Food Innovation & Commercialization Lead

Shearer's Foods; Massillon (OH); On-site; USD 90,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Shearer's Foods is seeking a Commercialization Manager in Massillon, OH, to lead product commercialization initiatives and drive cross-functional collaboration across R&D, Quality, Procurement, Supply Chain, and Plant Operations. You will shape product strategy, drive innovation, and partner with sales to bring new concepts to key customers.

The role emphasizes ownership of ROTIF launches, meeting margin targets, and delivering on-time-in-full product introductions within a fast-paced

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field; strong technical and manufacturing knowledge.
• 5+ years in commercialization, product development, or technical project management in CPG/food manufacturing.
• Ability to manage internal and external customers and adapt to change.
• Strong leadership, communication, and project management skills.
• Solid financial acumen with understanding of product cost and P&L management.

Responsibilities

• Customer-Facing Innovation - Partner with Sales and Commercial Development to sell in new product concepts, formulations, and packaging innovations to top tier and strategic customers.
• Roadmap Alignment - Collaborate with R&D and Commercial Excellence to prioritize innovation pipelines based on customer needs, feasibility, and business impact.
• Market Feedback Loop - Incorporate customer insights and post-launch learning into continuous product improvement and next generation innovation efforts.
• Lead cross-functional commercialization teams for new product launches and reformulations
• New Food Development - from Execution through Post-Execution
• New Packaging - From Scoping through Post-Execution
• Maintain accountability for project timelines, cost adherence, and manufacturability.
• Coordinate with commercial Development Leads and Sales to ensure launch feasibility and readiness to support customer expectations
• Part set-up and data integrity - Create and maintain part records in systems, ensuring accurate specifications for raw materials, packaging films, corrugates, and finished goods.
• Cross-functional Coordination - Work closely with R&D, QA, Regulatory, Procurement, and Supply Chain to gather required data for part set-up.
• Compliance and Change Management - Execute change management processes for BOM updates, formula changes, and obsolete parts, ensuring proper approvals and documentation.
• Act as process steward for Stage Gate commercialization phases.
• Ensure gate documentation is accurate, approved, and archived within the product lifecycle system (PLM or equivalent).
• Provide KPI reporting on project status, gate adherence, and cycle time metrics.
• Collaborate with Lifecycle/Obsolescence Manager to execute transitions, reformulations, discontinuations with minimal disruption.
• Drive standardization of commercialization tools, templates, and playbooks
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of E2E commercialization processes and systems.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Communication

Change management

Financial acumen

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Food Science, Engineering, Operations, or related field

Job description

Shearer's Foods is seeking a Commercialization Manager in Massillon, OH, to lead product commercialization initiatives and drive cross-functional collaboration across R&D, Quality, Procurement, Supply Chain, and Plant Operations. You will shape product strategy, drive innovation, and partner with sales to bring new concepts to key customers.

The role emphasizes ownership of ROTIF launches, meeting margin targets, and delivering on-time-in-full product introductions within a fast-paced