FSQ Cooler Supervisor

The Raw Product Food Safety & Quality Supervisor is responsible for supporting the execution of food safety and quality programs within Fresh Express cooling facilities, primarily in Salinas, CA and Yuma, AZ. This role provides direct daily oversight of inspection activities, quality staff, and cooler-level food safety and quality processes to help ensure raw and cooled product meets company standards, regulatory requirements, and customer expectations.

This position works closely with the Food Safety & Quality Cooler Manager to support daily operations, drive consistent program execution, and ensure timely communication of raw product quality concerns, food safety issues, and compliance needs. The supervisor plays a key role in monitoring inspection activities, verifying documentation, addressing day-to-day issues, and promoting a strong food safety and quality culture across the facility.

In addition, this role partners with operations and other cross-functional teams to identify issues, communicate opportunities, support corrective actions, and help maintain audit readiness, regulatory compliance, and overall product integrity.

Duties/Responsibilities

Food Safety and Quality Program Support:

• Support implementation and daily execution of facility food safety and quality programs in alignment with Fresh Express requirements, regulatory expectations, and applicable customer standards.
• Assist in maintaining compliance with food safety policies, procedures, work instructions, and program requirements across cooler operations.
• Support environmental monitoring, food safety verification, sanitation-related checks, and required sampling programs.
• Ensure food safety and quality records are completed accurately, on time, and in accordance with company requirements.
• Assist with investigation, documentation, and follow-up of food safety and quality issues, including corrective actions and verification activities.
• Promote food safety accountability and awareness throughout the facility and reinforce compliance with established requirements.
• Support facility audit readiness by maintaining organized documentation, completed records, and timely corrective action follow-up.
• Assist with organic program execution and related documentation, as applicable.

Cooler Quality Operation Oversight:

• Provide direct oversight of daily inspection activities for incoming and cooled product to ensure evaluations are completed accurately, consistently, and on time.
• Supervise quality inspectors and support daily task assignments, shift coverage, and workload balancing.
• Verify inspection findings are documented clearly and communicated in a timely manner to the appropriate teams.
• Monitor raw product condition, cooled product performance, and specification compliance, and escalate concerns as needed.
• Support product hold, segregation, release, and disposition processes in coordination with the manager and operations teams.
• Review inspection data and daily observations to identify quality trends, recurring issues, and opportunities for improvement.
• Communicate raw product quality concerns and emerging risks to the manager and cross-functional partners in a timely manner.
• Support issue resolution by partnering with operations, harvest, sanitation, maintenance, and other departments as needed.

Team Leadership and Execution:

• Provide day-to-day direction, coaching, and support to quality inspectors to ensure consistent execution of responsibilities.
• Train new and existing team members on inspection procedures, food safety requirements, documentation practices, and quality expectations.
• Reinforce accountability, consistency, and attention to detail within the quality team.
• Help ensure staffing coverage is adequate to support business needs, seasonal demands, and operational priorities.
• Serve as a point of contact for day-to-day food safety and quality issues during assigned shifts or coverage periods

Continuous Improvement and Reporting

• Support data review, reporting, and trend analysis related to raw product quality, cooler conditions, inspection findings, and compliance performance.
• Assist in identifying root causes and supporting corrective and preventive actions for recurring issues.
• Help maintain inspection systems, logs, records, and reporting tools used to monitor performance and compliance.
• Support implementation of process improvements that strengthen food safety, quality consistency, and operational execution.

• Additional responsibilities may be assigned based on business needs, including support of trials, R&D initiatives, product development, and operational projects. The role requires flexibility to provide on-site support at company facilities and travel as needed.

Work Environment & Requirements

• This is an on-site role based in a fresh-cut produce cooling facility environment.
• Must be able to work in refrigerated and cold storage conditions for extended periods of time.
• Position requires schedule flexibility to support a seven-day operation, including periodic early morning, evening, weekend, and holiday support as needed.
• Must be available to respond to urgent food safety, quality, and operational issues outside of regular business hours when necessary.
• Seasonal travel between growing regions (Yuma and Salinas) is required, including additional travel as needed to different Fresh Express facilities and growing locations.

Required Education & Experience

• Minimum of 1-2 years of experience in food safety, quality, food production, agriculture, or a related operational environment.
• Working knowledge of GMPs, GAPs, SOPs, SSOPs, HACCP, and GFSI requirements.
• Experience with regulatory compliance, inspections, audits, corrective actions, and food safety documentation.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Word, and Outlook.

Preferred Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Agriculture, or a related field preferred.
• PCQI certification preferred.
• Supervisory experience
• Strong leadership, organizational, and problem-solving skills with a high attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and make sound decisions in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to work effectively across functions.
• Experience leading teams and driving accountability in food safety and quality programs.
• Bilingual in English and Spanish preferred.

Other Information:

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees, and are not to be construed, as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.