business performance in support of the company's purpose.
Provide executive leadership for supplier quality strategy and governance.
Advance supplier quality capabilities through proactive risk management and performance monitoring.
Ensure effective qualification and oversight of suppliers and raw materials.
Partner with Supply Chain and Procurement to strengthen supply chain resilience and risk mitigation strategies.
Provide quality governance across internal manufacturing sites, co-manufacturers, contract laboratories, and critical service providers.
Ensure consistent quality standards and performance expectations across the manufacturing and testing network.
Provide quality leadership and governance for network expansion initiatives, including new facilities, manufacturing partners, and laboratory capabilities.
Lead the continued evolution and effectiveness of the Quality Management System.
Provide executive oversight of Food Safety, Food Defense, HACCP, Good Manufacturing Practices compliance, audits, inspections, corrective and preventive actions, investigations, and change control systems.
Maintain approval authority for critical quality systems, documentation, specifications, and quality decisions.
Ensure quality systems support business growth, compliance, and operational excellence.
Ensure laboratory capabilities and testing programs support organizational quality, compliance, and business objectives.
Partner with Operations, Engineering, and Facilities to support manufacturing and laboratory design, expansion, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Support product commercialization through quality oversight of testing, specifications, stability programs, and product release requirements.
Develop and manage departmental and capital budgets to ensure effective allocation of resources.
Lead workforce planning and resource allocation to support organizational priorities and future growth.
Drive operational effectiveness and continuous improvement across the quality organization.

Desired Qualifications

An advanced degree.
Lean certification.

About Traditional Medicinals
Traditional Medicinals is the leading medicinal tea company in the U.S., with a 50‑year legacy of advancing the health of people and the planet through the power of plants. Rooted in herbal wisdom and grounded in modern science, we are committed to ethical sourcing, quality, and sustainability. As consumer demand, regulatory requirements, and supply chain complexity continue to evolve, we are focused on building quality capabilities that support consumer trust, operational excellence, and sustainable growth.

Overview of the Role
Reporting to the Chief Science Officer, the Vice President of Quality is a leadership role responsible for shaping, leading, and advancing Traditional Medicinals' quality strategy and capabilities across the enterprise.
This role ensures Quality at TM is:

A strategic enabler of business growth, operational excellence, and supply chain resilience
A trusted steward of consumer safety, product quality, and brand reputation
A scalable and data-driven organization capable of proactively identifying, managing, and mitigating risk
An effective partner to Operations, Supply Chain, Regulatory, Innovation, R&D, and Commercial teams in achieving business objectives

The Vice President of Quality provides leadership across the company's internal and external quality ecosystem, including two manufacturing sites, laboratories, suppliers, co-manufacturers, and distribution partners. The role is accountable for the continued evolution of TM's quality systems, quality culture, supplier quality capabilities, and manufacturing quality governance while ensuring the organization remains positioned to support future growth and increasing operational complexity.

The Vice President of Quality leads the development and execution of enterprise quality strategy, including digital quality transformation, quality metrics and analytics, supply chain quality and resilience, manufacturing and laboratory network excellence, and organizational capability development. They partner closely with cross-functional leaders to ensure quality considerations are integrated into strategic decision-making, operational execution, and long-term business planning.

This role requires both strategic leadership and operational judgment. The Vice President must be capable of establishing long-term direction while ensuring effective execution through a team of quality leaders and subject matter experts. Success requires the ability to balance consumer protection, business risk, operational realities, and growth objectives in a dynamic and highly regulated environment.

Traditional Medicinals operates with focus, purpose, and disciplined resource allocation. This role is best suited for a leader who enjoys building organizational capability, developing high-performing teams, and creating scalable systems that support long-term success. The Vice President must be comfortable influencing across functions, leading through complexity, and making thoughtful decisions that strengthen both business performance and consumer trust.

Scope & Responsibilities
Organizational Scope

Leads the Quality organization through multiple levels of leadership, including Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Supplier Quality, and Sanitation functions.
Accountable for quality governance across manufacturing operations in Sebastopol, CA and Rocky Mount, VA, as well as suppliers, co-manufacturers, laboratories, and distribution partners.

Strategic Leadership Responsibilities

Develop and execute the company's enterprise quality strategy.
Lead quality-related business transformation initiatives, including digital quality systems and data-driven decision making.
Provide executive leadership for supplier quality, manufacturing quality, and laboratory quality capabilities.
Partner with Operations, Supply Chain, Regulatory, Innovation, R&D, and Commercial teams to support strategic business objectives.
Build organizational capability through talent development, succession planning, and leadership development.
Serve as a key advisor to executive leadership regarding quality-related risks, opportunities, and investments.
Establish enterprise quality metrics, analytics, and reporting capabilities that enable proactive risk management and data-driven decision making.
Foster a culture of quality, accountability, continuous improvement, and consumer focus across the organization.
Demonstrates a commitment to Traditional Medicinals purpose through balancing quality, efficacy, sustainability and business performance.

Supply Chain Quality & Resilience

Provide executive leadership for supplier quality strategy and governance.
Advance supplier quality capabilities through proactive risk management and performance monitoring.
Ensure effective qualification and oversight of suppliers and raw materials.
Partner with Supply Chain and Procurement to strengthen supply chain resilience and risk mitigation strategies.

Manufacturing Network Governance

Provide quality governance across internal manufacturing sites, co-manufacturers, contract laboratories, and critical service providers.
Ensure consistent quality standards and performance expectations across the manufacturing and testing network.
Provide quality leadership and governance for network expansion initiatives, including new facilities, manufacturing partners, and laboratory capabilities.

Quality Systems Oversight

Lead the continued evolution and effectiveness of the Quality Management System.
Provide executive oversight of Food Safety, Food Defense, HACCP, GMP compliance, audits, inspections, CAPA, investigations, and change control systems.

Maintain approval authority for critical quality systems, documentation, specifications, and quality decisions.
Ensure quality systems support business growth, compliance, and operational excellence.

Technical & Commercial Support

Ensure laboratory capabilities and testing programs support organizational quality, compliance, and business objectives.
Partner with Operations, Engineering, and Facilities to support manufacturing and laboratory design, expansion, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Support product commercialization through quality oversight of testing, specifications, stability programs, and product release requirements.

Financial & Operational Leadership

Develop and manage departmental and capital budgets to ensure effective allocation of resources.
Lead workforce planning and resource allocation to support organizational priorities and future growth.
Drive operational effectiveness and continuous improvement across the quality organization.

Required Experience, Education and Competencies

Leadership & Strategic Experience

Minimum 15 years of progressive quality leadership experience, including responsibility for quality systems, manufacturing quality, supplier quality, and organizational leadership.
Demonstrated experience leading multi-site quality organizations and/or external manufacturing networks.
Experience leading quality organizations within complex manufacturing and/or supply networks.
Experience developing organizational strategy and leading transformational initiatives.
Experience building and developing high-performing leadership teams.
Proven ability to influence executive and cross-functional stakeholders.
Superior leadership skills to develop talent, design organizational structure, and lead teams through organizational growth and change.

Education & Technical Expertise

BS or MS degree in pharmacognosy, chemistry, food science, microbiology, engineering, or a comparable scientific discipline. Advanced degree preferred.
Excellent working knowledge of current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) for Dietary Supplements and/or Over-the-Counter Drugs (United States) required.
Experience managing Food Safety Systems (HACCP, ISO 22000, FSSC 22000, BRC, SQF, or related systems).
Experience managing QMS and LIMS systems.
Excellent working knowledge of Lean principles; Lean certification preferred.
Experience presenting quality strategy, risk assessments, and business recommendations to executive leadership.

Competencies

Strategic Influence: Ability to balance strategic thinking with operational execution.
Communication/Change Management: Demonstrates the ability to lead organizational change through clear, transparent communication, building trust, and alignment
Operational Excellence & Systems: Ability to scale quality systems, process and operational capabilities resulting in continuous improvement
Enterprise Leadership: Collaborative leadership style with the ability to build effective cross-functional partnerships

Location
This role is based at Traditional Medicinals' manufacturing facility in Sebastopol, California. The Vice President of Quality is expected to maintain a regular on-site presence and is not eligible for remote work. Approximately up to 20-30% travel is required, including travel to the Rocky Mount, VA manufacturing facility, along with occasional travel to co-manufacturers, suppliers, and other business partners.

Compensation range is: $230,300 – $302,000

Compensation is determined based on non-discriminatory, business-related factors, including, but not limited to, training, experience, education, and/or professional certifications, geographic location, and market data.

Traditional Medicinals, Inc. and its subsidiaries are proud equal-opportunity employers. We wholeheartedly embrace authenticity, diversity, and people's differences. We acknowledge, celebrate, and support individuality to the great advantage of our consumers, stakeholders, products, and the planet. We are committed to building an inclusive workplace for all our people.

We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.

About the Company

Traditional Medicinals

Herbal wellness tea producer prioritizing sustainability

Traditional Medicinals produces and sells herbal teas focused on wellness and sustainability. Its product line consists of organic, pure-ingredient teas designed to support health, with distribution through its website and various retail partners. The company operates by sourcing high-quality herbs and producing blends that promote well-being, transparency, and social responsibility. It differentiates itself through its status as a Certified B Corporation and California Certified Green Business, its long-standing herbalist heritage, and its commitment to environmental activism and ingredient purity. The ultimate goal is to provide trusted natural wellness teas while advancing sustainable practices and social causes in the health and wellness space.

Company size: 201-500
Company stage: Growth Equity (Venture Capital)
Total funding: $84.2M
Headquarters: Rohnert Park, CA
Founded: 1974

Recently Posted Jobs

Explore more opportunities at Traditional Medicinals

See more jobs