Coffee Product Developer

About Caravela

Caravela Coffee is a team of over 200 coffee professionals located in 12 countries, with export operations in 7 Latin American countries (Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru) and import operations in Australia, North America, Ireland, and the UK. Since 2000, our mission is to make specialty coffee prosperous by facilitating equitable exchange of green coffee between skilled producers and high-quality roasters.

We develop the BETTER COFFEE initiative, based on meaningful work, building connections, empowering communities, embracing diversity, responsibility, and sustainability.

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Profit sharing
• Vision insurance

We are looking for a sensory expert and market-driven strategist who can translate customer insights and coffee quality into a high-performing product portfolio; a professional with a sharp palate and a strategic mind to lead our sensory evaluation and align offerings with evolving global market trends.

• Lead sensory evaluation of PSS, Offer, and spot coffees using cupping as a strategic tool to assess quality, profile consistency, and commercial potential.
• Own the continuous follow-up of PSS and Offer Samples, maintaining communication with customers to understand preferences and decision-making criteria.
• Analyze sample results and customer feedback to identify opportunities, risks, and emerging needs.
• Ensure continuous information flow to Origin (QA & PD) by sharing structured insights that support profile adjustments, quality improvements, and product relevance.
• Analyze customer behavior, category trends, buying patterns, and sensory preferences to anticipate needs and guide commercial and marketing strategies.
• Conduct market research by evaluating clients’ roasted coffees to understand product positioning, flavor profiles, and communication approaches.
• Translate market learnings into clear, structured insights for Origin teams (Product Development & Quality Assurance) and shape portfolio evolution.
• Identify market opportunities and challenges based on data, customer conversations, and sensory cues.
• Co-create and recommend a strategic spot offering in collaboration with CRM, ensuring alignment with market demand and commercial priorities.
• Lead bi-weekly customer communications about spot availability, key opportunities, and featured coffees.
• Design product-led opportunities that respond to customer insights and support commercial growth (targeted offerings, seasonal selections, category-focused spotlights).
• Act as a strategic partner to CRMs by providing insights that enhance customer interactions, proposals, and decisions.
• Collaborate with the integrated commercial team to contribute market and sensory intelligence to campaigns, messaging, storytelling, and content creation.
• Work with Origin teams to transfer market insights, share structured feedback, and support product development initiatives aligned with customer and market expectations.
• Ensure alignment across Commercial, Origin, and Marketing teams to maintain a consistent understanding of market needs and opportunities.

This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Team members may perform other related duties to meet the ongoing needs of the organization.

• 5+ Years of Specialty Coffee Experience
• Expert-level sensory evaluation and quality assurance
• Data-driven decision making
• Product & portfolio management
• Strategic communication
• Comfortable working in a decentralized, autonomous, and outcomes-driven environment

Join us in person! This role is based at our Spring (TX) office, 4 days a week, for hands-on collaboration (and great coffee!).