Technical Applications Manager
About The Position
At Saputo, we bring good to the table by making high-quality products, investing in our people, and supporting communities around the world. As a top 10 global dairy processor, we value contributions that matter and strive to foster an inclusive, growth-driven work environment. Ready to bring your best? The Manager, R&D (Technical Sales) serves as the technical lead and strategic partner between Sales, R&D, Operations, Marketing, and customers to drive growth, innovation, and customer satisfaction across the portfolio. This role translates technical product capabilities into customer-focused solutions, supports key business development initiatives, and provides leadership in evaluating product performance, customer opportunities, and competitive positioning. The Manager, Technical Sales acts as a trusted advisor to both internal stakeholders and external customers, ensuring technical excellence while advancing commercial objectives.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, Chemistry, Engineering, or a related technical discipline required; advanced degree preferred.
- 7+ years of experience in technical sales, technical service, product development, R&D, applications, or a related customer-facing technical role within food, dairy, ingredients, or CPG industries.
- Strong knowledge of dairy products, dairy ingredients, food manufacturing, and customer application requirements.
- Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical information into business solutions for both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Proven experience leading customer projects from concept through commercialization.
- Strong business acumen with the ability to balance technical considerations with commercial objectives.
- Experience collaborating effectively across Sales, R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Quality functions.
- Excellent communication, presentation, influencing, and relationship-building skills.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities, with the ability to interpret technical data and generate actionable recommendations.
- Highly organized with demonstrated project management and prioritization skills in a fast-paced environment.
- Ability to lead multiple customer initiatives simultaneously while maintaining a high level of responsiveness and execution.
- Willingness to travel approximately 30–40% to support customer visits, trials, business development activities, and industry events.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the primary technical liaison between Customers, Sales, R&D, Operations, and Technical Services to drive customer satisfaction, business growth, and value creation.
- Lead customer-facing technical initiatives by partnering with customers to understand product requirements, application needs, emerging opportunities, and quality concerns, translating these insights into actionable business solutions.
- Partner with Operations and R&D to support product development, commercialization efforts, process improvements, and product performance evaluations, including assessing the impact of manufacturing and process changes on product quality and application performance.
- Develop and maintain key customer application, performance, and market intelligence data to support business development, innovation initiatives, and informed decision-making.
- Evaluate customer quality issues, technical challenges, and product opportunities, coordinating cross-functional teams to ensure timely resolution and a superior customer experience.
- Support strategic customer accounts by providing technical expertise during customer visits, product evaluations, application reviews, and new business development activities.
- Partner closely with Sales to provide rapid and effective responses to customer needs, including sample requests, product recommendations, technical support, and commercialization activities.
- Evaluate competitive products, market trends, and customer requirements to identify opportunities for portfolio growth, product differentiation, and competitive advantage.
- Analyze product performance, customer feedback, and application data to generate insights and recommendations that support continuous improvement, innovation, and customer value creation.
- Present technical findings, product performance evaluations, customer opportunities, and strategic recommendations to senior leadership and key stakeholders.
- Support the Sales organization through technical training, product expertise, and guidance on customer opportunities, applications, and sensitive quality matters.
- Foster strong cross-functional collaboration and act as a positive ambassador for Saputo's culture, values, and commitment to operational excellence and customer success.
Benefits
- Development opportunities that enhance you career fulfillment.
- Meaningful compensation & benefits that help you care for your family.
- Opportunities to contribute to your community and enhance the lives of others through Saputo products.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
