SQA Manager (External Manufacturing & Warehouse / Logistics), North America

Hello potential future Oatly employee. It’s us, the original oatmilk company that started in Sweden back 25 or so years ago and has since expanded to the U.S. where we’ve continued growing at a rate such that we need more brilliant minds to come work with us to keep the momentum going and the oatmilk flowing. Sustainability, health, and transparency are the core values that guide everything we do. Basically, we exist to help people live a healthier life without recklessly taxing the planet’s resources in the process, and to change the food system for the better. We drive that change through the power of oats and through a significant reduction in cow’s milk consumption. If any of this resonates with you, then maybe you’d like to work for Oatly, too. Now onto the formal stuff. We are looking for a SQA Manager (External Manufacturing & Warehouse/Logistics) North America to join our team. This role will be responsible for ensuring food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance across external manufacturing partners, warehouses, and logistics providers supporting Oatly products in North America. Reporting to the Global Director, SQA, this role manages supplier quality and food safety for processes and products, ensuring products produced at Co Manufacturers are appropriately risk assessed, approved, released, or blocked in accordance with Oatly requirements, GFSI standards (BRCGS/SQF/ISO 22000), and FDA/FSMA Regulatory requirements. Here are the things we want to hire you to do: Supplier Quality Management – external manufacturing partners, warehouse and logistics - Approve and manage external manufacturing, warehouse, and logistics partners from a quality and food safety perspective - Ensure supplier compliance with Oatly standards, GFSI schemes, and regulatory requirements - Approve new production lines (commissioning/validation) at new and existing external manufacturers - Conduct supplier risk assessments, including HACCP and food safety plan reviews - Own supplier audits, deviation management, and CAPA follow-up - Drive supplier performance through KPIs and supplier development plans, in line with the defined global strategy - Support product traceability and planned traceability tests for all Co-Manufacturers (including hybrid partners) Release & Positive Release Management - Provide backup support to the Release Manager to secure the release of externally produced products Incident Management & Issue Resolution - Lead food safety and quality investigations related to external manufacturing, warehouse, and logistics partners - Coordinate root cause analysis and corrective actions with suppliers handled by Oatly - Support deviations, complaints, and regulatory investigations - Provide risk-based recommendations during supply disruptions Cross-Functional Collaboration - Work closely with Q&RA team, Procurement, Operations, Logistics, Innovation, and Site QA teams - Support product development and specification changes with process and product risk input Authority & Decision Rights - Authority to block, release products produced by external Co-manufacturers - Lead approval decisions and recommend supplier disqualification based on quality or food safety risks, in consultation with the Global Director SQA - Escalate and stop material use and product release when food safety risk is identified Here are the things we think you need: - Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry, or related field - HACCP certification and FSMA PCQI certification required - 5+ years of experience in food safety and quality roles within the food industry - Experience with supplier quality management and auditing - Strong knowledge of food safety systems, regulations, and GFSI standards (BRCGS, SQF, FSSC 22000) - Experience working with ERP systems (e.g., D365) and product lifecycle management tools - Strong analytical, structured, and risk-based pr