Director Safety and Quality

POSITION OVERVIEW :

NuCO2 is the nation’s leading provider of certified beverage grade carbon dioxide and draught beer grade nitrogen, providing continuous service to more than 150,000 customer locations and carbonating millions of beverages every day. With nearly 1,200 employees in over 150 locations across the United States, we believe using the finest ingredients is essential to serving the best beverages. Safety is our top priority and NuCO2 is defined by it. We provide a best-in-class safety program, and our safety equipment complies with national and international safety standards.

The Director, Safety & Quality will own and elevate our safety, compliance, and quality programs across fleet operations, transportation, food safety, and corporate functions—ensuring the safety and well-being of 500 drivers, 300 field technicians, field sales team, and back-office personnel (1,200 total) and our interactions in the communities where we operate.

In this senior leadership role, you will partner with all departments to drive DOT compliance, fleet and transportation safety, process safety, food safety program development and management, quality oversight, and EHS excellence. The ideal candidate brings proven experience managing large-scale teams, a results-oriented mindset, and a passion for building a zero-incident, quality-driven culture.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead DOT compliance initiatives, ensuring alignment with 49 CFR regulations, timely reporting, and audit readiness
• Develop and manage a comprehensive fleet safety program for 640 vehicles and 850 drivers / technicians, including driver qualification, training curricula, telematics oversight, and performance metrics
• Oversee transportation safety strategy, encompassing risk assessments, incident investigation, and corrective action tracking
• Drive process safety management (PSM) efforts : hazard analyses (HAZOP, LOPA), incident investigations, management of change reviews, and standard operating procedure documentation
• Design, implement, and audit the food safety program—aligning with FSMA, GMP, HACCP, and customer requirements
• Champion quality management systems, ensuring ISO 9001 (or equivalent) and customer-specific standards are met
• Build and maintain EHS programs covering injury and illness prevention, environmental compliance, workplace health, hazard communication, and emergency response planning
• Partner with depot supervisors and managers to conduct safety and quality audits, site inspections, risk assessments, and follow up on corrective actions
• Serve as primary liaison with regulatory agencies (DOT, OSHA, EPA, FDA), leading inspections, addressing findings, and implementing sustainable remediation plans
• Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for safety, quality, and compliance; deliver regular reports and insights to executive leadership
• Cultivate a safety-and-quality first culture through leadership coaching, toolbox talks, and cross-functional training sessions