Product Development Associate

Rise People, Inc.; Vancouver; Hybrid; CAD 52,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

Legends Haul is a Vancouver-based food manufacturer seeking a Product Development Associate to turn ideas into tested, costed and production-ready products for foodservice and retail. The role spans culinary development, production trials and structured project work on the floor and at a desk.

You will work with Production, Operations, Procurement, Sales, Marketing, FSQA and Finance to ensure innovations are commercially viable and properly documented for SR&ED submissions, with thorough records

Qualifications

• Practical culinary capability combined with experience in food manufacturing or a commercial food environment.
• Understanding of scaling recipes for production and ability to learn equipment and plant constraints quickly.
• Experience organizing multiple projects across production, procurement and quality teams with credible records.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain development plans, trial schedules, decisions and next steps for foodservice and retail projects.
• Develop and refine recipes, formulations and samples; conduct production trials and record results.
• Partner with manufacturing and operations on scale-up, process instructions, and batch records for production handoff.
• Collaborate with Procurement and Finance to assess ingredient options, yields, unit costs and margins.
• Coordinate product specs, ingredients and allergen info with FSQA and Marketing; support approvals.
• Keep organized formulations and launch documentation; ensure current records for stakeholders.
• Track project time, materials, inventory movements and trials for SR&ED documentation, coordinating inputs with administration and advisers.

Skills

Culinary skill

Food manufacturing

Project coordination

Costing & Excel

Food safety

Floor trials

Job description

Legends Haul is a Vancouver-based food manufacturer and distributor serving leading restaurants, retailers and foodservice operators across British Columbia. Founded in 2018, we have grown from a local delivery startup into an integrated business focused on premium centre-of-the-plate proteins, value-added manufacturing and practical customer partnerships. Our East Vancouver facility supports production, distribution and the development of our own brands and customer-specific products.

The Role

The Product Development Associate turns promising food ideas into tested, costed and production-ready products for foodservice and retail. This is a hands-on individual contributor role spanning culinary development, production trials and structured project work. You will work on the floor and at a desk, moving projects from brief through recipe testing, feasibility, documentation and launch handoff.

Working with leaders and teams in Production, Operations, Procurement, Sales, Marketing, Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA), and Finance, you will manage the details that make an innovation commercially and operationally viable. You will also maintain the project records and coordinate the annual Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) submission inputs with administration and external advisers.

What You Will Do

• Build and maintain development plans, trial schedules, decisions and next steps for assigned foodservice and retail projects; flag blockers and drive follow-through.
• Develop and refine recipes, formulations and samples; conduct production trials, record results, and adapt products to equipment, labour, yield, quality and shelf-life constraints.
• Partner with manufacturing and operations on scale-up, process instructions, ingredient use, batch records and production handoff.
• Work with Procurement and Finance to assess ingredient and packaging options, yields, unit costs, target margins and commercial feasibility.
• Coordinate product specifications, ingredient and allergen information, packaging inputs and label details with FSQA and Marketing; support review and approval by the responsible teams.
• Keep organized versions of formulations, trial outcomes, product data, approvals and launch documentation so stakeholders have a clear current record.
• Track project time, materials, inventory movements, trials and technical outcomes throughout the year for SR&ED documentation; compile inputs and coordinate the annual submission process with administration and third-party specialists.

What You Bring

• Practical culinary capability paired with experience in food manufacturing, product development, test kitchens connected to production, or an equivalent commercial food environment.
• Understanding of how recipes change when scaled into a controlled production process, or a demonstrated ability to learn equipment, yields, controls and plant constraints quickly.
• Experience organizing multiple projects and working across production, procurement and quality teams; strong written records and dependable follow-through.
• Comfort with spreadsheets, recipe and cost calculations, product data, specifications and detailed administrative work.
• Good judgment around food safety and claims: you know when to involve FSQA and do not treat a successful kitchen sample as a finished commercial product.
• Curiosity, initiative and the willingness to run a trial on the floor, investigate a cost variance and close out the documentation afterward.

What Success Looks Like

Projects advance through clear milestones and decisions. Recipes perform reliably at production scale, costs and specifications are understood, and launches reach the responsible teams with complete handoff information. Trial records, hours and material movements remain current throughout the year, giving external SR&ED advisers the evidence they need to assess and prepare the annual claim. You earn trust by spotting gaps early, bringing people together and finishing the work.