Research and Development Manager in London

Our client is a leading Food manufacturer that crafts artisanal, scratch-made desserts at scale, combining culinary innovation with the finest real ingredients. Serving Retail and Foodservice partners across North America and supported by a portfolio of well-established brands, bringing deep expertise and tailored solutions to its customers – and is continuing a journey of rapid growth.

The Opportunity: Seeking a Research & Development Manager for its bakery manufacturing facility in London, Ontario. Reporting to the Director of R&D and leading a small team, this individual will ensure new items are built and launched successfully and existing items are documented accurately, acting as a liaison between Production, Sales, Finance, Quality Assurance, and Supply Chain.

The R&D Manager will design and execute tests, analyze data, draw conclusions, communicate results, and commercialize products. As the on-site R&D lead, the Manager will drive technical projects that meet business initiatives, with a focus on new product development, quality, and cost improvement.

Key Responsibilities & Job Duties:

• Provide project leadership in the development and commercialization of new products, product improvement, and cost savings.
• Work on multiple interdisciplinary projects – developing and implementing plans, identifying and organizing the project team, coordinating resources to achieve goals, and leading all communication within the organization.
• Train and mentor the R&D team in project planning and execution while overseeing projects. Establish goals, appraise performance, recommend training, and provide input into the final review for all direct reports.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams on implementing new products, new equipment, or new processes.
• Design and execute experiments; analyze and interpret data to make sound technical recommendations for specific projects.
• Provide and communicate technical and business risk assessment and perspective.
• Develop process specifications, ensuring training and transfer of specification knowledge to QA and Operations.
• Support Operations and QA to resolve ingredient, formula, and process issues, and manage product/process changes.
• Provide formula and process specifications and on-floor support to ensure smooth rollouts of new products, equipment, and/or processes.
• Support process design and review on new capability expansion, cost enhancement, and process improvement opportunities.

Ideal Qualifications & Competencies:

• Degree in Food Science / Food Engineering with a strong functional baking science background.
• At least 5 years of experience in bakery / food development / food manufacturing; a culinary degree or work experience is a plus.
• At least 3 years in a supervisory or managerial capacity.
• Experience leading new products through concept, prototyping, and commercialization within a manufacturing environment.
• Recipe / formulation and raw-material knowledge and experience.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Working knowledge of MS Office (Outlook, Word, Excel), SharePoint, and ERP systems.
• Strong bench-work skills with the ability to execute solutions rapidly.
• Working knowledge of Canadian and U.S. food standards and regulations.
• Ability and willingness to work off-hours or extended periods during floor testing.
• Ability and willingness to travel up to 30% of the time.

Our client is an equal-opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. Accommodations are available on request throughout the recruitment process. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those under consideration will be contacted.