Austin, Texas
Posted: 25-Jun-26
Location: Austin, Texas
Type: Full Time
Categories:
Preferred Education:
Additional Information:
Internal Number: 10418023
Reporting to the Executive Leader of Product Safety Assurance (PSA), this person will help lead the PSA Team under WFM Ops and Food Safety (FS) supporting World Wide Grocery Stores (WWGS) Private Brands (PB) business. This leader will drive product safety, quality, and regulatory compliance, continuous improvement, and efficiency optimization in support of WWGS PB North America categories and products. They will provide strategic direction and oversight to Product Safety Assurance Analysts across multiple product categories. Will partner with cross-functional teams including NA PB Sourcing & Product Development, Supplier Quality Assurance, Legal, and supplier partners to execute product safety and quality programs, ensuring alignment with federal and state regulatory requirements, and WWGS Private Brands quality standards. Accountable for successful commercialization of products through technical specification development, testing protocols, and compliance verification in collaboration with stakeholder teams.
A day in the life
• Lead and execute strategic alignment of product safety and quality initiatives with Annual Planning roadmap for WWGS Private Brands
• Provide leadership and oversight to Product Safety Assurance leaders, and team members
• Lead and advise Product Safety Assurance team activities across multiple product categories, providing technical guidance to ensure products meet WWGS Private Brands quality and regulatory standards
• Oversee and ensure effective system monitoring, team member project workload and capacity management, identification of issues/concerns, root cause identification, and sharing and application of lessons learned
• Serve as primary point of contact for evaluating and resolving complex, sensitive and difficult-to-solve supplier issues regarding product safety
• Collaborate with Leaders of PSA and Principal PSAs on short- and long-term strategies and initiatives including those that drive efficiency and continuous improvement
• Advise and support WWGS Private Brands supply chain and process improvements by collaborating with Category Merchants, Private Brands Leadership, Supplier Quality Assurance, Legal and supplier partners to drive regulatory, safety, and quality standards compliance and product consistency
• Support and advise Product Safety Assurance Analysts to ensure specifications demonstrate full understanding of appropriate chemical, microbiological, physical, and shelf-life test requirements based on supplier data, regulatory requirements, food safety risk, and WWGS Private Brands claim validation requirements
• Oversee development of Product Safety Assurance processes, methods, and technologies
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to problem-solve and troubleshoot issues directly affecting WFM Ops and Food Safety Teams and WWGS Private Brands Teams
• Identify and lead collaborative opportunities with key stakeholder groups across WWGS Private Brands including Supplier Quality Assurance, Quality Standards, Business Process Improvement, and Incident Management
• Represent Product Safety Assurance teams on cross-functional leadership working groups
• May participate as Amazon representative with external and/or Industry organizations to help guide Regulations, Standards, and Policy development
• Foster safety and quality awareness throughout WWGS Private Brands, resulting in safer, higher quality products for the benefit of customers, Team Members, and shareholders
• Collect, interpret and evaluate information and data-driven insights to inform strategic actions and solve problems
• Hire, develop and coach team capabilities, passing knowledge, skills and wisdom onto teams and WWGS Private Brands
• Embody Amazon Leadership Principles, especially Customer Obsession, Ownership, Bias for Action and Deliver Results
• Prioritize team culture, creating a collaborative, empowering, engaging, high performing team culture
• Translate strategic objectives into clear, tangible actions for the team
• Identify risks and threats in current and emerging operational strategies and outcomes
• Lead detailed task/project planning, including cost, schedule, and resource requirements
• Streamline processes, enhance quality and improve overall team efficiency
• Define and communicate standards, policies, and procedures
• Ensure alignment with brand tenets and guardrails
Basic Qualifications
- 5+ years of leadership role experience
- Experience managing and developing high performance teams
- Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry or related field
- 6 to 10+ years' relevant experience OR equivalent combination of education and relevant experience
- HACCP Certification
- PCQI Certification
- Experience in Food Safety, Quality Assurance and Manufacturing required
- Knowledge of food labeling and FDA/USDA regulations
- Experience managing multiple projects and priorities across teams in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
- Familiarity with retailer web-based specification systems
- Excellent communication, organizational and problem-solving skills
- Ability to physically perform general office requirements
- Travel including overnight trips may be required, up to 25%
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's degree or PhD in Food Science, Microbiology, Chemistry or related field
- Experience in grocery or retail environment strongly preferred
- Experience in building and nurturing brands; private brand management a plus
- Hands-on experience with product development, commercialization, and PLM specification systems