Senior Manager, Research & Development Pet Food - Wet

Wet Pet Food Product Development Manager

This position is located in Reston, VA. This position is not remote work. Must be legally authorized to work in the US.

Purpose:

Support, build and scale a differentiated wet pet food business focused on premium feline nutrition. This role will lead the development of innovative wet pet food products from concept through commercialization while serving as a cross-functional technical expert across formulation, processing, regulatory compliance, ingredient sourcing, packaging, manufacturing, quality and commercialization.

Principal Accountabilities:

Product Development & Formulation:

• Lead development of wet pet food products including complete & balanced diets, complementary/topper products, functional nutrition products, treats and specialty formulations.
• Develop formulations aligned with AAFCO nutrient profiles, NRC recommendations, FDA/CVM regulations, customer and retailer requirements.
• Work with internal and external nutritionists, veterinarians, and formulators to optimize palatability, nutritional performance, texture and appearance, ingredient functionality, cost targets. Evaluate novel proteins, seafood ingredients, functional inclusions and emerging nutrition trends.

Wet Pet Food Processing & Manufacturing:

• Serve as technical lead for wet pet food manufacturing processes including retort systems, thermal processing, sterilization validation, emulsion systems, mixing and batching, filling and seaming, texture and viscosity management.
• Support manufacturing scale-up and commercialization activities.
• Troubleshoot production, quality, formulation, and process-related issues.
• Collaborate with operations teams on continuous improvement initiatives.
• Support new production line commissioning and optimization.

Regulatory, Quality & Food Safety:

• Ensure products meet all applicable AAFCO requirements, FDA regulations, state registration requirements, labeling compliance standards, import/export standards.
• Partner with QA and regulatory teams on ingredient approvals, product claims, nutritional substantiation, feeding protocols and studies, shelf-life validation, HACCP and food safety systems.
• Support customer technical documentation and specification management.

Ingredient & Supply Chain

Collaboration:

• Work closely with procurement and supply chain teams on ingredient functionality, cost optimization, alternative sourcing, supplier qualification, raw material specifications.
• Evaluate seafood ingredient quality including tuna, fish oils, fish meals, and related marine ingredients.
• Understand ingredient variability and its impact on formulation and manufacturing performance.

Packaging & Commercialization:

• Support packaging development for cans, multipacks, pouches, sachets.
• Partner with commercial teams to align product architecture with market positioning and retailer requirements.
• Assist with technical customer presentations and OEM business development opportunities.

Knowledge/Experience/

Competencies:

Education:

• Required Bachelor's degree in Animal Nutrition, Food Science, Pet Food Science, Meat Science, Chemical Engineering, Biological Sciences or related field.
• Master's Degree
• PhD highly preferred for candidates leading advanced formulation, nutritional research, or innovation initiatives.

Experience:

• 7+ years of experience in pet food R&D, preferably with wet pet food expertise.
• Required understanding of wet pet food processing, pet food formulation systems, ingredient functionality, commercial manufacturing environments.
• Experience taking products from concept through commercialization.
• Retort technology preferred. Familiar with AAFCO regulations.
• Strong cross-functional communication and project leadership skills.
• Experience with seafood or tuna-based formulations.
• Experience in OEM/private label manufacturing environments.
• Familiarity with North American retail and e-commerce pet food channels.
• Experience managing external laboratories, feeding studies and co-manufacturing partners.
• Understanding premium pet nutrition trends and functional ingredients.
• Master's degree or PhD in a related scientific field.
• Willing to travel as needed. 40%-50% Domestic and International, passport required.

The successful candidate should possess working knowledge across pet nutrition, wet pet food processing, thermal processing/retort systems, formulation software, regulatory compliance, ingredient functionality, packaging systems, quality systems, commercial manufacturing, supply chain and sourcing, product commercialization, palatability and feeding studies, cost optimization, OEM/private label development, e-commerce and retail product requirements.

The approximate pay range for this position is $145K to $190K. This range is provided as a good faith estimate at the time of posting. Final compensation may vary based on factors including but not limited to knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location.