Dreaming big is in our DNA. It’s who we are as a company. It’s our culture. It’s our heritage. And more than ever, it’s our future. A future where we’re always looking forward. Always serving up new ways to meet life’s moments. A future where we keep dreaming bigger. We look for people with passion, talent, and curiosity, and provide them with the teammates, resources and opportunities to unleash their full potential. The power we create together – when we combine your strengths with ours – is unstoppable. Are you ready to join a team that dreams as big as you do?

SALARY: $110,000 - 117,900 DOE, plus bonus potential

LOCATION: San Diego, CA (Miramar Area)

COMPANY: At Cutwater Spirits, we are explorers, charting the course with adventure in mind. We meticulously distill our award-winning portfolio of spirits including whiskeys, vodka, gin, rums, tequilas and liqueurs and incorporate them into our canned lineup. We believe our people are our greatest asset, and we’re looking for passionate people like you to join our journey of working hard while having fun. Are you ready to join our dauntless crew here in San Diego and beyond?

ROLE SUMMARY: The Quality Manager owns quality, sensory, and manufacturing food safety for all Cutwater Spirits brands. The Quality Manager develops and implements quality management tools to ensure quality of incoming raw materials, quality of in-process checks and analysis, and safe/quality release of finished goods to the wholesalers and consumers. They ensure compliance with applicable laws, standards, and requirements (labeling, internal and external audits). This position works under the general direction of the Senior Director of Operations. This position is vital for the continued growth and success of Cutwater Spirits.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Hire, train, manage and lead a high performing team, with an emphasis on performance,
• productivity and teamwork.
• Sensory program design and execution.
• Pre-shipment Finished Good release.
• PRP audits and action planning. Closes actions from Internal QA audit (self and by delegation through broader distillery team).
• Tracks, reports, and develops action plans for key quality performance indicators (KPIs).
• Leads up consumer complaint reporting, investigation, action planning, and feedback to the consumer/customer.
• Contributes to the development of the 1- and 3-year Quality strategy and goals that supports the Cutwater’s vision and strategy.
• Utilizes OSpirits to manager quality checks and programs, when possible.
• Serves as OSpirits Quality Subject Matter Expert (SME).
• Develops and improves master sanitation programs with distillery departments.
• Evaluates value-adding QA programs and non-value adding programs to make sure we are applying resources as needed.
• Manages mock recalls/traceability exercises; reviews results with team an addresses plans to continuously improve material traceability.
• Manages QA expenses and budget. Reviews and plans quality-related capital expenditures.
• Active in the approval/stage-gate process of new products.
• Own shelf life table and ongoing shelf-life analysis/extensions of all Cutwater brands.
• Responsible for Quality team engagement.
• Responsible for team scheduling to ensure production capacity is met while managing labor costs.
• Lead a team that delivers quality work through strong collaboration and innovative problem-solving approaches through direction, coaching, counseling, and training and development.
• Schedule team building functions, recognize individual and team achievements, encourage an environment of working hard while having fun.
• Lead department initiatives/projects including short- and longer-term training plans to close team gaps.
• Ensure compliance with Food Safety Systems, Good Manufacturing Practices, all Safety workplace standards, Standard Operating Procedures, and environmental standards. HACCP program leader.
• Embraces and fulfills the core values and culture of Cutwater Spirits.
• Implement and maintain internal management system, Voyager Plant Optimization (VPO), per business requirements, and support execution of all VPO pillars.
• Utilize VPO tools to achieve critical metric targets and close gaps in performance (root cause analysis, Gap Analysis, MCRS meeting schedules and action logs, 5-Why's, PDCA and SDCA cycles, etc.).
• Actively contribute the overall success of the VPO system, and promote Autonomous Teams program advancement.
• Other duties as assigned.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor of Science Degree in Microbiology, Chemistry or equivalent.
• 4+ years food/beverage/pharmaceutical manufacturing experience.
• 3+ years of leadership experience in role(s) of increasing responsibility.
• Prior experience in product development and innovation.
• Strong reputation and references within alcoholic beverage community (preferred).

BENEFITS:

• Health benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Wellness and Tax-Advantaged Savings and Spending Accounts.
• Life Insurance and Disability Income Protection.
• Generous Parental Leave and FMLA policies.
• 401(k) Retirement Savings options with a company matching contribution.
• Chance to work in a fast-paced environment among a company of owners.
• Great Perks including product samples!