Vice President, Technical - R&D and Quality

Swisher is a leading lifestyle brand for adult consumers headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. Our superior customer relationships, innovative thinking, and action have driven the company to grow and adapt for over 160 years. The legendary company we are today is a result of our unrelenting drive to shape the experiences of tomorrow. As we shape the future, we are looking for people to continue to build on our history of pushing boundaries, shattering expectations, and evolving to solidify connections with adult consumers.

In pursuing our mission, we require a passionate team of diverse backgrounds, viewpoints, and ideas. Our strong brand heritage provides our employees with challenging and rewarding careers, along with real growth opportunities. The VP, Technical oversees the R&D and Quality functions whose activities include the commercialization of new products, product reformulation, packaging development, cost optimization/value engineering, quality and product safety, and the associated regulatory and lab activities across a portfolio of brands within Tobacco, Nicotine, Caffeine, and Drinks.

The VP, Technical will work in partnership with Marketing, Supply Chain, Operations, Engineering, Compliance, and Commercial teams for building and executing the innovation pipeline, advancing technical and quality capabilities, and driving operational excellence in partnership.

Key Responsibilities Strategic Leadership & Vision Set and execute the enterprise technical strategy across R&D, product development, process development, and quality, aligned to growth priorities, product integrity expectations, and commercialization readiness Ensure prioritization, resource allocation, and trade-off decisions are timely and documented Build a capability roadmap across talent, vendor partners, laboratory and testing strategy, quality systems, tools, and infrastructure with phased investment recommendations Oversee IP and knowledge management approach for development programs and external collaborations Innovation & Technical Excellence Oversee end-to-end development from requirements through commercialization readiness, technical transfer, validation, product release, and ongoing quality performance, ensuring manufacturability, quality-system alignment, and consumer performance outcomes Direct external partner strategy (suppliers, contract developers, academic/technology partners) to accelerate capability build while maintaining technical control Champion data-driven development and quality methods, including evidence-based decision making, robust specifications, testing protocols, and documentation discipline across pipelines Cross-Functional Collaboration Serve as the senior technical leader in cross-functional governance with Marketing, Operations/Supply Chain, Engineering, QA/QC, New Product Compliance, and Legal Translate market requirements into technical programs with clear milestones and handoff expectations to Manufacturing and QA/QC Partner with Engineering on CAPEX implications and with Operations on scale-up readiness and transfer execution, ensuring accountability is clear across functions Establish an escalation and issue-resolution mechanism for development and commercialization blockers Team Leadership & Development Lead, develop, and inspire a diverse technical organization, including Product, Packaging, and Process Development Managers, Quality leaders, QA/QC managers, laboratory teams, and technical specialists Create a culture of innovation, collaboration, accountability, quality ownership, and continuous learning within the technical organization Drive capability building in consumer understanding, product design, process engineering, quality systems, laboratory practices, technical documentation, and project leadership within the regulatory guidelines Governance & Compliance Provide executive leadership for Quality Assurance, Quality Control, product release standards, quality management systems, and audit readiness across applicable product categories and manufacturing environments Establish and maintain specifications, testing protocols, documentation standards, change controls, and technical risk assessments to support compliant, consistent, and scalable product execution Lead quality issue escalation, root cause analysis, corrective and preventive actions, supplier quality partnership, and continuous improvement of quality metrics Partner with Compliance, Legal, Operations, and Engineering to ensure technical decisions support regulatory expectations, product integrity, and manufacturing controls Qualifications Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemistry, Food Science, or related technical field 12+ years of progressive technical leadership experience in R&D, product development, process development, quality, or related functions within consumer-packaged goods, food, personal care, tobacco/nicotine, beverage, or other regulated product environments 7+ years of…