Manager, R&D - Product Development: Desserts
About The Position
The R&D Manager will lead product development across the Desserts business and current dessert-brand portfolio, while managing and developing a team of product developers. The role supports innovation, renovation, brand maintenance, portfolio evolution, and value-engineering initiatives. It translates business objectives, supply needs, and regulatory requirements into practical development plans and guides technical execution from concept through commercialization. The position balances people leadership with technical and project leadership in a dynamic, cross-functional environment. The manager collaborates with R&D, operations, quality, regulatory, marketing, and supply chain; exercises sound product-development judgment; manages competing priorities; and builds team capability through clear expectations, coaching, and talent development. The position is based at the Glenview R&D Center and follows a hybrid schedule requiring at least three days per week in the office. The environment is a normal office setting with open workspaces, laboratory and manufacturing environments, and occasional visits to external locations. Travel of up to 30% is required, including travel to internal plants, co-manufacturers, suppliers, and other business locations in the United States and Canada. Physical requirements include lifting up to 30 pounds and navigating laboratory, storage, and manufacturing environments. The new-hire base salary range is $104,200 to $130,200. The position is eligible for a performance-based bonus. Benefits include healthcare coverage and programs supporting protection, savings, and employee and family wellbeing.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Life Sciences, or a related field and at least 6 years of product-development experience in CPG, food and beverage, or a related industry; or a master’s degree and at least 5 years of relevant experience; or a PhD and at least 4 years of relevant experience.
- Demonstrated people-leadership experience, including leading, coaching, and developing technical talent.
- Strong knowledge of ingredients, product formulation, processing equipment, ingredient interactions, and laboratory test methods.
- Proven ability to lead product development and commercialization across multiple projects and priorities.
- Strong communication, influencing, project-management, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment with changing priorities.
- Strong technical judgment and ability to design effective experiments, interpret results, and adjust plans as needed.
- Self-motivated, with a high degree of ownership and ability to deliver results in a complex environment.
- Ability to prioritize competing business needs and make sound tradeoff decisions.
- Willingness to travel up to 30%, including to internal plants, co-manufacturers, suppliers, and other business locations in the United States and Canada.
- Ability to lift up to 30 pounds and navigate laboratory, storage, and manufacturing environments.
Responsibilities
- Lead product development across multiple cross-functional projects and product categories in the Desserts business, including brand maintenance, portfolio evolution, and productivity initiatives.
- Manage, coach, and develop product developers by setting priorities, providing feedback, and building technical and leadership capability.
- Translate business objectives and regulatory requirements into clear development plans and ensure execution from concept through commercialization.
- Partner with cross-functional teams to advance projects, resolve technical issues, and meet business timelines.
- Lead product testing, qualification, and commercialization in laboratory, pilot plant, and production environments.
- Apply technical judgment to product, ingredient, process, and formulation challenges, guiding problem-solving and decision-making.
- Communicate technical findings, recommendations, risks, and implications to cross-functional stakeholders and leadership.
- Manage concurrent priorities and identify tradeoffs, resource constraints, and conflicts across planned and unplanned brand-maintenance work.
- Build effective ways of working within the team and with cross-functional partners to improve execution, clarity, and accountability.
- Learn new categories, technologies, and processing areas as business needs require.
- Ensure high-quality documentation, technical rigor, and disciplined execution across development work.
- Mentor, coach, and collaborate with colleagues inside and outside the immediate team to strengthen capability and business results.
Benefits
- Affordable access to healthcare coverage for employees and eligible dependents.
- Protection and savings programs tailored to employees and their families.
- Medical and prescription drug coverage.
- Dental and vision coverage.
- Paid time off and company holidays.
- Leave of absence.
- Flexible work arrangements.
- Recognition, training, and learning opportunities.
- Employee Assistance Program and wellbeing programs.
- Family support programs.
- 401(k).
- Life insurance.
- Accidental death and dismemberment coverage.
- Disability coverage.
- Performance-based bonus.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
