Associate Manager R&D

About the role

The Associate Manager position provides both managerial and project leadership with ~40% of the individual’s time focused on managerial and organizational initiatives and ~60% focused on medium complexity product development initiatives. This position would also start to drive various strategic initiatives while also executing on all workstreams. Medium to high autonomy across all initiatives is required.

Responsibilities

• Lead managerial and organizational initiatives (~40% FTE)
• Product development projects (~60% FTE)
• Lead formulation development, ingredient development, and product transformation interactions
• Proactively identify organizational and strategic opportunities, define scope, engage, influence, and align stakeholders, successfully implement changes, and monitor and implement continuous improvements
• Manage 2 - 5 Research Technicians/Assistants or Contractors with responsibilities of setting organizational priorities, project milestones, people development, and organizational engagement
• Perform prototyping and development from bench top to pilot plant to full manufacturing scale
• Interact closely with a cross-functional group of technical, professional, and managerial staff of R&D, as well as production, engineering, and marketing
• Understand the business impact of initiatives and projects
• Apply technical rigor and scientific principles and practices
• Provide input for technical feasibility for new product concepts
• Partner with Supply Chain to provide technical support to drive quality and value improvement in products and processes

Requirements

• Experience leading innovation initiatives, which could include product development, quality improvement, cost improvement, technology validation and process optimization
• Demonstrated knowledge in confection and chocolate formulation and process development
• Strong knowledge of various technical disciplines (Sensory, Research, Engineering and Packaging)
• Demonstrated influencing skills
• Demonstrated problem-solving and evaluation capabilities
• Excellent troubleshooting skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Able to work independently, and as part of a team in a fast-paced, growth-oriented business

Qualifications

• PhD in Food Science, Food Technology, Food Chemistry, Food Engineering, Chemistry, or Biology with 2-4 years’ experience
• MS with 4-6 years’ experience
• BS with 6-8 years’ experience
• Introductory experience in people management such as Interns, Co-ops, and technicians is preferred