Our client is a Founder-led food manufacturing and innovation company. They are a talented and energetic team looking to recruit an outstanding R&D Manager. The company has 3 product lines, all produced in their facility located in the Seattle area:
- Sushi Unit. They are the largest frozen sushi producer in North America on a mission to provide great tasting, convenient, and healthy sushi to their customers. They currently produce over 1,000,000 pieces of sushi per day for major international grocery store chains, the US Military, and K-12 school districts to promote their core mission to provide healthier foods for school lunch programs.
- Ready They produce over 15,000 ready meals per day including Chicken Enchiladas, Pasta Alfredo, Pad Thai, etc.
- Vegetable-based pasta. In 2022, their flagship vegetable-based pasta product, Croissant- shaped gnocchi, was awarded as Oprah’s Favorite Thing for the Christmas Season. They plan to launch into retail Fall 2023 with a strong social media presence, backed by A-list celebrities and Influencers.
Job Description:
Our client is looking for an experienced R&D Manager to lead and manage innovation of products not currently on the market.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Lead all aspects of R&D on frozen sushi technology (starch chemistry, plant-based seafood, etc.).
- Lead all aspects of R&D on vegetable-based pasta extrusion to achieve a variety of desired organoleptic properties.
- Work with management team for new product
- Ideate directly with customers to develop on-trend Keep a strategic view of the marketplace to deliver key business insights.
- Lead technical problem solving, both in daily production and new product Proactively address and drive continuous improvements and cost savings opportunities.
- Maintain knowledge and understanding of developments and trends in the CPG space, including ingredients, new and/or existing products and packaging; and effectively translate the knowledge to create opportunities.
- Build relationships with suppliers to gain additional sources and ideas for new products and/or raw materials for continuous improvements.
- Communicate all progress and needs of the R&D department to the
Required Education / Experience / Skills:
- Demonstrated passion for the science of
- Strong knowledge of starch chemistry and gluten-free pasta
- Minimum 5 years of professional experience specializing in product development for commercial production.
- Master’s degree in Food Science or related field
- Well-developed understanding of functional ingredients (flavors, texturizers, stabilizers) and their application within a food system for culinary concept development and
- Knowledge in HACCP, FSMA-HARPC, FDA and USDA regulations, and GFSI regulations (BRC, SQF, FSSC 22000).
All candidates must be able to work in the U.S. without sponsorship.
For more information, please contact Moira McGrath at OPUS International, Inc. at (954) 428-3888 or moira@foodscience.com