Product Development Technician

Cresco Labs is one of the largest public, vertically integrated, multistate operators in the cannabis industry. Our portfolio of in-house cultivated and manufactured brands features some of the highest quality, most awarded and most popular cannabis products in America. With dozens of locations nationwide, our owned and operated Sunnyside® dispensaries provide a welcoming, positive, judgement-free place to shop for anyone at any point on their cannabis journey.

Founded in 2013, Cresco Labs’ mission is to normalize and professionalize cannabis through our passionate employees. As stewards of the cannabis industry, our teams are constantly focused on supporting the needs of our fellow colleagues, consumers, customers, and communities alike. With a focus on Social Equity and Educational Development, our SEEDTM initiative ensures that our company reflects the communities in which we serve, ensuring equal opportunity for all to have the knowledge and resources to work in and own businesses in cannabis.

At Cresco Labs, we aim to revolutionize and lead the nation’s cannabis industry with a focus on quality and consistency of product, and to bring legitimacy to the industry with the highest level of integrity and professionalism.

At Cresco, we aim to lead the nation’s cannabis industry with a focus on regulatory compliance, product consistency, and customer satisfaction. Our operations bring legitimacy to the cannabis industry by acting with the highest level of integrity, strictly adhering to regulations, and promoting the clinical efficacy of cannabis. As Cresco grows, we will operate with the same level of professionalism and precision in each new market we move in to.

The Product Development Technician supports the Cresco Lab’s business strategy in developing, evaluating, and commercializing new and optimized products. This role contributes to prototype creation, ingredient screening, sample preparation, production trials, shelf‑life studies, technical documentation, and manufacturing support. The Technician works cross‑functionally with R&D, Operations, and Quality teams to help ensure products meet Cresco Labs’ standards for quality, consistency, compliance, and consumer experience.

• Support the development team across a wide variety of projects including but not limited to new product development, product optimization and new ingredient evaluations
• Plan and conduct product and process development trials from product briefs through commercialization
• Maintain subject matter expertise of equipment functions, operations and troubleshooting processes used in the Cresco network
• Work in the Joliet, IL. facility for 80-100% of working hours
• Ability to travel to other in-state or out-of-state company locations with reasonable notice, as business needs require
• Execute benchtop and production-scale development trials using bench-top laboratory and manufacturing equipment
• Record, analyze, interpret, and present technical data to support product and process decisions
• Create product prototypes and samples for distribution to key project stakeholders
• Work with cross-functional team members to learn, perform, plan and train for new product launches from benchtop scale through manufacturing scale and product commercialization
• Research, diagnose, and troubleshoot technical issues during development and production phases and find creative solutions with urgency
• Monitor and take action to improve manufacturing yields and product scrap reduction
• Identify, validation and develop resources to demonstrate and maintain product quality before, during and after commercialization
• Maintain a clean, organized, and sanitary laboratory and production work environment in accordance with company standards
• Develop manufacturing documentation in a timely and detailed manner
• Participate in non-medicated product evaluations and creative brainstorming sessions, providing feedback on product appearance, taste, texture, format, and overall consumer experience
• Work independently or with cross-functional team members to meet product commercialization timelines and schedules
• Prepare, maintain, monitor, and…