Project Manager R&D (Contract to Perm)

CPS Inc.; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

CPS Inc. is seeking a Project Manager R&D for a 12-14 month contract with strong potential to convert to full-time in early 2028. The role coordinates business, R&D, and operations to deliver high-impact CPG products on schedule and within scope.

Responsibilities include leading multi-disciplinary programs from ideation to launch, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives, and driving governance and risk management across several concurrent SKUs.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of related work experience in food & beverage CPG industry.
• Proven project management skills and experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex, cross-functional innovation and commercialization initiatives from concept through market launch.
• Manage scope, timing, and budget; convert briefs into integrated project plans.
• Collaborate with R&D, Operations, Quality, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Sales.
• Drive stage-gate governance, track risks, assumptions, and changes for multiple launches.
• Identify bottlenecks and drive continuous improvement; maintain KPI dashboard.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Governance

Risk management

Tools

Wrike

Asana

Click-Up

Job description

Project Manager R&D (Contract to Perm) Looking for a long-term contractor (12-14 months). This role has a very good chance of converting to Full Time in the first quarter of 2028. We are passionate about our business, and we value personal accountability, creativity, and we focus on results. Our authentic and inspiring leaders support and challenge you to cause extraordinary performance, where you’re rewarded for both ‘what’ you achieve and ‘how’ you achieve it. We love celebrating our people for their contribution to business results and living our values. We believe in doing the right thing for our employees, customers, and communities.

Job Summary / Scope

The Project Manager leads complex, cross functional innovation and commercialization initiatives from early concept through successful market launch. This role integrates business, R&D, and operational execution to deliver high impact CPG products on time, within scope, and aligned with strategic objectives.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead small to medium, multidisciplinary innovation, commercialization, cost savings, and business continuity projects across the full lifecycle from ideation and feasibility through scale up, launch, and post launch evaluation.
• Ensure delivery against scope, timing, and budget.
• Convert project briefs and business case development reports from marketing into integrated project charters and plans including timelines, milestones, work breakdown structures, resource allocation, and risk mitigation strategies for multiple concurrent product launches with multiple SKUs.
• Partner closely with R&D, Operations, Quality, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Sales to ensure strong cross functional alignment and disciplined execution throughout development and commercialization.
• Drive the stage-gate by leading governance reviews, coordinating progress, documenting assumptions, risks, and tradeoffs, and actively tracking changes as projects progress.
• Proactively identify, communicate, and resolve project risks and issues, providing clear status updates, decision framing, and escalation as needed to senior stakeholders.
• Make recommendations and lead continuous improvement initiatives to identify and utilize lessons learned exercises from each project and project closures.
• Identify project bottlenecks, sources of delays, and collaboratively work to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the projects.
• Maintain a key performance indicator dashboard to monitor project performance towards company goals.
• Improve project task management through identifying which team task management software to adopt (such as Wrike, Asana, Click-Up, or other) with IT and leading initiation of that software.
• Supervision This position does not have supervisory responsibilities.

Salary

$120,000 - $140,000 + Bonus

Requirements

• Minimum of 10 years of related work experience in food & beverage CPG industry.
• Project Management skills and experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Minimum of 7 years of food & beverage CPG project management in a product development environment.