Manager, R&D - Product Dev

Kraft Heinz; Mount Royal; On-site; CAD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Kraft Heinz in Montreal, Canada seeks an R&D Manager, Canada Product Development to lead product development across the Canada portfolio, spanning innovation, productivity, and supply continuity projects. The role will manage a team of 2–3 developers and execute projects from concept to commercialization in a dynamic, cross-functional environment.

You will translate business needs into development plans, drive technical execution, coach staff, and collaborate with R&D, operations,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree as listed plus a minimum of 6 years in product development within CPG / food & beverage
• Master’s degree plus minimum 5 years of relevant experience
• PhD plus minimum 4 years of relevant experience
• Experience leading and developing technical talent
• Strong knowledge of ingredients, product formulation and testing methods
• Ability to lead multiple projects and prioritize in a fast-paced environment
• Willingness to travel up to 30% to internal plants and co-manufacturers

Responsibilities

• Own and execute product development across cross-functional projects and categories in Canada
• Lead technical projects 70% of the time and coach employees 30% of the time
• Develop and deliver clear development plans from concept to commercialization
• Partner with cross-functional teams to drive progress and resolve issues
• Lead product testing, qualification and commercialization across lab, pilot plant and production environments
• Communicate findings, risks and recommendations to stakeholders and leadership
• Balance priorities and resources across initiatives, including brand maintenance
• Build effective ways of working with partners to improve execution and accountability
• Mentor colleagues to strengthen capability and business results

Skills

Team leadership

Project management

Communication skills

Problem solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Technical judgment

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science / Chemistry / Chemical Engineering / Life Sciences

Master’s degree in related field

PhD in related field

Job description

Description de l’emploi

Job Description: R&D Manager,Canada Product Development

The R&D Manager,Canada ProductDevelopmentwill leadproduct development acrossthe Canada portfolio of brands, spanning innovation, productivity, and supply continuity projects. The candidate will lead and execute their own projects and manage a team of 2 to 3 developers.This roleis responsible fortranslating business needs into practical development plans, driving technical execution, and ensuring projects progress effectively from concept through commercialization.
This leader is expected tooperateeffectively in a dynamic, cross-functional environment and to balancepeopleleadership with strong technical and project leadership. Success in the role requires sound product development judgment, the ability to manage multiple priorities, and strong collaboration across R&D, operations, quality, regulatory, marketing, and supply chain. The role also requires building team capability, setting clear expectations, and developing talent to meet current and future business needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and executeproduct developmentprojectsacross multiple cross-functional projects and product categories within theCanadabusiness, including innovation, renovation, and brand maintenance work
• Ability and desire to be a technical manager – own technical projects (70% of time) and manage/coach employees (30% of time).

• Manage, coach, and develop a team of product developers, including setting priorities, providing feedback, and building technical and leadership capability across product development and brand maintenance responsibilities
• Translate business objectives into clear development plans and ensure effective execution from concept through commercialization
• Partner with cross-functional teams to drive project progress, resolve technical issues, and deliver against business timelines
• Lead product testing, qualification, and commercialization activities across laboratory, pilot plant, and production environments
• Apply strong technical judgment to product, ingredient, process, and formulation challenges and guide the team through problem-solving and decision-making
• Communicate technical findings, recommendations, risks, and implications clearly to cross-functional stakeholders and leadership
• Manage multiple priorities concurrently and proactively identify tradeoffs, resource constraints, and priority conflicts across initiatives, including planned and unplanned brand maintenance asks
• Build strong ways of working across the team and cross-functional partners to improve execution, clarity, and accountability
• Demonstrate flexibility and willingness to learn new categories, technologies, and processing areas in support of business needs
• Ensure high-quality documentation, technical rigor, and strong executional discipline across development work
• Mentor, coach, and collaborate with colleagues within and outside the immediate team to strengthen capability and business results

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degreerequired in Food Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Life Sciences, or a related field,plus a minimum of 6 years ofproduct development experience within CPG, food and beverage, or a related industry;or master’s degree plus a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience, or PhD plus a minimum of 4 years of relevant experience
• Desired to havepreviousmanagementexperience, including leading, coaching, and developing technical talent
• Strong knowledge of ingredients, product formulation, processing equipment, ingredient interactions, and laboratory test methods
• Proven ability to lead product development and commercialization across multiple projects and priorities
• Strong communication, influencing, project management, and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment with changing priorities
• Strong technical judgment and ability to design effective experiments, interpret results, and adjust plans as needed
• Self-motivated and able to deliver results with a high degree of ownership in a complex environment
• Strong ability to prioritize across competing business needs and make sound tradeoff decisions
• Willingness to travel up to 30%, including travel to internal plants, co-manufacturers, suppliers, and other business locations in the United States and Canada

Work Environment & Schedule

This position is considered aNormal