Mgr Protein

Hershey Company; Hershey (PA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & Wellbeing

Financial Security

Time Off & Flexibility

Growth & Development

Job summary

The Hershey Company is seeking a Manager of Technical Product Development & Optimization to lead the Protein Product Development team within Protein & Functional Snacking R&D. You will translate consumer insights and market trends into technical strategies for safe, compliant, manufacturable products, guiding concept-to-commercialization and building team capability across protein formats.

Lead a team of scientists, collaborate across Marketing, Manufacturing, and Quality, and ensure rigorous

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Chemical Engineering, Food Engineering, or a related technical discipline required.
• Master’s degree or other advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical development of protein innovation and renovation projects from concept through commercialization.
• Drive formulation, ingredient functionality, sensory optimization, process development, pilot trials, scale-up, and manufacturing startup activities.
• Partner closely with Marketing, Consumer Insights, Manufacturing, Engineering, Procurement, Quality, and Regulatory teams to accelerate project execution and portfolio delivery.
• Provide technical leadership, risk assessments, and recommendations to support stage-gate decisions and business prioritization.
• Manage, coach, and develop a team of scientists and technical professionals, aligning resources across multiple programs and priorities.
• Mentor team members in formulation, experimental design, and technical problem solving while supporting career growth and development.
• Identify technical bottlenecks and capability gaps, implementing improvements that enhance product development speed, rigor, and efficiency.
• Strengthen development processes, documentation practices, prototyping approaches, external partnerships, and cross-functional ways of working.
• Build organizational capability by expanding expertise across protein technologies, ingredients, and product formats.

Skills

Protein product development

People leadership

Regulatory knowledge

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science / Chemical Engineering / Food Engineering

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

Select how often (in days) to receive an alert:

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.

Mgr Technical Product Development & Optimization

Posted Date: Aug 3, 2026

Requisition Number: 129564

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.

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?

The Manager, Protein Product Development leads the Protein Product Development team within Protein & Functional Snacking R&D, driving technical development and optimization across Hershey’s growing protein portfolio. This role translates consumer insights, business priorities, and market trends into technical strategies that deliver safe, compliant, manufacturable, and consumer-loved products. As a people leader, you will guide innovation from concept through commercialization while building team capability and advancing Hershey’s protein platform across formats including bars and powders.

What will you do?

• Lead the technical development of protein innovation and renovation projects from concept through commercialization.
• Drive formulation, ingredient functionality, sensory optimization, process development, pilot trials, scale-up, and manufacturing startup activities.
• Partner closely with Marketing, Consumer Insights, Manufacturing, Engineering, Procurement, Quality, and Regulatory teams to accelerate project execution and portfolio delivery.
• Provide technical leadership, risk assessments, and recommendations to support stage-gate decisions and business prioritization.
• Manage, coach, and develop a team of scientists and technical professionals, aligning resources across multiple programs and priorities.
• Mentor team members in formulation, experimental design, and technical problem solving while supporting career growth and development.
• Identify technical bottlenecks and capability gaps, implementing improvements that enhance product development speed, rigor, and efficiency.
• Strengthen development processes, documentation practices, prototyping approaches, external partnerships, and cross-functional ways of working.
• Build organizational capability by expanding expertise across protein technologies, ingredients, and product formats.

Experience:

• Minimum 5+ years of progressive product development experience in food, beverage, or consumer packaged goods R&D preferred.
• Proven experience leading technical programs and influencing cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated people leadership experience, including coaching, mentoring, and developing scientists and technical support staff.
• Experience commercializing products from benchtop development through pilot plant and full-scale manufacturing.
• Strong understanding of food safety, regulatory, and labeling requirements.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Chemical Engineering, Food Engineering, or a related technical discipline required.
• Master’s degree or other advanced degree preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong expertise in protein-based product development, including protein ingredient functionality, texture optimization, shelf-life performance, and sensory quality.
• Experience across multiple protein formats, including bars and powders.
• Advanced experimental design, analytical problem solving, and data-driven decision-making skills.
• Experience managing external partners, co-manufacturers, and ingredient suppliers.
• Familiarity with stage-gate innovation processes and project management systems.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts for diverse audiences and senior leadership.

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.

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 is handle your request.