Product Development Manager

Job Description:

Manager, Product Development Department: R&D – CO/Peachtree

Position
Summary

The Product Development Manager provides technical leadership and oversight for product development activities within R&D. This role combines hands‑on product development expertise with leadership and coaching to drive high‑quality, efficient and scalable development work while strengthening technical rigor, critical thinking and accountability across the team.

• Provide technical leadership and direction for product development activities across assigned projects. Lead and supervise Project Levels 1–2, with the ability to support select/lead Level 3 projects as needed
• Guide development approaches and decision‑making to ensure sound technical judgment and execution discipline. Review and challenge formulation, process and scale‑up work to improve quality and reduce downstream risk
• Coach and mentor product developers to strengthen capability, accountability and

critical‑thinking skills. Remain hands‑on as needed with formulation, trials, troubleshooting and commercialization support

• Ensure development decisions appropriately consider quality, cost, commercial feasibility and long‑term business impact. Support continuous improvement and capability building within the R&D function
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with Sales/Marketing, Operations, QA, Purchasing and Finance while leveraging external resources to determine development priorities

• BS in Food Science or a related field required, or equivalent experience. MS in Food Science desirable.

• 8–10 years of progressive experience in food product development or R&D within a food manufacturing environment, including a minimum of 5 years in a management or lead role
• Demonstrated experience leading or supervising product development projects from formulation through scale‑up and commercialization
• Proven ability to manage multiple development projects simultaneously, providing timely technical direction and guidance across varying scopes and priorities
• Strong expertise in product formulation, process optimization, experimental design, and quality improvement. Experience evaluating technical tradeoffs related to quality, cost, manufacturing feasibility, and risk
• Prior experience providing technical guidance, mentoring, and leadership to product developers
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and critical‑thinking skills
• Ability to effectively balance hands‑on technical work with leadership and oversight responsibilities