Assoc Mgr R&D US CMG Reese

Hershey Company; Hershey (PA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 126,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & Wellbeing

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Career development

Job summary

The Hershey Company is seeking an Associate Manager R&D, US CMG Reese, to lead a small team and drive innovation in chocolate and confectionery products. You will balance organizational leadership with hands-on product development, shaping projects from ideation through commercialization.

You will partner with Marketing, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Supply Chain to deliver consumer-focused innovations, mentor talent, and influence strategic growth across Reese's portfolio.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of relevant experience in food product development, formulation, process development, or a related technical field.
• Demonstrated knowledge of confectionery and chocolate formulation and recipe development.
• Experience leading innovation initiatives and mentoring or leading technical talent.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of 2-5 Research Technicians and/or Assistants to drive engagement and high performance.
• Guide organizational priorities, project execution, talent planning, and employee development.
• Drive product development from concept through commercialization with a focus on chocolate and confectionery.
• Collaborate across Marketing, Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality & Regulatory, Project Management, Technology Development, and Supply Chain.
• Provide technical feasibility assessments and recommendations for new concepts.

Job description

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Note:If you apply for a role at Hershey through our career’s website, we may use technologies that use automation to filter your candidacy based on objective criteria. We also use AI-enabled tools that help us facilitate the selection of our future Hershey talent. These tools may help with activities such as matching and scoring candidates to roles based on requirements and scheduling interviews. These systems process only the information you provide in your application, including your resume, work history, education, and responses to screening questions. While these technologies assist with certain steps in our recruitment process and may provide recommendations, all final decisions, including those affecting whether candidates advance to subsequent stages in the applicant process, are made by our talent acquisition teams with meaningful human review and independent judgment. Depending on your location and the specific role you apply for, additional disclosures about our use of AI in recruitment may be provided to you separately.

Assoc Mgr R&D US CMG Reese

Posted Date: Oct 9, 2026

Requisition Number: 130696

Why Hershey:

At The Hershey Company, our culture is rooted in purpose and inspired by Milton Hershey’s enduring vision that business should create opportunity for others. Through our commitment to corporate philanthropy, we create positive impact by supporting communities, helping children thrive, and operating as a business for good. This includes our deep and long standing partnership with Milton Hershey School, where we invest in education, workforce readiness, and hands on engagement to help students succeed beyond the classroom. Supported by strategic grantmaking, product donations, cross brand collaboration, and strong employee volunteerism, Hershey offers a place to work where making a difference—locally and globally—is part of how we do business every day.

Location: Hershey, PA (Onsite)

About The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company is an industry-leading snacks company known for making more moments of goodness through its iconic brands. With a strong portfolio across chocolate, confectionery, and salty snacks, Hershey delights consumers every day. Our beloved brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, KitKat®, Dots Pretzels, Lesser Evil, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, and more.

At Hershey, we are committed to making a meaningful difference in the communities where we live, work, and do business. This commitment originated with our founder, Milton Hershey, and continues to shape who we are today.

Guided by our employee value proposition, Lead Today. Create Tomorrow, we empower our people to drive impact now while shaping what comes next. Our One Hershey mindset brings teams together across functions, geographies, and businesses, enabling us to operate with speed, collaboration, and shared purpose.

The Hershey Company is proud to be recognized as a top employer in the United States, reflecting our commitment to our people, culture, and purpose.

How will you fit in the big picture?

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Reese Research & Development, the Associate Manager R&D, US CMG Reese will play a critical role in driving innovation across Hershey's chocolate portfolio. This position combines people leadership with technical product development, spending approximately 40% of time leading organizational initiatives and talent development and 60% of time leading medium-complexity product development projects.

You will help bring innovative products to life by partnering across Marketing, Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality & Regulatory, Project Management, Technology Development, and Supply Chain. This role offers the opportunity to influence strategic initiatives, develop technical talent, and shape the future of Reese's and other chocolate innovations.

What will you do?

Talent & Organizational Leadership

• Lead and develop a team of 2-5 Research Technicians and/or Assistants, fostering engagement, capability building, and high performance.
• Provide leadership on organizational priorities, project execution, talent planning, and employee development.
• Identify and drive organizational and strategic improvement opportunities through stakeholder engagement, change management, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Lead product development projects focused on innovative chocolate and confectionery products.
• Drive formulation development, ingredient innovation, and product transformation initiatives from concept through commercialization.
• Conduct prototyping and scale-up activities from benchtop development through pilot plant and full-scale manufacturing.
• Apply scientific principles and technical rigor to solve complex product and process challenges.
• Assess technical feasibility and provide recommendations for new product concepts.
• Partner with Supply Chain to support quality improvements, value engineering efforts, and process optimization activities.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to deliver successful business outcomes and consumer-focused innovation.

Additional Information

• Approximately 30% travel, primarily within the United States, with occasional international travel.
• Opportunity to influence key stakeholders and contribute to strategic growth initiatives across the Reese business.

Benefits and Perks

At Hershey, we offer competitive pay and a comprehensive total rewards package designed to support your wellbeing, financial security, and life outside of work.

• Health & Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus wellness programs that support your physical and mental health
• Financial Security: Competitive pay, annual incentive opportunities, and a 401(k) with company match
• Time Off & Flexibility: Paid time off, company holidays, and flexible ways of working where applicable
• Growth & Development: Career development programs, learning opportunities, and internal mobility

Benefits may vary based on role, location, and eligibility.

Experience:

• 3+ years of relevant experience in food product development, formulation, process development, or a related technical field for an Associate Manager level role.
• Experience leading innovation initiatives such as product development, quality improvement, cost optimization, technology validation, or process improvement.
• Demonstrated knowledge of confectionery and chocolate formulation and recipe development.
• Experience with chocolate and confectionery processing platforms including molding, enrobing, and panning.
• Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders and drive results through cross-functional collaboration.
• Experience mentoring or leading technical talent, interns, co‑ops, technicians, or project teams preferred.
• Strong problem-solving, troubleshooting, communication, and decision-making skills.

Education:

• PhD in Food Science, Food Technology, Food Chemistry, Food Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, or a related technical discipline with 2-4 years of relevant experience; OR
• MS degree with 4-6 years of relevant experience; OR
• BS degree with 6-8 years of relevant experience.

The anticipated base salary range for this role is $100,400 to $125,500per year. The actual base salary offered will depend on a variety of job‑related factors, including, but not limited to, experience, skill set, education, and training. In addition to a market-competitive base salary, our Total Rewards package includes performance‑based incentives and a comprehensive, competitive benefits package designed to support overall physical, mental, and financial well‑being (as applicable). Learn more about Hershey’s benefits and all the resources Hershey provides to support our employees’ physical, emotional, and financial well‑being by visiting the Hershey Digital Employee Experience at www.askHRbenefits.hersheys.com

The Hershey Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The policy of The Hershey Company is to extend opportunities to qualified applicants and employees on an equal basis regardless of an individual's race, color, gender, age, national origin, religion, citizenship status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other categories protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.
The Hershey Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer - Minority/Female/Disabled/Protected Veterans. You may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our online application process as a result of a disability.
You can request an accommodation via phone or email.To request an accommodation via phone, please call [phone] and leave a voicemail with your contact information. You may also email a request for accommodation to [e-mail]. Please be sure to include “Accommodation Needed” in the subject line. This will ensure that your email is routed to the appropriate contact who will handle your request.