Sr Director of Product Development & Regulatory

Overview

Sr Director of Product Development & Regulatory — Dawn Foods

Facility:
Home Office - Dawn Foods Prod.

Location:

Jackson, Michigan, United States

Workplace Type:
Hybrid

Dawn Foods is a global leader in bakery manufacturing and ingredients distribution. As the partner of choice for inspiring bakery success, we help customers grow their business through meaningful partnerships, research-driven insights and innovations, and products and expertise they can depend on. As a family-owned company, our commitments to our people, products, customers, and corporate values are part of our recipe for success.

Why work for Dawn Foods?

PEOPLE. PRODUCTS. CUSTOMERS.

Why should you apply? We invest in you!

• Competitive Pay
• 401(K) + company match
• 10 Paid Company Holidays
• Paid Time Off
• Professional training
• Family-owned business with over 100 years of service
• An opportunity for career advancement, working as part of an empowering workforce

The Senior Director of Product Development and Regulatory is a strategic leadership role responsible for driving innovation, ensuring regulatory compliance, and delivering agile, customer-focused product solutions across Dawn Foods’ North American business. This position leads the coordination and execution of product development initiatives, integrating scientific rigor, historical ingredient knowledge, and data-driven insights to create differentiated offerings that meet evolving market demands.

This leader will proactively monitor and interpret changes in the regulatory landscape, implementing forward-looking strategies to ensure compliance and reduce risk. By embedding regulatory expertise early in the development process, this role ensures that Dawn’s products are not only innovative but also market-ready and compliant.

Working cross-functionally with commercial, procurement, and operations teams, the Senior Director will help shape category strategies, resolve raw material shortages, and address quality and operational challenges. The role demands a strong understanding of ingredient functionality, process interactions, and manufacturing capabilities to unlock non-obvious solutions and deliver value to customers.

The key focus of this role is to leverage science and historical insights to solve real customer problems, driving innovation that is both differentiated and commercially impactful. Success in this role requires the ability to engage directly with customers, understand their challenges, and apply a scientific approach to develop solutions that meet their evolving needs. By combining a scientific approach with strong interpersonal skills, this role enables the creation of a robust product portfolio that not only protects core business but also unlocks new growth opportunities.

The Senior Director will also lead and develop a high-performing team of food scientists and regulatory experts, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, scientific excellence, and accountability.

This is a hybrid position, requiring on-site presence at our Home Office in Jackson, MI, at least 3 days per week, with up to 10% travel.

• Lead Agile Product Development:
  Drive the end-to-end product development process with agility, ensuring rapid iteration, cross-functional collaboration, and alignment with customer and commercial needs.
• Deliver Customer-Centric Solutions:
  Translate customer insights and market trends into differentiated product offerings that create value and strengthen Dawn’s competitive position.
• Regulatory Strategy & Compliance:
  Monitor and interpret changes in the regulatory landscape, proactively integrating compliance into product development and commercialization strategies.
• Build Innovation Pipeline:
  Help develop and maintain a robust pipeline of product innovations aimed at defending core business, expanding market share, and enabling entry into new categories.
• Collaborate Cross-Functionally:
  Partner with commercial, procurement, and operations teams to support category strategy, resolve raw material shortages, and address quality and operational…