About the Company

Solina USA, is a proud Solina Group company, specializing in the creation of customized seasonings and sauces. We take pride in our four strategically located production facilities across the United States which empower us to deliver high-quality, innovative flavor solutions efficiently to our customers. Our focus is on catering to Quick Service Restaurants, Fast casual, Casual dining, and food manufacturers, where our commitment lies in providing exceptional flavor solutions tailored to their unique needs. Solina USA has a proven national reputation of providing an exceptional customer experience by providing a high-quality product at a cost-competitive price point. We create dynamic relationships where our creativity can be visible through our customers culinary vision making “Food Matter.”

About the Role

As the Director of Research and Development, you are responsible for leading and managing the implementation of our product development strategy and 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. The director of R&D will understand how to develop dry and wet 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 Solina 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.

Qualifications

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.

Required Skills

5-8 years of product development or closely related experience in the food industry, with direct management of large technical groups.
Must understand how to develop dry and wet products.
Experience with working sessions, plant trials, and customer complaints.
Experience with provision or Gensis program.
Excellent problem-solving skills, provide innovative ideas to meet customer demands.
Experience setting annual budgets, tracking and controlling expenses, and overall financial management of a technical department/group consisting of 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.
Proficient in presentations, creating and leading presentations with internal and external customers.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, emphasizing SharePoint, Excel, and Word.
Ability to read and write correspondence that 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.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Solina is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status or a person’s relationship or association with a protected veteran, including spouses and other family members, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. Equal Employment Opportunity Posters. If you have a disability and you believe you need reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening or to submit an online application, please call toll-free 1-800-461-9330.

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Director of Research Development