Quality Assurance Manager

Role Overview:
We are looking for a hands-on Quality Assurance Manager to oversee Quality Control, Quality Assurance, Food Safety, Regulatory Compliance, and Quality Systems across Nova Nova and Skinny Chocolates Contract Manufacturing (CM) network, warehouses, products, packaging, and new product launches.
The role will ensure that products are safe, compliant, consistent, and manufactured as per approved specifications, while working closely with CMs, vendors, laboratories, NPD, Operations, Procurement, Design, Marketing, and Q-commerce teams.
Key Responsibilities
1. Quality Assurance & Quality Control
Conduct regular audits and visits to CM units and warehouses PAN India.
Ensure products meet approved recipes, specifications, quality, hygiene, and food safety standards.
Conduct batch-wise, in-process, finished-product, sensory, packaging, and pre-dispatch checks.
Implement and monitor GMP, GHP, HACCP, hygiene, and food safety systems.
Maintain and review COAs, batch records, retention samples, traceability, and quality documentation.
Identify quality deviations and drive Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Corrective & Preventive Actions (CAPA).
Investigate customer, warehouse, and platform-related quality complaints.
2. CM & Vendor Quality Management
Evaluate existing and new CMs for capacity, infrastructure, machinery, certifications, hygiene, food safety, and quality systems.
Conduct CM audits and maintain quality performance scorecards.
Verify required licences, certifications, and documentation before vendor/CM approval.
Evaluate raw material and packaging vendors on quality, capacity, certifications, and scalability.
Ensure appropriate NDAs/confidentiality agreements are in place to protect recipes and product formulations.
3. Regulatory & Compliance
Own compliance with applicable FSSAI, Legal Metrology, food safety, packaging, labelling, ingredient, additive, allergen, and claims requirements.
Monitor relevant regulatory updates and ensure implementation across products and packaging.
Review formulations and ingredients for regulatory compliance.
Coordinate with external laboratories and regulatory consultants where required.
4. Packaging & Labelling
Review and approve packaging artwork for regulatory accuracy.
Cross-check artwork against approved formulations and product specifications.
Ensure packaging is suitable for manufacturing, storage, transportation, and handling conditions.
5. NPD, Testing & Shelf Life
Support NPD trials, reformulations, pilot batches, and commercial scale-ups.
Establish quality specifications and quality parameters for new products.
Coordinate microbial, nutritional, stability, and shelf-life testing.
Review laboratory reports and ensure corrective actions where required.
Ensure quality approval and compliance readiness before commercial launch.
6. Escalations and Complaint Resolution:
Cross-check product listings against approved packaging, product specifications, and master product information, ensuring accuracy of product descriptions, ingredients, nutrition, allergens, grammage, shelf life, storage, and other compliance information.
Own the quality-related escalation and resolution process for complaints received through Customer Care, Q-commerce platforms, marketplaces, warehouses, and other channels.
Coordinate with Customer Care, CM partners, laboratories, and internal teams to investigate and resolve complaints.
Conduct Root Cause Analysis (RCA) using batch records, retention samples, production records, COAs, photographs/videos, customer feedback, and CM investigations.
Define and implement Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA) and ensure timely closure.
Track recurring complaints and identify trends to drive preventive actions and continuous product improvement.
Maintain a quality complaint tracker covering complaint type, batch, root cause, corrective action, preventive action, owner, and closure status.
Escalate critical or recurring quality, food safety, packaging, and regulatory issues to management.
7. Production & Warehouse Quality Oversight
Monitor CM production from a quality and process-control perspective.
Ensure approved recipes, processes, and specifications are followed during production.
Support pilot runs, first productions, scale-ups, and production troubleshooting.
Audit warehouse storage, hygiene, handling, temperature, stacking, and traceability.
Ensure appropriate FIFO/FEFO practices and product handling standards.
8. Documentation & Reporting
Maintain and monitor:
CM audit reports
Quality inspection records
COAs and testing reports
Shelf-life records
CAPA/RCA reports
Retention samples
Vendor/CM documentation
Regulatory and packaging approvals
Quality complaints and closure
Track key quality metrics and escalate critical quality, food safety, or regulatory risks to management.
What We’re Looking For
Degree in Food Technology, Food Science, Microbiology, or a related field.
3-4 years of relevant experience in QA/QC, food safety, or regulatory compliance within the food/FMCG industry.
Strong knowledge of FSSAI, GMP, GHP, HACCP, food safety, labelling, and packaging compliance.
Experience with Contract Manufacturing / Third-Party Manufacturing preferred.
Understanding of food manufacturing processes, testing, shelf life, and quality systems.
Strong documentation, audit, RCA/CAPA, and vendor-management skills.
High ownership, attention to detail, and strong problem-solving ability.
Comfortable with extensive PAN India travel and working in a fast-paced startup environment.
Why Join Nova Nova
High-ownership role with direct impact on quality, food safety, compliance, and product launches.
Opportunity to build QA, QC, and compliance systems from the ground up.
Exposure to Contract Manufacturing, NPD, Q-commerce, Modern Trade, and rapid FMCG scale-up.
Work closely with Product, Operations, Sales, and Marketing Leads.

Work arrangement
No