Senior Food R&D Leader: From Idea to Market Launch

IFT Education, Extension & Outreach Division; Carson (CA); Presencial; USD 180.000 - 235.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

IFT Education, Extension & Outreach Division seeks a Senior Manager, Food R&D to lead product development from concept through launch. You will translate consumer insights into technically feasible solutions, manage formulation and bench testing, plan plant trials, and ensure regulatory and food-safety compliance.

You will drive cross-functional collaboration with Culinary, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Procurement, Marketing, and external partners, guiding the R&D team and accelerating

Formación

• Bachelor's degree in a related technical discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive experience in food product development, R&D, commercialization, or food manufacturing, with leadership of complex projects.
• Knowledge of food formulation, ingredient functionality, processing methods, food safety, regulatory requirements, and technical documentation.
• Experience managing plant trials, scale-ups, production start-ups, shelf-life testing, sensory evaluation, and cross-functional commercialization timelines.
• Proven ability to lead teams, influence stakeholders, manage multiple priorities, and communicate technical information to diverse audiences.

Responsabilidades

• Lead development of new food products, improvements, line extensions, and cost optimization from ideation through commercialization.
• Translate consumer insights and business needs into technically feasible product solutions.
• Manage formulation, ingredient functionality, bench testing, sensory evaluation, shelf-life validation, packaging compatibility, and process development.
• Plan and execute plant trials, scale-ups, first production runs, and commercialization activities with cross-functional teams.
• Ensure products meet food safety, regulatory, quality, labeling, nutritional, and customer requirements.
• Provide technical leadership to troubleshoot product quality, process performance, yield, throughput, and consistency issues.
• Develop and maintain specifications, formulas, procedures, trial reports, technical documentation, and commercialization records.
• Build relationships with suppliers, co-manufacturers, culinary partners, and internal stakeholders to accelerate innovation.
• Lead, coach, and develop R&D team members while setting priorities and managing resources.
• Monitor industry trends, ingredient technologies, processing capabilities to identify innovation opportunities.

Conocimientos

Food science expertise

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Project management

Regulatory compliance

Sensory evaluation

Analytical thinking

Vendor management

Educación

Bachelor's degree in Food Science

Advanced degree preferred

Descripción del empleo

IFT Education, Extension & Outreach Division seeks a Senior Manager, Food R&D to lead product development from concept through launch. You will translate consumer insights into technically feasible solutions, manage formulation and bench testing, plan plant trials, and ensure regulatory and food-safety compliance.

You will drive cross-functional collaboration with Culinary, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Procurement, Marketing, and external partners, guiding the R&D team and accelerating