Who We Are
Founded in 2013, Thistle is a food-tech startup empowering our customers to get and stay healthy while improving the sustainability of our food system. We make delicious, ready-to-eat plant-forward meals, snacks, and juices delivered right to our customers’ doorsteps. Our convenient subscription service empowers customers to improve their personal and planetary health by incorporating more plants into their diet.
About The Role
The Senior Director of Food Safety & Quality Assurance will lead Thistle's enterprise-wide food safety and quality strategy, ensuring the highest standards of safety, compliance, and quality across our rapidly scaling direct-to-consumer (DTC)ready-to-eat food operations. As we expand our geographic footprint and production capacity, this role is critical to maintaining our reputation for delivering safe, high-quality plant-based meals.
Reporting to the Chief Supply Chain Officer, you'll drive the strategic vision for food safety culture, regulatory compliance, and quality excellence across all manufacturing facilities, supplier networks, and co-packer relationships. You'll build and lead a world-class FSQA organization that supports Thistle's mission of making plant-based eating accessible while protecting consumer health and maintaining customer trust.
This position requires an experienced food safety leader who can balance strategic oversight with hands-on expertise, ensuring our operations meet rigorous standards for fresh, minimally processed foods in a subscription-based delivery model.
How You’ll Make a Difference
Strategic Food Safety Leadership
Develop and execute a comprehensive enterprise-wide food safety and quality strategy aligned with business objectives
Establish a food safety culture framework across all organizational levels
Lead crisis management and food safety incident response
Drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance food safety performance while supporting operational efficiency
Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management
Ensure compliance with FDA, USDA, state, and local regulatory bodies
Maintain current knowledge of evolving regulations and proactively adapt programs
Lead interactions with regulatory agencies, third-party auditors, and industry organizations
Develop comprehensive risk assessment and management programs for food safety hazards
Quality Management Systems
Design and implement quality management systems across all facilities
Oversee industry-related certification programs and customer-required standards
Establish quality metrics, KPIs, and performance monitoring systems
Lead root cause analysis and corrective action programs for QA issues
Fresh Food Manufacturing Excellence
Develop specialized programs for ready-to-eat food safety, including cold chain management, pathogen control, and shelf-life optimization
Implement allergen management programs for plant-based foods with cross-contact considerations
Oversee environmental monitoring programs and facility design standards
Drive sanitation and hygiene programs for DTC food delivery
Supplier & Co-Packer Management
Establish strategic supplier qualification, verification, and monitoring programs
Lead co-packer approval and oversight processes aligned with Thistle's standards
Develop supplier partnerships supporting sustainable sourcing and organic certification
Implement supply chain transparency and traceability systems
Organizational Leadership & Development
Build, lead, and develop high-performing FSQA teams across multiple facilities
Collaborate with cross-functional leaders in Operations, Supply Chain, Product Development, and Engineering
Provide food safety expertise for new product development and market expansion