R&D Manager - Food Product Development & Scale-Up

Jimmy; Clifton (NJ); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay and performance bonus

401(k) with company match

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Company-paid life insurance and EAP

Generous PTO and career growth

Job summary

Jimmy's Gourmet Bakery in Clifton, NJ is seeking an R&D Manager to lead product development from concept to commercialization. You will coordinate with Sales, Marketing, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Quality, and Production Planning to ensure customer samples, launches, and first production runs are organized and executed successfully.

You will provide technical guidance to the R&D team, support continuous improvement, and maintain consistent project documentation and processes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Food Science or a related field is preferred.
• 3–7 years of experience in food manufacturing, product development, or technical project management.
• Experience managing multiple projects and coordinating cross-functional teams.
• Knowledge of food formulations, ingredient functionality, and commercialization.
• Experience with product scale-ups and first production runs; bakery experience is a plus.
• Strong organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and project management tools.

Responsibilities

• Manage the R&D project pipeline for customer samples and new product development, ensuring priorities, timelines, resources, and deliverables are clearly defined.
• Coordinate first production run planning meetings with Food Scientists and cross-functional teams to ensure equipment, ingredients, labor, and documentation are prepared.
• Collaborate with Quality, Production Planning, Sales, and Marketing to maintain project alignment and meet customer expectations.
• Assign project responsibilities to Food Scientists and Technicians based on priorities and workload.
• Participate in customer, supplier, and internal meetings as needed.
• Assist with troubleshooting during scale-up and first production runs to ensure successful product transfer from laboratory development to manufacturing.
• Review product specifications and technical documentation for accuracy and completeness.
• Support sensory evaluations, product testing, shelf-life studies, and post-production assessments.
• Develop and maintain standardized project management processes, templates, reporting tools, and documentation systems.
• Ensure product specifications, shelf-life studies, analytical testing, and supporting technical records are completed and properly maintained.
• Maintain organized records of formulas, specifications, supplier documentation, laboratory results, and project files.
• Coordinate customer samples, project schedules, and customer-facing technical documentation as needed.

Skills

Project management

Communication

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Food Science

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Project management tools

Job description

Jimmy's Gourmet Bakery in Clifton, NJ is seeking an R&D Manager to lead product development from concept to commercialization. You will coordinate with Sales, Marketing, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Quality, and Production Planning to ensure customer samples, launches, and first production runs are organized and executed successfully.

You will provide technical guidance to the R&D team, support continuous improvement, and maintain consistent project documentation and processes.