Senior Food Product Development Leader

Vaco Recruiter Services; Cincinnati (OH); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Vaco Recruiter Services seeks a seasoned Food Product Developer to lead end-to-end development of meat, frozen, ready-to-eat, and shelf-stable foods. You will supervise teams and drive projects from concept to commercialization while ensuring compliance with USDA, FDA, FSMA, and related regulations.

You will mentor R&D professionals, coordinate plant trials, scale-up processes, and work closely with Operations, QA, Procurement, Supply Chain, Sales and Marketing to deliver high-quality, compliant

Qualifications

• 5-6+ years of progressive food product development and formulation experience in food manufacturing.
• 1-2+ years of leadership experience managing and developing Food Scientists, R&D teams.
• Expertise in development and commercialization of meat, frozen, ready-to-eat, shelf-stable or military ration foods.
• Strong knowledge of ingredient functionality, food chemistry, thermal processing, preservation, shelf-life, sensory evaluation.
• Hands-on experience from concept to pilot, scale-up, commercialization and post-launch support.
• Proven success managing multiple projects to timelines, quality, and budget.
• Working knowledge of USDA, FDA, FSMA, HACCP, GMP, and food safety regulations.
• Experience plant trials, process validation, troubleshooting formulation/production issues.
• Strong understanding of labeling, product specs, ingredient statements, and regulatory compliance.
• Ability to collaborate with Operations, QA, Procurement, Supply Chain, Sales & Marketing.
• Excellent leadership, communication, project management, and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency with formulation management systems, PLM tools, and Microsoft Office.

Responsibilities

• Lead product development from concept through pilot, scale-up, and commercialization.
• Manage multiple development projects simultaneously, meeting timelines and budgets.
• Oversee plant trials, validations, and handling production-related issues.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams across Operations, Quality, Procurement, Supply Chain, Sales, and Marketing.

Job description

Vaco Recruiter Services seeks a seasoned Food Product Developer to lead end-to-end development of meat, frozen, ready-to-eat, and shelf-stable foods. You will supervise teams and drive projects from concept to commercialization while ensuring compliance with USDA, FDA, FSMA, and related regulations.

You will mentor R&D professionals, coordinate plant trials, scale-up processes, and work closely with Operations, QA, Procurement, Supply Chain, Sales and Marketing to deliver high-quality, compliant