R&D Senior specialist Job Torrance area,California USA,Research/Development

Kanzen Meal USA is a fast-growing food innovation company focused on redefining how modern consumers approach everyday nutrition. As part of the global food group Nissin Foods Holdings, the company was established with the vision of setting a new global standard for nutrition integrity by transforming how busy people nourish themselves through convenient, nutrient-dense meals.

The brand specializes in complete, single-serve frozen meals designed to balance flavor, convenience, and nutritional value. Using precision nutrition technology that combines Japanese culinary techniques, food science, and advanced nutrient distribution methods, Kanzen Meal products are formulated to deliver meaningful levels of protein, fiber, and essential vitamins and minerals while maintaining great taste and accessibility for everyday consumers.

Since its U.S. launch, the brand has rapidly expanded distribution across major retailers nationwide, reflecting strong consumer demand for healthier, ready-to-eat meal solutions that do not compromise on flavor or convenience. The company continues to grow its product portfolio and retail footprint as part of its mission to change the way health-conscious consumers fuel their daily lives.

Summary

The R&D Senior Specialist is an individual contributor role responsible for independently executing product development and commercialization activities within a Consumer‑Packaged Goods (CPG) environment. This position focuses on hands‑on food formulation, process development, and plant‑based trials to deliver manufacturable products.

The role requires the ability to work autonomously with minimal supervision while collaborating cross‑functionally to support scale‑up, production start‑up, and preparation of R&D product samples and technical documentation for both internal teams and external customers.

Essential Functions

– Job Duties

The following duties are considered essential to the job. Qualified individuals must have the ability‑with or without reasonable accommodation‑to perform the following duties but not limited to:

Under R&D Director’s (or Vice President’s) supervision:

Understand variety of cuisines and be able to explain, analyze and formulate products, in both creative and traditional fashion. Benchmark with other companies’ products.

Perform activities relevant to the product development process, which may include but not limited to conceptualization, formulation and prototype evaluation, optimization and standardization, cost calculation, commercial translation and product launch. The product categories to be developed include not only frozen foods, but also a wide range of products in dried and chilled ones.

Select new materials and negotiate prices for new materials and current materials, updating material lists or vendors as needed with the goal of reducing the cost of the current materials.

Design and test products to ensure shelf‑life stability and all aspects of products (flavor, color and texture, nutritional content etc.).

Conduct variety of applicable tests and analyses on products to determine inherent properties and present analysis of results to the department for further product development and improvement.

Research on consumer awareness or trends relating to product development (including legal issues). Execution of research on consumer taste preference through validation internally and/or externally.

Collaborate with supply chain management (SCM), R&D department at Nissin Foods (USA), process engineers, plant management, marketing specialists and external customers in order ensure projects remain on schedule and within budget.

Conduct production trials to ensure successful launch of new and revised products.

Monitor production to confirm plant capability and conformance to design criteria and train plant operation.

Understand general requirements of quality control and set appropriate quality standards for products.

Understand general requirements of laws and regulations related to but not limited to food labeling and food additives. Collaborate with external regulatory consultant to understand regulations.

Report and present oral and written updates including…


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