Director of Dough & Pizza Tech Innovation

Nestlé S.A.; Solon (OH); On-site; USD 179,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k with company match

Healthcare coverage

Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP)

Annual bonus opportunities

Job summary

Nestlé’s R&D Center is a regional powerhouse for food, beverage, and health science, driving breakthrough innovations across a broad portfolio. This role leads pizza and dough-based snacking product development with a strong focus on technical excellence and strategic leadership.

You will guide teams from concept to launch, shape pipelines, and influence senior leadership with science-based solutions and market-driven insights.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Bakery Science, Food Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 12+ years of progressive food industry R&D experience with dough-based products.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience.
• Proven track record leading product development from concept through commercialization.
• Experience with frozen foods, bakery, pizza, dough-based products, snacks, or adjacent categories.
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional teams in a complex matrix environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the innovation strategy for pizza and dough-based snack platforms.
• Identify emerging consumer trends, technologies, ingredients, and product opportunities.
• Guide projects from concept creation through commercialization and post-launch optimization.
• Lead and develop a team of product developers, food scientists, and chefs.
• Coach and develop future technical and people leaders.
• Provide technical leadership in dough systems, pizza technologies, frozen foods, ingredient functionality, and manufacturing processes.
• Establish technical standards and best practices across the organization.

Skills

R&D experience in food industry

People leadership

Product development leadership

Dough-based dough systems knowledge

Cross-functional leadership

Consumer-led innovation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Food Science/Bakery/related discipline

MS in Food Science or related field

Job description

Nestlé’s R&D Center is a regional powerhouse for food, beverage, and health science, driving breakthrough innovations across a broad portfolio. This role leads pizza and dough-based snacking product development with a strong focus on technical excellence and strategic leadership.

You will guide teams from concept to launch, shape pipelines, and influence senior leadership with science-based solutions and market-driven insights.