Product Manager - NEW ROLE

MRINetwork; Lafayette (IN); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

MRINetwork is seeking a Product Manager for a multi-site food manufacturer in Indiana. The role owns category strategy, innovation, pricing, margin management, and insights to drive revenue growth and market share.

Hybrid work in Indiana with cross-functional collaboration across FP&A, Sales, Planning & Scheduling, and more. The candidate will oversee R&D projects, product formulations, and plant trials, translating scientific results into commercial solutions while ensuring compliance with USDA

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Meat Science, Food Science, Animal Science, or related discipline.
• 3–5 years of hands-on meat/food product development experience.
• Strong understanding of meat functionality and processing systems.
• Experience in USDA-regulated facilities and USDA labeling standards.
• Ability to translate scientific results into practical commercial solutions.
• Pork processing experience preferred but not required.
• Experience with DOE, data-driven decision making, and shelf-life validation is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute R&D projects focused on product quality and shelf-life extension.
• Lead plant trials and scale-up; troubleshoot processing issues.
• Document formulas, specifications, protocols, and process parameters clearly.
• Collaborate with Operations, Engineering, QA, Sales, Marketing and Regulatory to translate needs into technical solutions.
• Monitor industry trends to identify opportunities.

Skills

Communication skills

Documentation

Data-driven decision making

Design of experiments

Statistical analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Meat Science, Food Science, Animal Science, or related discipline

Master's or PhD preferred

Tools

DOE

Job description

Product Manager – NEW ROLE

Our multi-site food manufacturer, located in Indiana, is actively seeking a Product Manager.

The Product Manager role owns category strategy, innovation pipeline, pricing, margin management, customer insights, and cross-functional execution to drive revenue growth and market share expansion. The Product Manager serves as the subject matter expert and partners closely with FP&A, Sales, Planning & Scheduling, and others to ensure that IPC is maximizing profitability through customer reviews, efficiency through scheduling, inventory management, and sales pricing. This role is open to a hybrid arrangement with work domain being located in Indiana.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute applied R&D projects focused on product quality, yield improvement, shelf-life extension, and process optimization
• Develop and optimize formulations, processes, and product specifications to meet customer, quality, regulatory, and operational requirements
• Lead plant trials and scale-up, troubleshooting processing issues such as bind, emulsion, purge, texture variability, yield, and cook loss
• Own precise documentation of formulas, specifications, protocols, and process parameters, and prepare clear technical reports
• Partner with Operations, Engineering, QA, Sales and Marketing, and Regulatory to translate business and customer needs into technical solutions
• Monitor industry trends, emerging technologies, and competitive products to identify opportunities

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Meat Science, Food Science, Animal Science, or related discipline; Master's or PhD preferred
• Minimum of 3-5 years of hands-on experience in meat / food product development
• Strong understanding of meat functionality (protein bind, blending, water activity, cook loss, emulsions) and processing systems
• Experience in USDA-regulated facilities; working knowledge of USDA-FSIS regulations, HACCP, food-safety management systems, and USDA labeling requirements and standards of identity
• Proven ability to translate scientific results into practical, commercial solutions, with strong documentation and communication skills
• Experience in pork processing preferred but not required
• Additional valued experience (not required): cured, smoked, and further-processed product expertise; sensory evaluation and shelf-life validation; statistical analysis, design of experiments (DOE), and data-driven decision making; and clean-label / ingredient-reduction formulation