R&D Category Manager

POSITION: R&D Category Manager

REPORTS TO: Innovation Director

The R&D Category Manager at One Degree Organic Foods will be responsible for leading the design, implementation, and documentation of R&D processes in their assigned product category. Reporting to the Innovation Director, the position will spearhead innovation-level product development in their respective product category, ensuring reproducibility in large-scale manufacturing. Key responsibilities include conceptualizing solutions, ensuring compliance with food safety standards, and driving continuous quality improvement, as well as collaborating with marketing and sales strategies on product development. The role also involves providing technical support, coordinating industrialization, transfers, and profit improvements, along with adept documentation and reporting.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Working under the direction of the Innovation Director, the R&D Category Manager will focus on products that are currently being produced or are being developed for production by One Degree. The R&D Category Manager will take these products and identify all relevant and important parameters that affect quality and functionality and will establish the requisite standards and tolerances needed for those parameters and for that product, including the identification of analytical methodologies. These will be set as the product specifications.

The position will also be responsible for working with different areas on establishing appropriate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), including but not limited to equipment setup, operation, sanitation, product sampling, ensuring the info is readily available for the applicable business partners and training is provided for users. Additionally, the R&D Category Manager will play a pivotal role in organizing, formatting, and archiving the compiled information. This involves taking proactive steps to maintain a systematic record-keeping process, regularly submitting the collected data to the Quality Control department, actively participating in ongoing compliance verification activities.

HERE IS WHO YOU ARE…
DRIVE & MOTIVATION

• You are health-conscious and understand the value of healthy eating and organic food.
• You are passionate about food quality and want to join a company that will allow you to apply your knowledge and skills in a meaningful way.
• You want to use science to expand our collective knowledge about our unique products and processes.

CHARACTER & ABILITIES

• You are a scientist and a connoisseur of food. You enjoy being on the cutting edge of food science and technology.
• You love organization and planning.
• You are meticulous, analytical, detailed, and practical.
• You can design and execute plans and provide well-researched documents.
• You are a natural leader with a desire to build and mentor a team.
• You are self-guided with the ability to see the bigger picture and take a sequence of steps towards a goal.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

• You have a working knowledge of the scientific method, food safety, and R&D protocols.
• You can build strong networks with individuals.
• You are proficient at researching and understanding information and operating basic laboratory equipment.
• You are familiar with the structure and chemistry of food and standard food manufacturing processes.
• You have very strong computer skills, including MS Office Suite.

EXPERIENCE

• You have a Degree or Diploma in Food Science, Chemistry, Biotechnology or related discipline.
• You have at least 4 years of R&D experience in a food production facility.

THINGS YOU WILL DO...

• Research and understand the role of new products and innovations to be implemented.
• Conduct and execute the experiments needed to establish and verify product specifications.
• Maintain comprehensive records of formulations, results, and laboratory analyses.
• Identify opportunities for product and process improvement.
• Create accurate and verifiable Certificates of Analysis.
• Develop documentation related to processes established for the organization’s products.
• Ensure QA has comprehensive and up-to-date product specifications.
• Work collaboratively with different areas within the organization to full-scale production testing.
• Work closely with the Innovation Director in choosing products and applications for New Product Development.
• Conduct experiments to develop new products and applications.

OTHER...

• May on occasion work evenings and/or weekends to accommodate production testing.
• As your category grows you may have the opportunity to grow your team as seen fit.
• It may be necessary to travel to some of the above locations or to trade shows as part of the job.
• Work will also be conducted in the lab or shop to identify problems, find solutions, and create small-scale test runs.
• It may also be necessary to work with the engineering and Projects team members who are setting up pilot scale projects to understand the operation of the systems and any scientific or technical problems involved in scaling up as well as the points of the operation needing special monitoring. Proper, careful, and permanent records will be kept.