Senior Ice Cream R&D Lead: Flavor Innovation

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream; New York (NY); On-site; USD 105,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Scoop Card

Medical, Dental + Vision Insurance

401k with employer match

Cell Phone Reimbursement

Wellness Reimbursement

Flexible Time Off

Paid Sick Time

Sabbatical after 4 years

Yearly Performance Reviews

Job summary

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, headquartered in NYC, is seeking a Senior R&D Manager to lead flavor innovation and oversee co-manufacturer partnerships from our Greenpoint office. This role requires a strong background in dairy product development, project leadership, and close collaboration with the founding team.

The position reports to the VP of Commercialization and requires in-office presence 4-5 days per week, with some travel for trials.

Qualifications

• 4 to 6 years of experience in an R&D or commercialization role.
• Food Science or Engineering background required.
• Dairy/Ice Cream development experience preferred.
• Experience in Food Manufacturing ideal.
• Proficiency in TraceGains, Google, and Microsoft product suites a plus.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills across external and cross-functional partners.
• In-office 4-5x/week.
• Innovative spirit and creativity.
• Must be comfortable working in-store scoop shifts once a quarter, while adhering to DOH guidelines.

Responsibilities

• Flavor Innovation + Renovation: lead developing new recipes for commercialized products; monitor existing recipes for flavor, texture and appearance; create flavor concepts for LTO flavors; manage and maintain formulations; build costing models for recipes; research flavor trends; gather documents for supplier approval; work with material suppliers on guardrails; evaluate ingredients and suppliers; receive and approve samples; participate in QA tastings.
• Co-Manufacturer Management: support launches with co-manufacturers to maximize quality and productivity; collaborate with QA/Food Safety and co-manufacturers; work with Supply Chain to improve decisions; verify copacker BOMs; support in-person trials (up to 30% travel).
• Marketing/Wholesale & Retail: write flavor descriptors for new products; work with collaborating brands to create flavors, send samples, get BOMs; work with Sales & Marketing to identify portfolio gaps; ship samples to wholesale buyers; generate ingredients, allergen statements, and nutrition panels; approve packaging artwork.

Education

Food Science or Engineering

Tools

TraceGains

Google

Microsoft Office

Job description

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, headquartered in NYC, is seeking a Senior R&D Manager to lead flavor innovation and oversee co-manufacturer partnerships from our Greenpoint office. This role requires a strong background in dairy product development, project leadership, and close collaboration with the founding team.

The position reports to the VP of Commercialization and requires in-office presence 4-5 days per week, with some travel for trials.