Sr. Product Developer

POSITION SUMMARY:

The position of Senior Product Developer within Freshstone Brands PD Team is an existing position which will allow the successful candidate to contribute to sales growth through their understanding of new product development aimed at creating well targeted, nutritious and tasty fresh and frozen recipes for HMR food counters at retail and food service locations.

The successful candidate will have have the drive and the ability to make a real impact on the future of the business by developing a product selection appropriately targeted to customer needs.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND WORK PERFORMED:

• Contribute to business objectives and strategic product development by assisting with the evaluation and improvement of existing product lines to improve quality and maximize efficiencies
• Contribute to business objectives and strategic product development by assisting with and/or developing, formulating and testing new products to meet customer requirements. Ensure the products meet standards before market introduction/launch
• Report results/findings/conclusions and recommendations on all new ingredients, products, and suppliers to ensure a competitive advantage
• Build direct relationships with vendors, food service and private label customers
• Follow the New Product Development Process including all documentation procedures
• Responsible for assisting, trialling, evaluating and reporting on potential new products from different divisions as required
• Represent FBI in industry events, trade associations, seminars etc.
• Liaise with third party research to identify, prioritize and/or validate potential new opportunities
• Provide manufacturing, sales and marketing support
• Provide technical information and technical support to cross functions team members as required
• Participate in the evaluation and commissioning of new technology, production lines and/or related equipment
• Assist the VP of Product Development and Culinary innovation and act on their behalf as required
• Prepare samples for customer presentations, participate in product cuttings and provide support to the sales team
• Embrace and support the Freshstone Brands culture and values, acting as brand ambassador at all times
• Participates in packaging and artwork creation and review process to ensure product labelling, NFTs and packaging is in compliance with regulatory requirements
• Participate in other special projects as required. These projects can include but are not limited to: equipment research and testing, operational improvement efforts and select marketing efforts
• Learns, responds to and applies current consumer, industry and competitive trends while collaborating with the Sales & Marketing team to use consumer and retail trends to deliver on emerging needs
• Delivers routine daily/weekly/monthly reporting and responds to basic and intermediate ad hoc data requests.
• Respond to various inquiries from internal and external stakeholders, including as requested providing fact-based data to Executive, Key Accounts Manager, or Supervisors as required

EDUCATION & PREREQUISITES

• Bachelor's Degree in Food Science or Food Technology or higher
• Culinary diploma, culinary education or commercial kitchen experience will be an additional asset
• 3 – 5 years of product development experience required, preferably with consumer packaged or food service packaged products
• 3 - 5 years of work experience in food manufacturing required

KEY COMPETENCIES:

• Deep understanding and familiarity with formula scaling, Plant trial, and first productions
• Theoretical and practical food microbiology knowledge
• Demonstrated cooking ability
• Working knowledge with Genesis nutritional database
• Excellent communication (written and verbal) skills
• Experience with S.O.P. generation
• High level of attention to detail
• Experience with maintaining formulations within an ERP system; Similar to a SAP environment.
• Self-motivated, proactive with perpetual curiosity
• Strong team-player
• Highly adaptable and “can do” attitude

Work Environment

• Office environment (desk/ computer work) combined with kitchen (standing), both areas air conditioned in summer
• Stairs in production areas
• Occasionally working in production areas (standing), monitoring production runs or plant trials
• Some lifting – generally moderate – up to 35 lbs (accessing ingredients from supplies in cooler or on shelves)
• Occasional local travel (presentations at customer offices, purchasing ingredients or delivering samples) and possible air travel to the Canada/US from time to time (presentations at customer offices, trade shows, etc.)