Research and Development Manager

The Manager, R&D supports the company’s vision to be the “go to” supplier for our customers for innovative products and solutions.  Responsibilities include for leading the inclusion Team through bench-top to commercialization and plant support of new products, continuous improvement and cost savings.  The manager is responsible for serving as the technical lead for planning, project prioritization, staffing, evaluation and utilization of technical knowledge for the development of direct reports.  The manager is the leader for applicable customer level interaction while mentoring five (5) direct reports in the ability to engage in customer processes.  Demonstration of high-level people leader with the ability to create strategic visions and to effectively influence internal/external cross functional leadership teams while being able to step in and help formulate and take on projects as needed is essential. 

Core Responsibilities:

• The Manager, R&D supports the company’s vision to be the “go to” supplier for our customers for innovative products and solutions
• Lead the Inclusion Team through bench-top to commercialization and plant support of new products, continuous improvement and cost savings
• The manager is responsible for serving as the technical lead for planning, project prioritization, staffing, evaluation and utilization of technical knowledge for the development of direct reports
• The manager is the leader for applicable customer lever interaction while mentoring five (5) direct reports in the ability to engage in customer processes
• Demonstration of high-level people leader with the ability to create strategic visions and to effectively influence internal / external cross functional leadership teams while being able to step in and help formulate and take on projects as needed is essential
• Manage R&D, the Inclusion Group and personal and professional development of group
• Build strategic partnerships with relevant external organizations to leverage and company’s technical capability and innovation pipeline
• Champion the prioritizing of projects and assignment
• Spreadhead the development, duplication or reverse engineering of products for new or existing customers
• Work independently on multiple projects in accordance with customers’ requirements and timelines
• Formulate products using various ingredients such as colors, flavors, stabilizers, fats, emulsifiers sweeteners, etc.
• Champion projects from bench level through production and customer successful implementation
• Work with Commercialization Team for new product introductions, first runs, and troubleshoot production issues
• Provide technical support for sales and customers in addressing questions or concerns
• Ability to travel to customer’s location to provide onsite sales selling support and operations technical support
• Manage the lab and pilot lab needs to execute technical projects in a timely and effective manner

**If you’d like to hear more about this opportunity and others we are currently working on, please contact Jeff Fee at jfee@cps4jobs.com.

JO:  34.23JF
#LI-JF1

Technical Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree required in Food Science or related field
• Master’s in food science, MBA, or related field encouraged
• 10 years of food product development experience, including 5 years managing a team of 2 or more members
• 3-5 years project management and process improvement experience
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with proven ability to effectively communicate to customers and all levels of the business
• Ability to be persuasive and assertive while also being collaborative
• Ability to lead and influence decisions to drive business goals and make complex decisions
• Strong organizational skills, technical and problem-solving skills, interpersonal and leadership skills
• Reasoning ability
• Initiative and planning skills and abilities
• Self-motivated, resourceful, creative, teachable
• Ability to multi-task and manage time effectively
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists
• Mathematical skills
• Ability to work and assist in developing and managing budgets

**If you’d like to hear more about this opportunity and others we are currently working on, please contact Jeff Fee at jfee@cps4jobs.com.

JO:  34.23JF
#LI-JF1