Vice President of Food Safety & Quality Assurance

About the Role

The Vice President of Food Safety & Quality Assurance (VP of FSQA) is a mission-critical executive who defines, owns, and drives the development of CookUnity’s end-to-end food safety and quality strategy. Reporting to the CEO, you’ll be responsible for ensuring our FSQA practices are not only world-class and regulation-ready, but fully aligned with CookUnity’s customer promise, brand integrity, and aggressive growth trajectory.

As the senior-most food safety leader, you will lead a distributed FSQA team across all markets and production processes. Your mandate: build scalable, future-ready systems that embed food safety and quality into every link of our value chain—from ingredient sourcing and culinary creation to fulfillment and last-mile delivery.

This role is ideal for a strategic, visionary leader who combines deep technical and regulatory expertise with a pragmatic, business-first mindset. You will be a key voice at the executive table, responsible for mitigating our biggest risk area—food safety—while shaping the systems and culture that will power the next decade of growth.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Organizational Design

• Develop and execute a global FSQA strategy aligned with CookUnity’s scale, complexity, and mission to deliver safe, chef-crafted meals at scale.
• Build and evolve a best-in-class FSQA team and org structure; attract, develop, and retain top talent across geographies and disciplines.
• Translate company-wide goals into scalable systems, priorities, and frameworks that empower FSQA Directors and site leaders to execute with clarity and urgency.
• Act as a trusted partner and executive liaison to Culinary, Operations, Supply Chain, Sustainability, and Tech to integrate quality and safety into core business rhythms.

Food Safety, Compliance & Risk Management

• Own CookUnity’s regulatory compliance strategy, ensuring full readiness across FSMA, HACCP, GFSI (SQF preferred), FDA, USDA (as applicable), and international standards. 
• Lead enterprise risk assessments and mitigation strategies related to food safety; design and oversee robust crisis management and recall response systems.
• Define and govern all key policies and prerequisite programs—including sanitation, allergen management, traceability, and supplier quality—ensuring consistent, repeatable execution at scale.

Culture, Transformation & Continuous Improvement

• Champion a proactive, science-based food safety culture driven by behavior change, lean principles, and continuous improvement.
• Embed FSQA ownership into every level of the company—from the kitchen floor to the C-suite—through training, systems, and storytelling.
• Lead root cause analysis (RCA), CAPA, and corrective systems that resolve issues systemically and permanently.

Technology, Innovation & Data Systems

• Lead the digital transformation of FSQA via implementation of modern traceability platforms, predictive analytics, and real-time monitoring systems.
• Leverage data trends and KPIs to improve product quality, reduce food waste, and anticipate emerging risks.
• Stay ahead of the curve on food tech innovation, collaborating with R&D, automation teams, and external partners to future-proof safety systems.

Audits, Reporting & Governance

• Own internal and third-party audit strategy across all sites, ensuring continuous audit readiness and the highest industry certifications.
• Build and govern centralized FSQA documentation and data reporting systems, enabling transparency, traceability, and real-time insight.
• Deliver regular executive-level reporting on food safety risk, systemic improvements, and strategic FSQA opportunities.

What We’re Looking For

Experience

• 15–20+ years of progressive FSQA experience, with 5+ years leading multi-site or distributed teams at the VP or equivalent level.
• Track record of designing and scaling FSQA programs in fast-growth, high-complexity environments (RTE, fresh food, CPG, or platform-based models preferred).
• Deep expertise in U.S. food safety regulations (FSMA, HACCP, GFSI, FDA, PCQI), with exposure to international frameworks (Codex, ISO) a plus.
• Demonstrated success in building high-performing teams and leading cultural transformation around quality and safety.

Skills & Competencies

• Strategic and systems thinker with an eye for execution and risk mitigation.
• Change agent capable of leading through ambiguity and growth.
• Tech-savvy, data-literate, and comfortable evaluating FSQA technology platforms.
• Executive presence with outstanding communication skills; able to influence across all levels, from frontline operators to board members.
• High integrity and unrelenting commitment to food safety, product quality, and customer trust.

Why Join Us

CookUnity is redefining how people experience food, bridging world-class chefs with millions of households. As the fastest food tech company in the US growing 70% YoY, food safety isn’t just an operational function—it’s a brand promise. This is your chance to own that promise and help shape the future of a category-defining platform.