Job Description
The Customer Quality Technical Manager leads customer-facing technical support for Kettle Cuisine, including routine product sampling and coordination of testing, trials, audits, and technical requirements. Based in Savage, Maryland, the manager partners with Technical Services and supervises East and West technicians, coordinates customer feedback with internal teams, and ensures work and documentation are timely, traceable, and appropriately reviewed.
Responsibilities
- Triage customer technical requests; define scope, sample details, owner, deliverable, and due date.
- Coordinate testing, sensory evaluations, trials, audits, and post-launch sample reviews with technicians, site FSQ, and Technical Services.
- Lead East and West technician workloads; standardize sample handling, testing, traceability, and records.
- Coordinate sample collection, analysis, shipping, and documentation for supplier investigations and material changes.
- Route customer and audit documents for review and approval by designated subject-matter owners.
- Track requests and results; escalate out-of-specification findings, customer risks, and delays.
Qualifications (Education / Experience / Skills)
- Bachelor’s degree in food science, Food Technology, Quality, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
- Four or more years of food-manufacturing technical, quality, laboratory, or customer-support experience, with project or team coordination responsibilities.
- Experience coordinating product samples, testing, sensory or production trials, audit support, or technical-document workflows.
- Strong planning, prioritization, documentation, customer-service, and cross-functional communication skills.
- Ability to travel among assigned sites and manage time-sensitive requests; familiarity with sample traceability and controlled documentation preferred.
Success Measures
- Customer technical requests are logged, assigned, and completed to agreed timelines with status visible.
- Samples, analyses, trials, audits, and document packages are traceable, accurate, and reviewed by the appropriate owners.
- Technician capacity and work quality are managed consistently across East and West coverage.
As a Leader Within the Kettle Cuisine Team, You Are Expected To
- Model and support Kettle Cuisine’s Core Values and safety culture.
- Develop individual team members and their careers.
- Create a culture of accountability and performance.
- Drive a focus on quality assurance and continuous improvement.
- Plan work, track results, and resolve issues.
Required Attributes
- Self-directed, with high integrity and sound judgment.
- Positive attitude and motivated by contributing to the overall success of the team.
- Able to develop strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, suppliers, and team members.
- Strong project-management, analytical, statistical, and problem-solving skills.
- Comfortable moving at a fast pace and working in ambiguous environments.
- Enthusiastic about food and able to provide after-hours support for critical issues when required.
- Demonstrated ability to drive continuous improvement and manage to and achieve metrics.
- Willing to address difficult situations directly, with patience and respect.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in food science, food technology, quality, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
- Four or more years of food-manufacturing technical, quality, laboratory, or customer-support experience.
- Experience with project or team coordination responsibilities.
- Experience coordinating product samples, testing, sensory evaluations, production trials, audit support, or technical-document workflows.
- Strong planning, prioritization, documentation, customer-service, and cross-functional communication skills.
- Ability to travel among assigned sites and manage time-sensitive requests.
- Familiarity with sample traceability and controlled documentation.
- Strong project-management, analytical, statistical, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to drive continuous improvement and manage performance metrics.
- Ability to provide after-hours support for critical issues when required.
What We Do
Kettle Cuisine is a food production company specializing in high-quality frozen and refrigerated meal solutions. Founded in 1986, they focus on artisan-quality soups, broths, sauces, meats, and sides for foodservice operators and retailers across the United States, utilizing traditional cooking techniques and scratch-made stocks to deliver consistent, safe, and wholesome food options at scale.
