Chief Technical Services & Innovation Leader

The Morning Star Company; Los Banos (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

HSA contributions

401(k) with company match

Paid vacation and holidays

Professional development

Growth opportunities

Job summary

The Morning Star Company is seeking an accomplished food scientist and technical leader to serve as Director of Technical Services & Innovation. This executive role provides world-class leadership across research, product development, process optimization, food safety, and packaging innovation to drive customer value.

The successful candidate will partner with customers, farming and manufacturing teams, suppliers, and commercial colleagues to identify opportunities, solve complex technical

Qualifications

• Master’s or PhD in a relevant field preferred.
• At least ten years of progressive technical leadership in the food manufacturing industry.
• Proven success commercializing food products from concept to full-scale production.
• Extensive knowledge of food chemistry, microbiology, thermal processing, ingredient functionality, product development, and manufacturing operations.
• Strong understanding of FDA regulations, FSMA, HACCP, Preventive Controls, labeling, and quality management systems.
• Experience with aseptic processing, hot-fill processing, retorts, dehydrated foods, low- and high-acid foods.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, communication, and presentation skills.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical leadership across R&D, product development, process development, commercialization, customer technical support, packaging innovation, food safety, and manufacturing optimization.
• Partner with customers, agricultural operations, manufacturing teams, suppliers, and commercial colleagues to identify opportunities and solve technical challenges.
• Translate customer concepts into commercially successful products and scale-up from bench to full-scale production.
• Develop bench-top formulations and pilot-scale products for customer evaluation and validation.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams to ensure on-time project delivery and cost targets.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Customer relationships

Project management

Communication

Problem solving

Team collaboration

Entrepreneurship

Education

Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Food Science/Engineering

Job description

The Morning Star Company is seeking an accomplished food scientist and technical leader to serve as Director of Technical Services & Innovation. This executive role provides world-class leadership across research, product development, process optimization, food safety, and packaging innovation to drive customer value.

The successful candidate will partner with customers, farming and manufacturing teams, suppliers, and commercial colleagues to identify opportunities, solve complex technical