Product Development Engineer

Ultra™ | Nicotine-Free Functional Pouches

Ultra™ is already the #1 brand of nicotine-free pouches in the world and we only launched one year ago—we're just getting started. Our mission is to build the category-defining brand of functional pouches for people who want enhanced performance without the crash, addiction, or long-term downsides. ULTRA doesn't just make a pouch that's somewhat "better for you" than Zyn—we make functional performance products that are actively good for you.

The market shift is massive: nicotine pouch sales are up 3,000% since 2019 and projected to reach $20B by 2026. Consumers are adopting the pouch form factor at scale, and many are now seeking nicotine-free functional benefits. Ultra is positioned to lead that wave.

Backed by some of the best investors, founders and athletes in the world, including:

• CAVU Consumer Partners (Once Upon A Farm, Poppi, Farmer's Dog, Oatly, Vital Proteins, Whoop, Recess)
• Left Lane Capital (Blank Street, Olipop, Holy)
• Sugar Capital (Grüns, Feastables, Lucky Energy)
• Athletes & Creators:
  Joe Burrow, Dak Prescott, Henrik Lundqvist, Jakob Chychrun + more
• Founders & Operators:
  Chad Janis (Grüns), Harpreet Singh (Oura Ring), Jeff Raider (Harry's), Vinay Menda (Blank Street) + more

The Role

As Product Development Engineer at ULTRA, you'll join the core team at The ULTRA Compound, our dedicated R&D facility. You'll own the full lifecycle of oral pouch product development—from initial bench formulation through scale-up, co-manufacturer transfer, and commercial launch. You'll work across flavor systems, active ingredient delivery, sensory evaluation, and process engineering, with direct exposure to every part of how a product becomes a SKU on the shelf.

The right candidate is technically rigorous, resourceful, and comfortable in an environment where you're expected to figure things out. Experience with oral drug delivery, nutraceutical formulation, or food science is a strong foundation.

What You'll Own

Formulation Development

• Design and iterate on novel formulations, flavors, and active ingredient delivery systems.
• Evaluate excipients with a clear rationale grounded in function and regulatory compliance.
• Manage water activity, pH, and dissolution characteristics to meet both product performance and stability targets.
• Document all formulations with version-controlled batch records, ingredient specs, and processing notes.

Raw Material Evaluation

• Source, screen, and qualify new raw materials (flavor, functional, and excipient categories).
• Review supplier COAs, SDS documents, and technical data sheets; flag specification gaps or quality concerns.
• Evaluate novel active ingredients and delivery-enhancing compounds for potential integration into existing or new product lines.
• Maintain working knowledge of ingredient regulatory status.

Co-Manufacturer Commercialization

• Lead technical transfer of bench formulations to co-manufacturing partners, including preparation of co-manufacturer briefs, processing instructions, and critical quality attributes.
• Own scale-up troubleshooting—identify root causes of performance deltas between bench, pilot, and production scale and drive resolution.
• Participate in production trials and line qualifications at co-manufacturing sites; document outcomes and manage change controls.
• Serve as the primary technical point of contact with co-manufacturers for your product lines.

Sensory Testing

• Design and execute structured sensory evaluations for taste, texture, mouthfeel, and effect perception across formulation iterations.
• Build and analyze panelist data sets; apply statistical reasoning to identify meaningful performance trends across formulas.
• Translate sensory feedback into actionable formulation hypotheses and iterate accordingly.

Quality & Regulatory Support

• Support development of product specifications, in-process testing protocols, and finished goods release criteria.
• Maintain documentation practices consistent with 21 CFR Part 111 cGMP requirements.

Why You're a Fit

• B.S. or higher in Food Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related field.
• 2+ years of hands-on formulation in oral pouch products.
• You've supported…