R&D Manager, Pet Food Innovation — Hybrid

The Honest Kitchen, Inc.; Topeka (KS); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited vacation

Health insurance plans

401K with employer match

Volunteer time and donation matching

Job summary

The Honest Kitchen, Inc. seeks an R&D Manager to lead development, optimization, and commercialization of pet-food formulations across its portfolio.

You’ll translate briefs into validated formulations and manage projects from bench prototype through plant trial and launch. You will partner with the Director of R&D and co-manufacturers to ensure on-cost, on-spec, regulatory-compliant products, while providing day-to-day direction to the R&D Technologist and contributing to stage-gate

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Animal Science, Meat Science, Food Engineering, or a related field.
• 3–5 years of hands-on product development experience, including formulation work and plant trial execution, preferably in pet food or human food manufacturing.
• Experience working with co-manufacturers and managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Familiarity with AAFCO, FDA, USDA-APHIS, FSMA, and/or NASC regulations as they relate to pet food products.

Responsibilities

• Lead formulation development for new SKUs and cost/quality optimization projects.
• Interpret nutritional data and adjust formulations to meet target label claims, palatability, and shelf-life requirements.
• Plan and execute bench-top and plant trials coordinating with co-manufacturers, QA, Procurement, and Operations.
• Document scale-up steps and ensure commercialization packages are complete and accurate to support on-time launches.
• Manage stage gate deliverables and communicate status to internal and external stakeholders.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Procurement, Quality, Regulatory, and Operations to align on product requirements, sourcing, and timelines.

Skills

Ingredient functionality

Formulation development

Analytical skills

Documentation

Communication skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Love animals

Education

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

Job description

The Honest Kitchen, Inc. seeks an R&D Manager to lead development, optimization, and commercialization of pet-food formulations across its portfolio.

You’ll translate briefs into validated formulations and manage projects from bench prototype through plant trial and launch. You will partner with the Director of R&D and co-manufacturers to ensure on-cost, on-spec, regulatory-compliant products, while providing day-to-day direction to the R&D Technologist and contributing to stage-gate