the client is a growing, private equity-backed consumer packaged food company focused on product innovation, disciplined cost management, and strong customer partnerships. the client is seeking a senior R&D leader to design and scale a new pipeline of retort-processed, shelf-stable meal solutions, serving as the product innovation architect for expansion into complex, long-life categories. the role blends visionary leadership with deep expertise in low-acid canned food (LACF) development and familiarity with USDA meat product requirements.
the successful candidate will bridge R&D with marketing and operations to deliver commercially viable, technically sound, scalable innovations. responsibilities include partnering with commercial teams to translate consumer insights into scalable product innovation; leading and unifying a decentralized R&D organization across multiple sites and functions; driving disciplined innovation processes to improve speed-to-market while protecting margin integrity; and owning end-to-end development and commercialization of a shelf-stable retort pipeline. the work will involve solving thermal processing challenges such as starch stability, pasta integrity, and emulsification, establishing best practices for processing parameters, packaging integrity, and heat penetration, and coordinating validations of thermal processes with process authorities.
the role also covers multi-plant and co-manufacturer management, including technical transfers and commercialization across internal plants and external partners, evaluating and managing co-manufacturing relationships to increase capacity and flexibility, and leading continuous improvement initiatives that support cost optimization and ingredient innovation. the leader will ensure compliance with relevant food safety and regulatory standards, implement rigorous technical documentation across formulations, processes, and shelf-life validation, and promote enterprise-wide technical governance. qualifications include a bachelor’s degree in food science, engineering, or a related field (advanced study may be preferred) and progressive R&D leadership experience typically gained in large-scale CPG environments, along with strong low-acid canned food expertise and retort/thermal processing knowledge. the candidate is expected to be commercially minded, able to align cross-functional teams and external partners, and willing to travel regularly to manufacturing and partner locations.