Plant QA Head I 12+ Years I FMCG/Manufacturing/Pharma I Noida

About MetaMorph:

MetaMorph partners with organizations to scale and innovate by putting people at the center of their strategy. With experience across 220+ organizations, we help align talent, enhance capabilities, and build strong employer brands through data-driven insights and end-to-end support.

About our Client:

premier market - ethnic foods and FMCG company

Role Overview

We are looking for a Plant QA Head to independently own product quality, food safety, regulatory compliance and administration for the manufacturing facility. The role requires strong experience in food manufacturing, along with hands-on exposure to international exports and export-market regulations .

Key Responsibilities

• Own quality, food safety and regulatory compliance across raw materials, packaging materials, production processes and finished products.
• Approve or reject raw materials, packaging materials and finished products based on defined quality and safety standards.
• Establish and maintain HACCP, GMP and food-safety systems across the plant.
• Ensure compliance with FSSAI and applicable international food-safety and export regulations .
• Own quality and regulatory requirements for international exports , with strong understanding of US FDA and European market requirements .
• Lead laboratory testing, sampling and product-release processes to ensure timely and compliant batch release.
• Investigate customer complaints, quality deviations and food-safety issues , and drive effective resolution.
• Lead root-cause analysis (RCA), CAPA and recall-readiness initiatives.
• Prepare for and manage internal, supplier and external quality and food-safety audits , including closure of audit observations.
• Manage quality-related documentation, compliance and administrative processes across the plant.
• Train factory teams on quality, hygiene and food-safety requirements and strengthen quality culture across the plant.
• Partner closely with Production and other plant functions to identify and resolve quality risks.
• Exercise independent quality authority to hold products, reject materials, block dispatch or recommend stopping production where product safety or regulatory compliance is at risk.

Ideal Candidate

• 12-15 years of experience in Quality, Food Safety and Regulatory functions, preferably in the FMCG/Manufacturing/Pharma sector.
• Degree in Food Technology, Microbiology, Dairy Technology or a related field .
• Strong understanding of HACCP, ISO 22000/FSSC 22000, GMP and FSSAI .
• International export experience is mandatory , with strong understanding of export regulations and food-safety requirements.
• Hands-on exposure to US FDA and European market requirements is essential.
• Strong experience in laboratory systems, quality audits, product release and customer complaint investigation .
• Experience in frozen food or snacks is preferred.
• 5+ years of administration experience , with strong organisational, documentation, compliance and stakeholder-management capabilities.
• Proven ability to independently challenge Production and make quality-led decisions , including holding products, blocking dispatch and recommending production stoppage where required.
• Strong leadership, analytical, problem-solving and cross-functional stakeholder-management skills.