Manager of Beverage Innovation

Mood•Los Angeles, TX

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Mood is a category-defining omni-channel hemp brand offering a full product suite across DTC online and retail partners. We are scaling fast and doing it profitably. We win through a premium product experience that brings best-in-class shopping to one of the most highly regulated industries. Our mission is simple: Enable access to premium hemp products of the highest quality, conveniently. We are still early in our journey, and the right operators can make a lasting impact. Mood is seeking a Head of Beverage R&D to own and execute the end-to-end development of our beverage portfolio. This is a hands-on, individual contributor role for someone who can operate across strategy and execution. You will be responsible for taking products from idea → formulation → testing → commercialization, while continuously improving existing products to be best-in-class. You will act as the internal owner of beverage innovation, working cross-functionally while personally driving the work forward. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in ambiguity, moves quickly, and takes pride in building great products from the ground up.

Requirements

5-10+ years of hands-on beverage R&D or product development experience.
Strong formulation experience (emulsions, flavor systems, functional ingredients, or similar).
Experience taking products from concept to commercial production.
Experience working with co-manufacturers and scaling formulations.
Strong understanding of shelf stability, QA, and product performance.
Ability to operate both strategically and tactically without support infrastructure.
High ownership mentality with a bias toward action and execution.
Strong problem-solving skills and comfort troubleshooting in real time.

Nice To Haves

Experience in regulated categories (THC, cannabis, alcohol, supplements, etc.) preferred.
Degree in Food Science, Chemistry, or related field preferred.

Responsibilities

Own the full beverage R&D lifecycle from concept through commercialization.
Constantly scan the market to identify opportunities for Mood to be a market leader in new beverage concepts.
Develop new beverage products including formulation, prototyping, and iteration.
Run hands-on formulation work yourself or in partnership with formulation houses, testing, sampling, and refinement to achieve target taste, onset, stability, and consistency.
Lead scale-up from benchtop to production with co-manufacturers.
Continuously improve current formulations to enhance taste, mouthfeel, onset time, bioavailability, and shelf stability.
Identify cost optimization opportunities without compromising product quality.
Prevent production issues and ensure rigorous adherence to best-in-class manufacturing standards.
Analyze consumer feedback, reviews, and behavioral data to inform product improvements and new product concepts.
Track competitive products across beverages, alcohol, functional drinks, and other beverage categories.
Translate insights into clear product opportunities in our innovation pipeline.
Ensure all products meet potency, safety, and quality standards.
Own shelf-life testing, stability programs, and formulation documentation.
Partner with Compliance to ensure regulatory alignment across markets.
Manage relationships with co-manufacturers, labs, ingredient suppliers, and flavor houses.
Source and evaluate new ingredients, technologies, and partners.
Manage production runs, tech transfers, and ongoing manufacturer performance.
Ensure partners meet quality, cost, and timeline expectations.
Partner with Supply Chain, Sales, and Marketing to bring new products to market successfully.
Support forecasting, inventory planning, and launch readiness.
Contribute to packaging, pricing, and positioning decisions.
Ensure products are built for real-world distribution, including DSD and retail environments.
Create repeatable R&D processes, documentation, and SOPs.
Establish formulation standards and testing protocols.
Help define what “best-in-class” beverage quality looks like at Mood and raise the bar over time.