Research & Development Manager

Job Overview

• Develop and improve cheese products, formulations, and processing methods.
• Conduct bench-top trials, pilot-scale trials, and plant trials.
• Evaluate cheese characteristics including flavor, texture, moisture, color, meltability, firmness, and shelf life.
• Develop and maintain product formulations, specifications, and processing parameters.
• Troubleshoot product and process issues and identify root causes.
• Work with Production to scale laboratory and pilot formulations to commercial production.
• Conduct product testing and organize sensory evaluations.
• Support shelf-life studies and product stability testing.
• Identify opportunities to improve product yield, quality, consistency, and manufacturing efficiency.
• Evaluate ingredients, cultures, enzymes, additives, packaging materials, and alternative suppliers.
• Maintain accurate records of trials, test results, formulations, and product development activities.
• Prepare technical reports and communicate trial results and recommendations to management.
• Partner with Quality Assurance and Food Safety to ensure new and modified products meet applicable standards and requirements.
• Assist with customer-specific product development and product customization.
• Support commercialization of new products from initial concept through full-scale production.
• Participate in continuous improvement and cost-reduction projects.
• Stay current with developments in dairy science, cheese technology, ingredients, processing technology, and food industry trends.

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, Food Technology, Chemistry, or a related field.
• Experience with food or dairy product development, preferably cheese manufacturing.
• Understanding of food safety, sanitation, and quality systems.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to conduct and document laboratory and production trials.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Ability to work effectively with Production, Quality, Maintenance, and Operations teams.