Director of QualityOakland, CA

The Director of Quality is a strategic, enterpriselevel leader responsible for defining, scaling, and protecting Yerba Madre's food safety and quality programs across our global network of comanufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and warehouses. This role owns companywide quality systems, regulatory compliance, and food safety risk management, ensuring our products consistently meet the highest standards while supporting business growth, innovation, and brand integrity.

As Yerba Madre continues to scale, the Director of Quality serves as the organization's subjectmatter expert on food safety regulations, quality assurance best practices, and certification requirements. This leader partners crossfunctionally with Contract Manufacturing, Sourcing, Innovation, Planning, Marketing, Legal, and Executive Leadership to proactively manage risk, embed quality into decisionmaking, and support the longterm success of a missiondriven beverage brand rooted in responsible sourcing and sustainability.

PLEASE NOTE***The position is based in Yerba Madre's Vibrant Oakland, CA office, min 3 days a week

• Own and continuously improve Yerba Madre's enterprise food safety and quality management systems across all internal and external partners, from ingredient sourcing through finished goods stored at warehouses.
• Serve as the company's designated "quality person responsible" for all food safety, regulatory, and compliance matters.
• Anticipate quality and food safety risks and implement preventive, risk based programs aligned with business growth.
• Ensure recall readiness, crisis response protocols, and regulatory engagement are well defined, tested, and effective.

• Lead supplier, co-manufacturer, and warehouse audit programs, including audit strategy, review of findings, and verification of corrective and preventive actions.
• Oversee qualification of new suppliers, co-manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and equipment installations.
• Ensure systemic issues are identified and resolved through root cause analysis and sustainable corrective action.
• Partner closely with South American yerba mate producers to uphold product quality, sustainability standards, and ethical sourcing commitments.

• Act as the primary liaison between Quality and internal stakeholders including Supply Chain, Innovation, Operations, Marketing, Legal, and Finance.
• Translate complex technical and regulatory information into clear, businessrelevant insights for executive leadership.
• Partner with Innovation to establish food safety and quality requirements for new product development, process changes, and scaleup activities.

• Establish and monitor key performance indicators related to food safety, supplier and warehouse performance, audits, complaints, and cost of quality.
• Drive measurable improvements in quality performance, defect reduction, compliance outcomes, and operational efficiency.
• Utilize data analysis, SPC, and quality management tools to inform priorities and continuous improvement efforts.

• Build, develop, and lead a highperforming Quality team through effective hiring, coaching, and performance management.
• Foster a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement across the Quality function and extended supply network.
• Ensure the Quality organization scales effectively alongside the business.

• Represent Yerba Madre with regulatory agencies, certifying bodies, and external partners as required.
• Stay current on evolving FDA, FSMA, GFSI, organic, regenerative organic, and industry standards.
• Attend industry conferences, trainings, and forums to bring best practices and emerging insights back to the organization.

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  • Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, Engineering, or a related technical field.
  • 8+ years of experience in food or beverage manufacturing, preferably ready-to-drink, canned, or bottled products.
  • 5+ years of experience leading quality teams in complex, multisite or co-manufacturing environments.
  • Deep knowledge of FDA, FSMA, cGMPs, HACCP, supplier compliance, and food safety regulation.
  • PCQI certification (required).
  • Proven experience driving measurable quality improvements, including defect reduction, audit performance, or cost-of-quality improvements.
  • Strong business acumen with the ability to connect quality decisions to financial, operational, and brand outcomes.
  
  
  
  
  Preferred Qualifications
  
  
  
  • Experience leading the quality function at the Director or Senior Manager level.
  • Bilingual in English and Spanish or Portuguese.
  • Beverage, natural/organic food & beverage, or functional beverage industry experience.
  • Experience with copacker and contract manufacturing models.
  • Familiarity with regenerative organic, Fair Trade, or sustainability certifications.
  • Lead Auditor certification (SQF, BRC, or equivalent).
  • Experience with supplier scorecarding, QMS platforms (e.g., TraceGains or similar), and statistical process control.
  
  
  
  

• Develops and executes a long-term quality vision aligned with Yerba Madre's growth strategy.
• Anticipates risks and opportunities before they become critical issues.
• Balances short-term operational needs with long-term system scalability.

• Builds trust and credibility as a quality and food safety expert across the organization.
• Influences cross-functional partners and senior leaders without formal authority.
• Communicates clearly and effectively with both technical and nontechnical audiences.

• Understands the P&L and quantifies the business impact of quality investments and risk decisions.
• Applies risk-based thinking to balance quality, cost, capacity, and speed.
• Presents data-driven insights and recommendations to executive leadership.

• Leads organizational change and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Builds buy-in for new processes and standards across internal teams and external partners.
• Remains resilient and adaptable in fast-paced, high-growth environments.

TRAVEL & PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Work Environment:
Hybrid office and remote work, with regular travel to co-manufacturing facilities, supplier sites, and warehouse locations. Exposure to production environments during site visits (PPE required: safety glasses, hairnets, steel toed boots).

• 25-30% domestic travel
• 2-3 trips per year to South American yerba mate operations (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay)

• Extended computer use
• Walking production floors and warehouse facilities for 2-4 hours during site visits
• Occasional lifting up to 25 pounds
• Ability to navigate stairs, ladders, and catwalks during inspections

What we offer:

Yerba Madre-formerly Guayaki Yerba Mate-is the nearly 30-year pioneer of regenerative yerba mate [yer-bah ma-tay] and the category leader in ready-to-drink mate beverages across North America. The name Yerba Madre, meaning "Mother Herb," is a tribute to Mother Earth and the ancestral wisdom of the Indigenous communities who have cultivated yerba mate for generations -a reflection of the values the brand has championed since day one.

Headquartered in Sebastopol and Los Angeles, California, Yerba Madre sources organic, shade-grown yerba mate in direct partnership with 255 family farmers and Indigenous communities across Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Using its Market Driven Regeneration model, every purchase helps reforest the Atlantic Forest, support fair trade premiums, and build long-term economic resilience for grower communities.

In 2025, the brand became the world's first yerba mate to achieve Regenerative Organic Certified Gold status-setting a new global standard for ecological integrity, cultural respect, and environmental restoration.

As an original founding member of the B Corp community and a founding member of the Purpose Pledge, Yerba Madre is committed to ethical business practices across ten key pillars, including climate positivity, living wages, circularity, and inclusion. Yerba Madre is available in over 45,000 retail locations across the U.S. and Canada. To learn more, visit www.YerbaMadre.com.