Company Description: Nutrient Survival provides high-quality performance nutrition food and drinks made with real ingredients and powerful nutrition for Americans to stay healthy, strong, and alert. Our Special Ops grade nutrition is perfect for today's challenges and everything ahead. We are a team of passionate individuals committed to making a difference in the world. We are headquartered in a 100,000 sq. ft. facility with our offices, test kitchens, ovens, food prep equipment, freeze-drier, packaging and shipping, all in one place. Here, we stay focused on quality and consistency in every batch, almost making food personally upon order.
Job Summary: The Production Development Lead will support recipe creation, re-formulation, rapid prototyping, and support positive interactions and relationships. This role is hands-on and plays an important part in product innovation and renovation to accomplish identified business objectives and consistently sustain growth for our company. A key delivery will be to help build upon consumer insights and be the face of our products in cross-functional settings with representatives from internal teams i.e. Marketing and Operations
In this role, you'll handle various intermediate-term product developments and engineering processes for the business, as well as provide technical support to manufacturing operations. You'll leverage your sharp science background and food formulation experience to be able to effectively qualify new raw materials and suppliers. You'll identify and lead performance, waste reduction, and quality improvement projects to help us become and remain a leader on the shelf.
Duties and Responsibilities:
As a Product Development Lead, You Will
Bring ideas to life for food and drink products as part of the Product Development group, you will work on and provide innovation in creating the flavors, shapes, textures, while fulfilling the nutritional requirements standards and so enjoyed by our customers
A week in the life of a Product Development Lead:
Manage development, scale up and implementation of new and existing technologies to improve the performance of existing products and develop new products
Lead new product development and continuous improvement of current products
Serve as technical resource for marketing to develop a robust pipeline of product development opportunities, which includes developing technical project plans and timelines for all assigned projects
Support product formulation including appropriate ingredient, nutritional, regulatory and analytical requirements
Leverage technical experience to develop, implement, and execute creative product process development activities to achieve product goals and deadlines to deliver to consumer
Establish production processes and teach others
Manage database, record and enter log samples, formulation tracking, translating written requests into formulas and circulating documentation
Act as ingredient lead for all assigned ingredients/raw materials, including qualification of new raw materials and suppliers
Proactively monitor and provide product maintenance for assigned product responsibilities requiring standardized scientific procedures
Explore innovative applications of product/process possibilities based on current state-of-art food technology
Coordinate activities between internal and external customers for product development
Maintain kitchen, product development lab areas to ensure Good Manufacturing Practices are upheld
Perform kitchen and food prep to support product development and professional presentation to foster food safety, sanitation, and hygiene practices are continuously met
Apply leadership, coaching, influencing to steer the project goals and deadlines
Perform practical application of HACCP/Food Safety fundamentals, new materials onboarding, allergen claims validation, and process capability
Scientifically develop drinks and foods using innovative techniques
Perform other duties as assigned
Requirement and Competencies:
Knowledge and practical application of Good Manufacturing Practices, food safety, sanitation i.e., HACCP, AIB, and or SQF
Knowledge of health and safety regulations, and standards
Knowledge of food safety, science in chemistry and or food and nutrition
Knowledge of sanitation techniques and willingness to support in assigned areas
Knowledge of analytics
Knowledge of business acumen including an understanding where project work is occurring
Project Management skills and capabilities
Excellent skills in communication and interpersonal relationships including presentation, oral and written, strong networking and stakeholder management
Proficient skills in Google docs, Gmail, Microsoft Office, Excel, and Microsoft Dynamics
Proficient skills with data entry and management of databases
Proven team management skills and project leadership
Skills in changing and dynamic environments
Skills in complaint reduction exercises to mitigate risks
Skills in math, calculations, collect and manage data, interpret and present findings in meaningful ways
Organizational skills and maintaining assigned kitchen area, equipment, tools, utensils, and laboratory
Skills in interfacing with customers and internal teams
Skills in being highly motivated, critical thinker, goal oriented and easily adapts to change and manages through ambiguity
Ability to manage multiple projects, assignments, take directions, and to follow instructions
Ability to work in a fast paced and high performing environment with autonomy
Ability to understand of the consumer and to focus work with the consumer in mind
Ability to anticipate and solve problems
Ability to find cost saving measures
Ability to work effectively under pressure, manage multiple priorities, and meet tight deadlines
Ability to read and understand reporting data and how it relates to optimal performance for directives
Ability to interface with all levels of the organization including executive leadership
Ability to work as part of a team
Ability to stand, walk, reach, twist, bend, stoop, squat, lift, climb, carry, push, and pull 50 pounds for the entire shift
Ability to live PACK values
Education and Experience:
Bachelor's degree in food science, nutrition, chemical or food engineering or related field
3+ years of product development, formulation, scale up experience, food lab, education equivalent or related experience