New Product Development Specialist

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream•Bakersfield, CA

9d•$70,000 - $80,000

About The Position

At Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, we are excited to start a new chapter of accelerated growth as part of Froneri – a global pure-play ice cream leader. Come help us transform DGIC into the #1 ice cream brand! With nearly 100 years of winning experience in the U.S, a robust portfolio of powerhouse brands that consumers know and love such as Häagen-Dazs, Drumstick, Outshine, Dreyer’s & Edy’s, and the backing and coaching of European-based ice cream experts, we know we have the winning recipe. Our teams across our offices and factories are raising the bar on all things ice cream. We are investing in significant capital expansions to grow our Operations and Supply Chain, and are transforming how we work at every level to become agile, accelerate growth and elevate our quality. With a renewed focus on frozen treats, our tight-knit team of ambitious innovators are fully immersed in the business and encouraged to flex and make decisions quickly. We are committed to pursuing every great idea and delivering the best ice cream experience for our consumers, when and where they want it. Unleash your potential at Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream and discover what a sweet career we have in store for you. The New Product Development Specialist will provide technical leadership for innovation and renovation projects for the ice cream business! This role serves as the technical and project management lead on project teams driving delivery of the “Innovation & Renovation”, “Buy Better”, “Factory support”, “Quality improvement” “Alternative supply” and “Vertical Integration” projects. Ensures that all the products are developed and handed over effectively to run efficiently in the factories. The New Product Development Technologist provides product & process knowledge and support to the factories to solve technical issues and drive continuous improvement. This person will also drive efficiency by being the link between idea and execution, and ensuring products are transitioned to the plants in a way that removes barriers to production and enables speed as well as quality. They will spend time on the plant floor to provide product & process knowledge and support to the factories to solve technical issues and drive continuous improvement. Accelerate your development with tangible real-time feedback – bring your ideas to life and be part of what happens next!

Requirements

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Science, Food Chemistry, Nutrition, or a similar field required
2-5 years of experience in the Food & Beverage industry, ideally in product development, nutrition, quality assurance, or food manufacturing preferred.
Successful Food Science internships or co-ops or prior food manufacturing experience preferred.
Understanding of industry quality and food safety standards
Knowledge of food and beverage raw materials, food packaging materials, food additives and allergens

Responsibilities

Own the Implementation of Innovation & Renovation projects in the Market from brief to Factory handover.
Work with cross functional team (Marketing, Factories, Procurement, Material suppliers, etc.) to scope, and drive project team, utilizing project management tools, to achieve project goals, respect factory capabilities, keep to deadlines to ultimately delight the consumer.
Perform product & process development activities (e.g. mockup, bench top, pilot plant, distribution testing, and factory testing) to achieve project goals and deadlines.
Assure accuracy and a timely hand-over of new product documentation to the factory team to allow for a successful industrialization.
Completion of costs, concept and technical dossier forms and ensures technical and commercial sign-off.
Ensure adherence to all regulatory, legal and company standards. Align with Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream requirements (includes Nutritional Requirement and Sustainability), external standards, and local regulatory framework.
Work closely with internal procurement teams, and technical to ensure all new materials don’t add additional complexity and / risk and or waste to the factory
Continuous improvement of technical skills and personal development, while growing internal and external networks.
Develop expertise for product/process mastership within NPD. Develop the proficiencies required for product/process mastership to be able to support our factory operations.
Provide first line support to factories. Ensure knowledge transfer related to product/process mastership to eliminate the root cause of assistance requests
Has a strong knowledge of ice cream raw materials, recipe, product and process across the factories (Factory experience, Pilot plant, formalized learning and mentorship programs)