Senior Product Development Manager, Food R&D

Socket.dev; Commerce (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Socket.dev is seeking a Product Development Manager to lead technical direction within the R&D function and oversee product development activities from formulation to commercialization. The role blends hands‑on development with leadership to drive high‑quality, scalable solutions across projects.

The successful candidate will bring 8–10 years in food product development or R&D, including 5+ years in management, with strong skills in formulation, process optimization and quality improvement.

Qualifications

• 8–10 years of progressive experience in food product development or R&D within a food manufacturing environment.
• Minimum of 5 years in a management or lead role.
• Experience leading or supervising product development projects from formulation through scale‑up and commercialization
• Strong expertise in product formulation, process optimization, experimental design, and quality improvement

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and direction for product development activities across assigned projects. Lead and supervise Project Levels 1–2, with ability to support Level 3 as needed
• Guide development approaches and decision‑making to ensure sound technical judgment and execution discipline
• Coach and mentor product developers to strengthen capability, accountability and critical‑thinking skills; remain hands‑on as needed with formulation, trials and commercialization support
• Ensure development decisions consider quality, cost, commercial feasibility and long‑term business impact
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with Sales/Marketing, Operations, QA, Purchasing and Finance while leveraging external resources to determine development priorities

Skills

Product development leadership

R&D management

Quality improvement

Analytical problem solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

BS in Food Science or related field

MS in Food Science desirable

Job description

Socket.dev is seeking a Product Development Manager to lead technical direction within the R&D function and oversee product development activities from formulation to commercialization. The role blends hands‑on development with leadership to drive high‑quality, scalable solutions across projects.

The successful candidate will bring 8–10 years in food product development or R&D, including 5+ years in management, with strong skills in formulation, process optimization and quality improvement.