Sr. Manager, Research & Development

The Institute of Food Technologists; Carson (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

The Institute of Food Technologists seeks a Senior Manager, Food R&D to lead product development from concept through launch. You will partner with Culinary, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Procurement, Marketing, and external manufacturers to deliver consumer-focused products that meet quality, safety, and cost targets.

You will direct formulation, testing, shelf-life validation, and process development while mentoring the R&D team and coordinating cross-functional commercialization

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Culinary Science, Food Engineering, Chemistry, or related field (advanced degree preferred).
• 12+ years of progressive experience in food product development, R&D, commercialization, or food manufacturing with complex projects.
• Knowledge of food formulation, processing, safety, regulatory requirements, and documentation.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of new food products, improvements, and cost optimization from ideation through commercialization.
• Translate consumer insights and business needs into technically feasible solutions.
• Manage formulation, ingredient functionality, bench testing, sensory evaluation, shelf-life validation, packaging compatibility, and process development.
• Plan plant trials, scale-ups, and first production runs with cross-functional teams and manufacturers.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, labeling, regulatory, and quality requirements.
• Provide technical leadership to troubleshoot product quality, process performance, and yield issues.
• Develop specifications, formulas, procedures, and commercialization records.
• Build relationships with suppliers, co-manufacturers, and internal stakeholders to accelerate innovation.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Project management

Technical communication

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science or related field

Job description

The Senior Manager, Food R&D leads product development, commercialization, and technical innovation for food products from concept through launch. This role partners closely with Culinary, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Procurement, Marketing, and external manufacturing partners to deliver consumer-relevant products that meet business objectives, quality standards, cost targets, food safety requirements, and operational capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development of new food products, product improvements, line extensions, and cost optimization initiatives from ideation through commercialization.
• Translate consumer insights, culinary direction, business needs, and operational requirements 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 and manufacturing partners.
• Ensure products meet food safety, regulatory, quality, labeling, nutritional, and customer requirements.
• Provide technical leadership for troubleshooting product quality, process performance, yield, throughput, and consistency issues.
• Develop and maintain specifications, formulas, procedures, trial reports, technical documentation, and commercialization records.
• Build strong relationships with suppliers, co-manufacturers, culinary partners, and internal stakeholders to accelerate innovation and improve execution.
• Lead, coach, and develop R&D team members while setting priorities, managing resources, and supporting professional growth.
• Monitor industry trends, ingredient technologies, processing capabilities, and competitive products to identify innovation opportunities.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Culinary Science, Food Engineering, Chemistry, or a related technical discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive experience in food product development, R&D, commercialization, or food manufacturing, with experience leading complex projects.
• Demonstrated 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 both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, project management, and decision-making skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in restaurant, retail, CPG, frozen, refrigerated, shelf-stable, or ready-to-eat food categories.
• Experience working with co-manufacturers, external suppliers, culinary teams, and multi-site manufacturing environments.
• Knowledge of HACCP, GMPs, allergen control, sanitation, thermal processing, nutritional labeling, and regulatory compliance.
• Familiarity with stage-gate innovation processes, product lifecycle management systems, and specification management tools.
• Spanish language skills or experience supporting bilingual manufacturing environments.

Core Competencies

• Technical leadership: Applies deep food science and commercialization expertise to solve complex product and process challenges.
• Commercial mindset: Balances consumer appeal, operational feasibility, quality, cost, and speed to market.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Builds alignment across R&D, Culinary, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Procurement, Marketing, and external partners.
• Execution discipline: Manages timelines, risks, documentation, and deliverables with strong attention to detail.
• People leadership: Develops talent, creates accountability, and fosters a culture of curiosity, ownership, and continuous improvement.

Working Conditions

• Work may take place in office, laboratory, pilot plant, production, supplier, and co-manufacturer environments.
• Ability to taste and evaluate a broad range of food products and ingredients as required by the role.
• Occasional travel may be required for plant trials, supplier visits, customer meetings, or commercialization support.
• Requires standing, occasional walking on production floors, wearing personal protective equipment, and working around food manufacturing equipment in temperatures of 37–40 degrees.