Director, Pizza & Dough Product Innovation

Nestle; 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)

Bonus opportunities

Job summary

Nestlé’s Research & Development Center is a regional powerhouse driving innovation in food, beverage, and pharmaceutical science. Lead the innovation, development, and commercialization of pizza and dough-based snacking products across one of North America's largest frozen food portfolios.

As a Director of Technical Product Development, you will guide multidisciplinary teams, advance robust pipelines from concept to launch, and deliver consumer-loved products that fuel growth, with a strong

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Bakery Science, Food Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 12+ years of progressive food industry R&D experience (must include development experience of dough based products).
• 5+ years of people leadership experience.
• Proven track record leading product development programs 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.
• Keep an eye on competitive activity and understand potential implications for our business.
• Guide projects from concept creation through commercialization and post-launch optimization.
• Lead and develop a team of product developers, food scientists, and chefs.
• Create an environment that fosters creativity, collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Coach and develop future technical and people leaders.
• Provide technical leadership in dough systems, pizza technologies, frozen foods, ingredient functionality, and manufacturing processes.
• Advance technical understanding of dough rheology, fermentation, baking systems, texture optimization, and shelf-life performance.

Skills

People leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Product development

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Bakery Science, Food Engineering, or related technical discipline

M.S. in Food Science or related field

Job description

Nestlé’s Research & Development Center is a regional powerhouse driving innovation in food, beverage, and pharmaceutical science. Lead the innovation, development, and commercialization of pizza and dough-based snacking products across one of North America's largest frozen food portfolios.

As a Director of Technical Product Development, you will guide multidisciplinary teams, advance robust pipelines from concept to launch, and deliver consumer-loved products that fuel growth, with a strong