Senior Product Developer

OIC Foods Inc.; Mississauga; On-site; CAD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus program

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

RRSP/DPSP program

Perkopolis discounts

Monthly company lunch

Team building events

Annual holiday party and BBQ

Job summary

OIC Foods, based in Mississauga, Ontario, seeks a Senior Product Developer to drive concept development through commercialization. You will lead R&D activities, formulate recipes, run trials, and work with cross-functional teams to meet quality, safety, regulatory, cost and consumer requirements.

Reporting to the CEO, you will manage prototypes, scale-up processes, and coordinate with suppliers and universities to enhance product landscape. On-site role with competitive compensation.

Qualifications

• Degree in Food Science or related field; Masters in Food Science preferred.
• 5–8 years of experience in Product Development or R&D.
• Strong computer skills including Microsoft Office, Excel, and web-based software.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and in a team.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Excellent organizational and project management skills.
• Attention to detail and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple campaigns in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Stay abreast of trends and develop concepts for the R&D pipeline.
• Create prototypes in the lab for shortlisted concepts.
• Coordinate lab equipment maintenance and inventory.
• Conduct ingredient and product research to improve quality or cost.
• Perform analyses on ingredients and foods.
• Test products in the lab and develop processing methods.
• Oversee product scale-up and new product launches.
• Manage cross-functional R&D projects and report progress.

Skills

Communication skills

Presentation skills

Organizational skills

Project management

Problem-solving

Teamwork

Independent work

Education

Degree in Food Science

Masters in Food Science preferred

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Office

Web-based software

Job description

Company Overview

OIC Foods (Ontario Impex of Canada Inc.) is a Canadian owned vegetarian ethnic foods solution company based in Mississauga, Ontario. OIC Foods main business activities include ethnic food distribution, manufacturing, co-packing, importing and exporting. OIC Foods is working with some of the most reputed and biggest retail partners in Canada like Walmart, Sobeys, Loblaws, Costco, Save on Foods, Metro, Food Basics and Circle K to name a few.

• Discretionary bonus program;
• Health, dental, vision, and life insurance plans;
• RRSP/DPSP program;
• Corporate discounts through Perkopolis;
• Monthly company lunch;
• Team building events;
• Annual holiday party and BBQ.

Why join OIC Foods?

• Discretionary bonus program;
• Health, dental, vision, and life insurance plans;
• RRSP/DPSP program;
• 2 paid sick days;
• Corporate discounts through Perkopolis;
• Monthly company lunch;
• Team building events;
• Annual holiday party and BBQ.

The Role

Reporting to the CEO, the Senior Product Developer will play an important role in developing and improving food products from concept to commercialization. This is a non-managerial role which conducts product research, formulates recipes, performs product trials, and collaborates with cross-functional teams to ensure products meet quality, food safety, regulatory, cost and consumer expectations.

Responsibilities

• Stays abreast of recent trends, trending products, recipes, ingredients. Collect all the information and be able to make concepts for R&D pipeline based on trends & consumer needs.
• Prototype creation in the lab for shortlisted concepts.
• General laboratory duties: coordinate maintenance of equipment, maintain ingredient and prototype inventory, manage shipping and receiving.
• Conducts new ingredients and food product research. Improves product quality or cost by modifying formulation of current products.
• Performs physical and chemical analyses on ingredients and/or food products.
• Studies methods to improve quality of foods such as flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, or physical, chemical, and microbiological composition of foods.
• Tests new products in the lab and develops processing methods in the pilot plant.
• Performs product scale-up and new product commercialization
• Conducts operational data analyses to finalize product and process specifications.
• Engage with regulatory, legal, and external partners (e.g., universities, suppliers, consultants) on product development, compliance, and technical partnerships.
• Managing the product lifecycle including conceptualization, design, trials, creation and evaluation of new concepts, recipes, and products for targeted markets or customers and final product specifications.
• Building key relationships with strategic suppliers to source new ingredients and vendors.
• Test new and existing products and recipes to the group for feedback and product enhancement.
• Participate in plant trials, overseeing all aspects of trial execution, including issuing recipes, ensuring products meet required specifications, collecting data, documenting outcomes and reporting trial costs to Finance.
• Oversee product reformulations with raw material or recipe changes to ensure product quality is maintained.
• Prepare all documentation (e.g. formulas, change notifications, etc.) required to support development process.
• Ensure compliance with relevant regulatory requirements and standards throughout the product life cycle.
• Project manage various R&D projects cross-functional (e.g. Production, QA, etc.).
• Provide regular status launch and project updates to the Leadership team.
• Manages projects surrounding new products and new product launches.
• Other duties as assigned by the CEO.

The above is not an exhaustive list of duties and the incumbent will be expected to perform different tasks as necessitated by their changing role within the organization and the overall business objectives of the organization.

Qualifications And Experience

• Degree in Food Science or related fields, Masters in Food Science preferred.
• 5 to 8 years experience working in Product Development or Research and Development.
• Strong computer skills including Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel and web-based software programs.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as a team.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and project management skills, with an ability to prioritize important tasks and projects.
• Attention to detail and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple campaigns in a fast-paced environment.

Compensation

Annual compensation of $80,000.00 to $100,000.00 per year depending on experience.

Location

This is a fully on-site role currently working at the 190 Statesman Dr, Mississauga, ON L5S1X7 location. The incumbent may however be required to work at any place of business which the company and its sister group of companies has or may acquire in future.

This position is part of an active recruitment search for an existing vacancy at OIC Foods.

OIC Foods is an equal opportunity employer. OIC Foods welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities as well as those from diverse backgrounds. Accommodations are available on request by calling 905-502-7277 and being transferred to HR for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.