Senior Manager, Research & Development

As the R&D Senior Manager, you will lead R&D activities supporting innovation, design, and development of new products and improving existing ones. You will be responsible for ensuring research projects align with the company’s strategic goals, adhere to budgets and timelines, and meet technical specifications. This leader will have the ability to build the research & development function from the ground up and play a critical role in driving innovation and process improvement, ensuring the company remains competitive in the pet food industry, and delivering value through research and development efforts. 
Responsibilities: 

• Oversee the planning, execution, and completion of R&D projects, ensuring timelines, budgets, and objectives are met.  
   
• Acts as key R&D business partner for Integrated Business Teams. Prioritizes and manages product development team activities and leads cross-functional initiatives resulting in meeting cost, quality, and innovation objectives.

• Identify and mitigate risks and obstacles that may impact food safety or product quality. 

• Work seamlessly with cross-functional teams, such as marketing, procurement, and operations, to ensure a smooth transition of products from development to market.  Collaborate with cross-functional peers to develop and drive the innovation pipeline and margin enhancement initiatives. 

• Lead the technical development of new products or the enhancement of existing ones by fostering innovation and creative problem-solving with the team.  
   
• Ensure R&D initiatives align with market trends, customer needs, and optimize products before commercialization by staying up to date with industry trends, best practices, and regulatory requirements related to food safety, quality, and sanitation. 
   
• Ensure technical developments meet regulatory standards and guidelines for pet food safety and quality. Deliver technical and consumer solutions as part of a cross-functional team.

• Foster effective communication and collaboration among team members, promoting a positive and productive work environment.

• Manage relationships with external partners to foster collaboration and access new technologies or knowledge. 

• Ensure Excellence in safety practices, Lab practices, and equipment improvements.  

• Provide technical guidance and work direction in the development of new products and improvements to existing products in the areas of innovation, cost savings and quality. 

• Ensure the product development team activities meet company cost capacity, quality, IBT and product development requirements. 

• Ensure the product development team partners and works effectively with other technical functions including, but not limited to products research, consumer insights, process engineering, packaging, QFS, etc. 

• Provide technical expertise and serve as a resource to the company in areas including, but not limited to, product and process development, ingredient-and-package material interfaces, shelf-life testing, consumer acceptability, attribute drivers of liking, ingredient functionality, and ingredient-in-equipment interactions, reactions, and predicted outcomes. 

• Monitor developments outside the company including, but not limited to, new ideas/concepts, competitive activity, new product/ technology introductions, regulatory and legal landscape, consumer and customer feedback. 

• Provide technical support to operations to continuously reduce cost of goods and improve quality. 

• Oversee startups of all new product introductions or renovations to assure they meet timeline expectations and to assure the performance metrics match P&L expectations. 

 Qualifications:

• Bachelor's or Master’s degree in a relevant scientific or technical field, or a related field of science, engineering, or supply chain program preferred. Relevant certifications (e.g., HACCP) are highly desirable 

• 5 years+ of relevant experience in research and development, as well as other relevant CPG supply chain experience preferably within the foods or other regulated products industries 

• Preferably pet food / food / meat related 

• Understanding of Pet Food consumers, market opportunities, recipes, raw materials and process constraints 

• Strong understanding of applicable Pet Food technologies and manufacturing production processes. Freeze Drying experience - preferred.  

• Excellent organizational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple initiatives simultaneously 

• Exceptional leadership and team management abilities, with a collaborative and results-oriented approach 

• Effective communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interact with stakeholders at various levels of the organization 

• Experience across product, process, and packaging innovation 
   
• Strong knowledge of product development from bench top to full scale production 
   
• Familiar with food ingredients, nutrients and regulatory compliance. 
   
• Develop and maintain documentation and forms and establish required product specifications 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced knowledge of AAFCO, PCQI
• Experience working in a GMP, HACCP and SQF certified environment preferred 

Additional Considerations:

• Location: Abilene, TX preferred or open to Fairfield, California - will require occasional travel to CA, CO, and WA facilities.
• Willingness to travel >50%+ of the time to project sites and manufacturing facilities

Compensation for California: $120,000 - $160,000 (salary offered is dependent on experience level, education, qualifications and other factors not limited to these mentioned.)
We offer competitive compensation and benefits packages, along with a dynamic work environment that fosters professional growth and development. If you are a motivated and experienced Quality, Food Safety and/or Supply Chain leader looking to make a significant impact in the pet food manufacturing industry, we invite you to apply with your updated resume and cover letter.