Tue, 24 Feb 2026 18:30:41 +0000

Manager, Supplier Qualification

Department: Quality Assurance

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Remote

Reporting To: Spencer Morgan

Compensation: $125,000 / year

Description

At Thorne, we work to deliver high-quality, science-backed solutions to empower individuals to take a proactive approach to their well-being. Each day begins with a mission to help others discover and achieve their best health. We count on our team members to challenge and push the boundaries to make that happen. At Thorne, you’ll be joining a team of more than 750 passionate individuals committed to our cause of providing superior health solutions at every age and life stage.

The Supplier Qualification Manager is responsible and accountable for the overall leadership, performance, and compliance of supplier qualification, approval, monitoring, and re-qualification programs across raw materials, components, contract manufacturers, laboratories, and service providers.

This role provides strategic and operational oversight of supplier risk assessment, qualification audits, performance monitoring, supplier change impact evaluation, and lifecycle management to ensure compliance with cGMPs and applicable regulatory and certification requirements. The Supplier Qualification Manager leads Supplier Quality / Supplier Qualification personnel, partners closely with Procurement, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, QA, R&D, and Regulatory, and drives continuous improvement across supplier quality systems and upstream risk mitigation.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Provides overall leadership and direction for Supplier Qualification operations, including onboarding, approval, monitoring, re-qualification, audits, and supplier risk management.

Maintains expert-level knowledge of applicable SOPs, cGMPs, and supplier qualification requirements; operates independently without need for management intervention.

Develops, trains, and supervises Supplier Quality / Supplier Qualification personnel, ensuring competency in cGMPs, auditing techniques, risk assessment, and supplier oversight prior to independent work.

Owns supplier risk assessment methodologies, including initial risk ranking, ongoing performance evaluation, identification of emerging risks, and risk-based re-qualification strategies.

Leads continuous improvement of supplier qualification processes, tools, and risk frameworks through cross-functional collaboration.

Oversees supplier audits (on-site, remote, and desk-based), including planning, execution, reporting, CAPA/SCAR follow-up, and effectiveness verification.

Ensures supplier documentation, audit records, and qualification files are complete, accurate, and inspection-ready.

Ensures suppliers operate within approved scopes, specifications, and quality agreements, and that requirements are clearly defined, communicated, and enforced.

Evaluates and approves supplier-related changes (materials, processes, sites, ownership) in coordination with QA and Change Management.

Leads and supports supplier-related investigations, root cause analysis, and CAPA development for quality events, nonconformances, deviations, and audit findings.

Exercises authority to escalate, restrict, suspend, or disqualify suppliers when quality, compliance, or business risk is identified, including stopping processes when product quality or SOP compliance is in question.

Demonstrates strong judgment in defect classification and material disposition in accordance with established procedures.

Partners with Procurement and Supply Chain to support supplier selection strategies, sourcing decisions, and risk mitigation across the end-to-end supply chain.

Maintains working knowledge of supply chain flows to assess supplier impact on finished product quality.

Ensures compliance with cGMP, FDA, OSHA, NSF, TGA, and other applicable regulatory, safety, and certification requirements related to suppliers.

Demonstrates initiative by identifying opportunities for improvement, proposing innovative solutions, and continuously improving supplier quality outcomes.

Adheres to company safety requirements during supplier oversight and audit activities.

WHAT YOU NEED

Bachelor’s degree required with 10+ years of experience in Supplier Quality, Supplier Qualification, or Quality Assurance within a cGMP-regulated environment; people-management experience required.

Advanced working knowledge of QMS, ERP systems, supplier management platforms (e.g., TraceGains), audit tools, and Microsoft Office.

Ability to assess, communicate, and defend supplier risk-based decisions under regulatory scrutiny.

Ability to effect change in a positive environment. Must be able to provide clear, defensible technical and compliance-based justification when Quality Control decisions, escalations, or risk tradeoffs are required.

Initiates, reviews, approves, and completes reports and documentation in a timely manner.

Ability to supervise and manage others at multiple levels, delegates appropriately, follow up on work assignments, and ensure accountability for results.