Director of Food Safety
On-siteLehi, Utah, United States
Job Summary
Own the multi-year food safety strategy and execution across 80+ restaurants in eight states, scaling operations while maintaining regulatory compliance with the FDA Food Code. Build, lead, and develop the food safety function, including third-party audit programs, HACCP plans, and supplier standards. Conduct in-restaurant audits, manage crisis response for foodborne illness allegations, and maintain relationships with health departments. Develop training content for managers and staff, oversee ServSafe certification rosters, and implement digital safety technologies. Present monthly KPIs and enterprise risk to executive leadership and the board. Based in Lehi, UT with 40-50% multi-state travel.
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years of progressive food safety leadership experience in a multi-unit restaurant, foodservice, or food manufacturing environment
- multi-state, high-growth experience
- 3+ years building, leading, and developing direct reports or field teams
- ServSafe Manager Certification
- Certified Professional in Food Safety (CP-FS) or Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS)
- Expert knowledge of the FDA Food Code, HACCP principles, and state-level regulatory variation
- Demonstrated experience leading crisis response for foodborne illness events, supplier recalls, or regulatory actions
- Demonstrated experience managing food safety across geographically distributed operations
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to coach in-restaurant and present to executive leadership and the board
- Ability to travel 40-50%, including overnight and multi-day trips across our multi-state footprint
- Valid driver's license and reliable transportation
- Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Public Health, Microbiology, or a related field
Desired Qualifications
- Experience building or scaling a food safety function in a high-growth, multi-state restaurant environment
- Experience with digital food safety platforms (digital line checks, remote temperature monitoring, audit and incident management systems)
- Experience in audit score performance and trend analysis by store, district, and region
- Experience managing foodborne illness reports and time-to-resolution
- Experience with supplier quality programs and certifications (SQF, BRC, PCQI)
- Prior experience opening restaurants in new states and navigating local regulatory environments
- Bilingual English/Spanish
- advanced degree
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