The posting
Senior Manager – Regulatory Affairs & Quality Assurance Food & Nutraceutical Ingredients
## Company Overview Arboreal is an award-winning ingredients technology company specializing in the development of innovative and functional food and nutraceutical ingredients. The company’s mission is to enable pioneering brands with differentiated ingredient solutions that improve taste, texture, nutrition, and functionality. Arboreal collaborates closely with leading and emerging food, nutraceutical, and Better-for-You brands to develop, launch, and scale category-defining products. Their ingredient platforms include alternative proteins, sugar reduction and sweetening solutions, cacao-based ingredients, collagen, functional nutrition, and specialty food ingredients.
Arboreal is co-founded and led by Swati Pandey (IIT, Imperial College London), Manish Chauhan (BITS Pilani, London Business School), and Suresh Chander (University of Helsinki, Anna University). The company has received recognition such as the National Startup Award – Food Processing (2021), BIRAC Grant from the Department of Biotechnology, Cartier Women’s Initiative Award – APAC, and Women Transforming India Award by NITI Aayog.
## Job Summary The Senior Manager – Regulatory Affairs & Quality Assurance will ensure that Arboreal’s ingredients, manufacturing systems, and commercial operations comply with applicable food safety, quality, and regulatory requirements across India and international markets. This role operates at the intersection of R&D, Manufacturing, Quality Control, Strategic Sourcing, Supply Chain, and Commercial teams. The position demands a combination of regulatory interpretation, scientific judgment, quality systems expertise, and strong execution to support the commercialization of innovative ingredient technologies globally.
## Responsibilities - Regulatory Strategy – India: Lead regulatory assessment of Arboreal’s ingredient portfolio under Indian regulations, including product classification, ingredient permissibility, standards, additive status, novel ingredients, usage levels, labeling, claims, nutritional requirements, and applicable food categories. Provide clear regulatory pathways to R&D and Commercial teams before product development and commercialization. - FSSAI Regulatory Affairs: Maintain deep knowledge of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulations, standards, advisories, and approval processes. Manage product regulatory assessments, ingredient approvals, scientific dossiers, regulatory clarifications, import compliance, labeling and claims review, and licensing implications. Track emerging regulatory developments. - International Regulatory Affairs: Develop regulatory pathways for target international markets such as the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Southeast Asia, Middle East, China, and other export markets. Evaluate ingredient status, novel foods, Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS)/food additive frameworks, permitted applications, specifications, contaminant limits, claims, labeling, and import requirements. Collaborate with external consultants as needed. - New Ingredient Commercialisation: Collaborate with R&D from early product development stages to determine legal characterization, applicable regulations, required analytical data, safety/scientific evidence, specifications, and permissible claims. Integrate regulatory considerations into product development. - Regulatory Dossier Development: Prepare and coordinate comprehensive regulatory dossiers including product descriptions, manufacturing processes, compositional data, specifications, analytical methods, stability, safety information, literature reviews, intended use, and exposure assessments. Coordinate internal and external scientific studies. - Product Specifications & Technical Documentation: Own or review customer-facing and regulatory documentation such as product specifications, technical data sheets, certificates of analysis, allergen and GMO declarations, nutrition information, ingredient statements, shelf-life documentation, country-of-origin statements, and manufacturing process descriptions. Ensure consistency across internal and external documents. - Claims & Labelling Review: Review technical and commercial communications for compliance with claims related to protein, sugar reduction, nutrition, functional benefits, vegan/vegetarian status, allergens, clean label, natural positioning, and health or wellness benefits. Educate Marketing and Sales teams on scientifically supportable, legally permissible, and commercially desirable claims. - Quality Management Systems: Own and enhance Arboreal’s Quality Management System (QMS), including SOPs, document control, change control, Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA), deviations, non-conformance, complaints, internal audits, training, risk assessments, traceability, product release, and recall management. Ensure practical, scalable, and adhered-to quality systems. - Food Safety Systems: Lead implementation and maintenance of food safety frameworks such as FSSC 22000, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Good Hygiene Practices (GHP), and food safety risk assessments. Adapt systems as new processes, products, and manufacturing infrastructure are added. - Supplier Quality Assurance: Develop robust supplier quality systems including supplier qualification, documentation review, risk classification, supplier audits, specifications, certificates of analysis, quality agreements, and performance monitoring. Collaborate with Strategic Sourcing to assess suppliers on quality and regulatory capability. - Manufacturing Quality Assurance: Partner with Manufacturing and Quality Control teams to ensure process controls across raw material receipt, production, in-process controls, packaging, storage, and batch release. Investigate and close manufacturing deviations systematically. - Change Control: Manage change-control framework for suppliers, raw materials, manufacturing processes, specifications, test methods, packaging, manufacturing locations, and product claims. Assess regulatory and quality implications prior to implementation. - CAPA & Root Cause Analysis: Lead investigations of significant deviations, non-conformities, and customer complaints. Use structured approaches to establish root causes and track CAPA through to effective closure. - Customer Quality & Regulatory Support: Support Sales and Key Accounts teams on technical customer requirements. Respond to questionnaires and documentation requests related to quality systems, regulatory status, allergens, specifications, manufacturing processes, certifications, food safety, and sustainability information. Participate in technical customer discussions. - Customer Complaints: Ensure complaints are logged, investigated, root-caused, responded to, and closed with appropriate CAPA. Identify recurring trends and address systemic issues. - Audits: Lead readiness and coordination for certification audits, regulatory inspections, customer audits, supplier audits, and internal audits. Ensure timely and effective corrective actions. - Quality Risk Management: Develop risk-based approaches for product safety, supplier quality, manufacturing processes, regulatory compliance, raw materials, contaminants, fraud/adulteration, and allergens. Prioritize controls based on actual risk. - Regulatory Intelligence: Build a structured regulatory intelligence capability to track developments in alternative proteins, fermentation-derived ingredients, sweeteners, functional ingredients, nutraceuticals, novel foods, food additives, and claims. Translate regulatory changes into clear business implications. - Testing & Laboratory Strategy: Collaborate with QC and R&D to define testing requirements for product release, supplier qualification, stability, regulatory compliance, and customer specifications. Decide on internal versus external laboratory testing. - Build Regulatory & QA Capability: Mentor and build a high-quality team across regulatory affairs, quality systems, supplier quality, manufacturing QA, and documentation. Develop scalable processes for complex domestic and global operations.
## Qualifications - Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Technology, Food Science, Biotechnology, Microbiology, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Nutrition, or related discipline. - Postgraduate qualification in Food Regulatory Affairs, Quality Management, or related area is advantageous but not essential. - 7–12+ years of relevant experience in Regulatory Affairs, Quality Assurance, or both. - Strong experience in food ingredients, nutraceuticals, food processing, functional foods, pharmaceuticals, specialty ingredients, or adjacent regulated industries. - Deep working knowledge of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulations and Indian food regulatory frameworks. - Practical experience with FSSC 22000, HACCP, GMP, and quality management systems. - Experience managing regulatory interpretation for ingredients/products that do not fit standard categories. - Experience with international food regulatory frameworks such as US FDA, European Union, or other export markets is a significant advantage. - Strong scientific and technical ability with the capacity to interpret regulations and provide commercially practical recommendations. - Expertise in regulatory dossiers, specifications, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), CAPA, change control, supplier quality, audits, and customer documentation. - Ability to distinguish genuine regulatory risk from unnecessarily conservative interpretations. - Strong analytical, problem-solving, written communication, and documentation skills. - Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to collaborate across R&D, Commercial, and Manufacturing teams. - High ownership, integrity, and a bias for closure. - Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous regulatory environments requiring well-reasoned technical positions.
## Preferred Skills - Postgraduate qualification in Food Regulatory Affairs or Quality Management. - Experience with regulatory frameworks in multiple international markets. - Ability to build and mentor teams and develop scalable regulatory and quality processes. - Strong capability in regulatory intelligence and translating complex regulations into business strategies.
## Experience - 7 to 12+ years of relevant experience in Regulatory Affairs and/or Quality Assurance. - Experience in food ingredients, nutraceuticals, functional foods, pharmaceuticals, specialty ingredients, or related regulated industries. - Proven track record in managing regulatory compliance and quality systems in India and international markets.
## Environment - Preferred location: Lucknow, due to proximity to Arboreal’s R&D, Quality, and manufacturing operations. - Alternate location: Bengaluru may be considered for exceptional candidates. - Full-time employment. - Collaborative work environment interfacing with R&D, Manufacturing, Quality Control, Strategic Sourcing, Supply Chain, and Commercial teams.
## Growth Opportunities - Opportunity to build and lead regulatory and quality systems supporting a substantially larger organization as Arboreal expands manufacturing and international operations. - Potential for progression into broader leadership roles across Regulatory Affairs, Quality, Food Safety, and Technical Operations. - Disproportionate professional and financial growth opportunities for exceptional performers, including Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) opportunities for long-term high-impact team members.
## Benefits - Competitive compensation based on experience, technical capability, and track record. - Work on genuinely novel ingredient technologies with significant strategic impact. - Direct exposure to company founders, R&D leadership, and senior operating teams. - Opportunity to influence product development, regulatory strategy, and company growth. - Supportive environment fostering innovation and responsible regulatory and quality practices.
## Please Do Not Apply If - Your regulatory experience is limited to license renewals and routine documentation. - Your quality assurance experience is primarily audit coordination without ownership of quality systems. - You rely solely on consultants for regulatory interpretation without developing your own technical understanding. - Your default response to ambiguous regulatory questions is “cannot be done.” - You are uncomfortable challenging R&D, Manufacturing, or Commercial teams on genuine quality or regulatory risks. - You tolerate unnecessarily conservative quality practices that add complexity without reducing meaningful risk. - You tolerate recurring deviations without addressing systemic causes. - You require active supervision to move projects forward. - You view compliance as a documentation exercise rather than understanding its operational purpose. - You lack curiosity about regulations, ingredient technologies, and the science behind compliance.
## What Success Looks Like - Clear regulatory pathways established for new ingredients before commercialization. - Faster and higher-quality regulatory submissions. - Strong compliance with FSSAI and international regulatory requirements. - Consistent product specifications and technical documentation. - Robust supplier qualification and fewer quality deviations and recurring complaints. - Effective CAPA and change-control systems. - High audit readiness and strong food safety systems (FSSC 22000, HACCP). - Prompt and accurate customer regulatory responses. - Reduced quality and regulatory risk as the company scales. - Regulatory and Quality Assurance functions act as enablers of responsible innovation rather than late-stage gatekeepers.
