Senior Manager, Research & Development Pet Food - Wet
About The Position
This position is located in Reston, VA. This position is not remote work. Must be legally authorized to work in the US. The purpose of this role is to support, build and scale a differentiated wet pet food business focused on premium feline nutrition. This role will lead the development of innovative wet pet food products from concept through commercialization while serving as a cross-functional technical expert across formulation, processing, regulatory compliance, ingredient sourcing, packaging, manufacturing, quality and commercialization. The candidate will possess deep knowledge of the North American pet food industry and be comfortable operating in a fast-moving entrepreneurial environment where both OEM/private label and branded product development are priorities. The goal is to build a nutrition-first wet pet food platform centered around tuna-based formulations, ingredient integrity, manufacturing excellence, and long-term category differentiation.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Animal Nutrition, Food Science, Pet Food Science, Meat Science, Chemical Engineering, Biological Sciences or related field.
- 7+ years of experience in pet food R&D, preferably with wet pet food expertise.
- Required understanding of wet pet food processing, pet food formulation systems, ingredient functionality, and commercial manufacturing environments.
- Experience taking products from concept through commercialization.
- Familiar with AAFCO regulations.
- Strong cross-functional communication and project leadership skills.
- Experience with seafood or tuna-based formulations.
- Experience in OEM/private label manufacturing environments.
- Familiarity with North American retail and e-commerce pet food channels.
- Experience managing external laboratories, feeding studies and co-manufacturing partners.
- Understanding premium pet nutrition trends and functional ingredients.
- Willing to travel as needed. 40%-50% Domestic and International, passport required.
Nice To Haves
- Master’s Degree
- PhD highly preferred for candidates leading advanced formulation, nutritional research, or innovation initiatives.
- Retort technology preferred
- Master’s degree or PhD in a related scientific field.
Responsibilities
- Lead development of wet pet food products including complete & balanced diets, complementary/topper products, functional nutrition products, and treats and specialty formulations.
- Develop formulations aligned with AAFCO nutrient profiles, NRC recommendations, FDA/CVM regulations, and customer and retailer requirements.
- Work with internal and external nutritionists, veterinarians, and formulators to optimize palatability, nutritional performance, texture and appearance, ingredient functionality, and cost targets.
- Evaluate novel proteins, seafood ingredients, functional inclusions and emerging nutrition trends.
- Serve as technical lead for wet pet food manufacturing processes including retort systems, thermal processing, sterilization validation, emulsion systems, mixing and batching, filling and seaming, and texture and viscosity management.
- Support manufacturing scale-up and commercialization activities.
- Troubleshoot production, quality, formulation, and process-related issues.
- Collaborate with operations teams on continuous improvement initiatives.
- Support new production line commissioning and optimization.
- Ensure products meet all applicable AAFCO requirements, FDA regulations, state registration requirements, labeling compliance standards, and import/export standards.
- Partner with QA and regulatory teams on ingredient approvals, product claims, nutritional substantiation, feeding protocols and studies, shelf-life validation, and HACCP and food safety systems.
- Support customer technical documentation and specification management.
- Work closely with procurement and supply chain teams on ingredient functionality, cost optimization, alternative sourcing, supplier qualification, and raw material specifications.
- Evaluate seafood ingredient quality including tuna, fish oils, fish meals, and related marine ingredients.
- Understand ingredient variability and its impact on formulation and manufacturing performance.
- Support packaging development for cans, multipacks, pouches, and sachets.
- Partner with commercial teams to align product architecture with market positioning and retailer requirements.
- Assist with technical customer presentations and OEM business development opportunities.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
