Job Description

As the Director of Research and Development, you are responsible for managing 17 technologists and scientists and leading and managing the implementation of our product development strategy, ensuring development activities are aligned with strategic objectives. You are focused on product launches, processes, cost improvements, interacting with customers, and ensuring they are professionally led and managed in compliance with business and corporate policy for safety, quality, and regulatory. MUST HAVE EXPERIENCE IN SAUCES, DRESSING AND RELATED PRODUCTS.

Responsibilities

• Analyze and interpret strategic business intent as it relates to product development and implement the product development strategy and related activities consistently aligned with corporate direction, and sustainable revenue growth.
• Partner with custom development to build a collaborative pipeline that ensures Saratoga is a market maker not market follower. Evaluate concept reporting and launch/lifecycle proposals consistent with consumer insights and create a sustainable innovation pipeline.
• Demonstrate entrepreneurial leadership principles through mentoring and staff development.
• Partner locally and cross functionally, ensuring knowledge sharing and transfer to deliver product development speed, quality, and success.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with external customers.
• Manage the organization, prioritization, planning, execution, and documentation of the activities surrounding R&D project load to allow project obligations to be met while resolving technical problems.
• Consistently provide guidance as technical leader regarding solving technical, processing, ingredients, regulatory issues sounding the functional areas encompassed by R&D. Evaluate current and future technologies for recommendation of process improvements for cost savings and/or product improvement.
• Stay well-informed on identified or significant technical aspects, current and future food flavor trends and provides leadership to the company's research and development staff. This includes, but is not limited to, necessary technical project planning, testing, and implementation hurdles required for developing both new and maintaining legacy consumer products that meet consumer needs for the company to remain competitive in the marketplace.
• Must have a clear understanding of regulatory labeling, clear understanding of microbiology, and sauce development.
• Any additional duties as reasonably assigned by management.

R EQUIRED SKILLS, EDUCATION, AND EXPERIENCE

Any combination of education and experience providing the required skill and knowledge for successful job performance will be considered. Typical qualifications would be:

• Supervisory or Management experience preferred.
• Experience in a manufacturing environment preferred.
• Degree in Food Related Science

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 5-8 years of product development or closely related experience in the food industry, with direct management of large technical groups.
• Experience with provision or Gensis program.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, and provide innovative ideas to meet customer demands.
• Experience with setting annual budgets, tracking and controlling expenses, and overall financial management of a technical department/group consisting of both personnel and technical components.
• Academic food science knowledge with product development, new technology creation, and food manufacturing experience of food products intended for human consumption, specifically for salad dressing, sauces, dips, glazes, or other oil in water emulsion systems.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite with emphasis on SharePoint, Excel, and Word
• Ability to read and write correspondence which uses technical/scientific terminology.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with all contacts inside and outside of the company with strong interpersonal and organizational skills.

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