Applications Manager

Ingredient company in the NW Suburbs that is financially stable, steadily growing that offers plenty of perks, including a pension!  This will oversee a team of five junior scientists so will be a hybrid position of technical and management.

The Applications Manager role will take the lead in developing new dairy and bakery blends as well as plant-based alternatives.  They will manage these products from concept approval, formulation, product development, and plant trials.  They will be responsible for the launch and post-launch review of new products, collaborating with marketing, sales, project management, QA, and production.  This individual will coach, lead, and mentor team members, contributing to the growth and development of their understanding of dairy applications and ingredient functionality.  The Applications Manager will also be a key resource for the Director of Applications, serving as a dairy and bakery/ingredient expert for the applications team.  Another part of this role is to provide technical service for the company blends texture systems and ingredients.  This will include traveling to attend customer visits and plant trials.  The individual filling this position should have good communication skills and be an active advocate for the company’s products and services.  The team leader must also be able to manage multiple development projects and priorities at one time.

Job Responsibilities:

• Formulate new and existing dairy, and plant-based alternatives, to meet the objectives for sensory, nutritional attributes, quality, cost, timeline, and manufacturability
• Design and conduct experiments to evaluate the impact of formulation, process and/or changes on finished product quality
• Coordinate and supervise full-scale production testing to validate new and revised formulations, production parameters and packaging processes
• Coach and assist in the training and development of other team members
• Work in multidisciplinary teams to accomplish goals
• Work with customers to solve problems and recommend or develop new blends which meet customer needs
• Make comparison between the company products lines and competitive products identifying area of business potential
• Evaluate results of tests conducted and approve those that meet all batch acceptance-testing specification
• Developing and completing R&D projects as defined by the Director of R&D
• Participate in marketing activities such as focus groups, new idea generation, and researching market trends as they pertain to strategic business plan and new products
• Responsible for supporting the successful commercialization of new products
• Work closely with production, marketing, and QA/QC in monitoring the performance of new products during post-launch activities in the New Product Process; may include troubleshooting, ingredient recommendations and customer site visits
• Participate in and/or lead product improvement initiatives to improve the quality of existing products in response to customer feedback, to improve nutritional value, color, flavor, texture, and convenience, or to improve cost efficiencies
• Set and write product specifications for product information sheets
• Must be able to travel up to 33% for customer visits and trade shows

**If you’d like to hear more about this opportunity and others we are currently working on, please contact Mary Harris-Rigas at maryr@cps4jobs.com.

JO:  49.23MH
#LI-MH1

Technical Qualifications:

• 4-year bachelor’s degree, minimum. S. Degree preferred in food science
• Minimum five to seven (5-7) years of dairy and/or bakery experience, with a focus on yogurt, ice cream and fermented dairy and knowledge of dry blend bakery ingredients
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to effectively communicate with internal and external customers
• Excellent computer proficiency: MS Office, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook
• Must be able to multi-task to meet deadlines
• Ability to work independently and carry out assignments to completion within parameters of instructions given, prescribed routines, and standard accepted practices
• Must have knowledge of SQF, CMP’s, Kosher, Sanitation, Allergen, Organic practices
• Understanding of dairy and bakery ingredients and multiple applications
• The Applications Manager should have a good understanding of other ingredients that may be used to affect the texture and shelf-life of dairy systems, such as starches, hydrocolloids, and sweeteners
• Looking for high-influence personality that is ready for people leadership

**If you’d like to hear more about this opportunity and others we are currently working on, please contact Mary Harris-Rigas at maryr@cps4jobs.com.

JO:  49.23MH
#LI-MH1