Commercialization Specialist II

Lyons Magnus LLC•Walton, KY

About The Position

Lyons Magnus leads the food industry with creativity and innovation, crafting top-quality products across all manufacturing phases, from raw materials to marketing. With over 2,000 diverse items for industrial ingredient and food service sectors, Lyons caters to leading restaurant chains nationally and internationally. At Lyons, our diverse and talented staff is the heart of our organization. We foster a thriving work environment where employees are engaged in shaping both the company's and their own future. The Commercialization Specialist II is a position in the R&D Dept. for Lyons Magnus, an international food and beverage manufacturer headquartered in Fresno, California. The position supports new product development and scale-up by designing, testing, and refining food processing methods. This role bridges R&D and manufacturing, ensuring that new products transition smoothly from pilot scale to full-scale production. The specialist works closely with product developers, engineers, project managers and operations/plant teams to validate processes, optimize formulations, and introduce innovative technologies to meet business and consumer needs.

Requirements

Experience running plant trials and pilot-scale experiments.
Strong communication and teamwork abilities.
Troubleshooting and problem solving.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills for experimental design and data analysis.
Proficiency in data collection and process reporting.
Ability to communicate technical information effectively across R&D and manufacturing teams.
Knowledge of food safety regulations (GMP, HACCP, FSMA, SQF).
Demonstrated project management skills.
Bachelor’s degree in food science, Food Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related field.
Minimum 5-10 years of experience in food product development, process development, plant operations or manufacturing support.
Must have strong product development skills in ingredient functionality, material selection, and formulation.

Nice To Haves

Experience with processing equipment such as mixers, homogenizers, evaporators, fillers, or packaging machinery.
Hands-on troubleshooting skills for process and equipment

Responsibilities

Support scale-up of new food products from laboratory/pilot trials to commercial production.
Partner with R&D and product developers to evaluate ingredient functionality and processing requirements.
Design and execute plant trials to validate new processes and formulations.
Document and refine processing parameters to ensure consistent quality and manufacturability.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate new equipment or technologies. This role will work closely with Engineering and Operations to finalize process conditions and specific equipment requirements.
Apply strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail to identify root causes, provide recommendations, and implement solutions.
Provide technical expertise on processing feasibility during early product design stages.
Prepare and maintain process documentation and technical reports.
Analyze trial and production data to recommend process improvements and adjustments.
Support R&D team during formulation development and scale-up with raw material needs, shelf-life study preparation/execution, and day after analysis.e
Participate in continuous improvement projects focused on waste reduction, throughput enhancement, and cost savings.
Lead and coordinate large pilot plant production runs for CLT’s, market tests and saleable inventory.