R&D Project Manager

Are you a “foodie” and love cookies, muffins and pancakes? Are you are looking for a company where we place high value on teamwork, collaboration, innovation? Are you looking to gain experience and grow your career with a successful international company?

If you are looking to do the best work of your career, be a part of an extraordinary company and have a passion for what we do, we want to hear from you!

Cerelia Bakery Canada (Formerly English Bay Batter) is currently looking to add some awesome new team members to our facility in Mississauga, ON.

We develop and produce exceptionally high-quality products including: Fresh & frozen cookie dough and muffin batter in pre-portion sizes and scoop and bake pails for the foodservice industry as well as in-store bakeries of North American grocery, mass and club stores.

Our baked gourmet cookies and muffins are produced for distribution through multiple channels, including quick service restaurants. Refrigerated products including cookie, pastry and biscuit dough sold to North American Grocery Stores in a variety of formats including canister, chub, break-and-bake and place-and-bake.

Our Research and Development is on-going, aimed at introducing new and exciting products to complement our delectable bakery lines. We are an aggressive, flexible company dedicated to providing quality products that satisfy customer needs and marketplace demands.

Most importantly, we are GROWING. As we grow, our team members grow with us!

THE ROLE:

As a member of the R&D team, The R&D Product Manager works in our Innovation Centre, utilizing knowledge of food ingredients, food science, and consumer marketing insights to identify and develop new bakery products and formulas to meet customer and business unit product strategies. This role scales up lab prototypes, through pilot plant production, and full commercialization. Further, the person conducts shelf life, sensory, product performance, and quality attribute testing of products as part of the development process, culminating in all new product technical information including production specifications, final recipes for P&L and trial records.

Essential Job Duties:

• Organize and manage new products ideas and concepts from lab prototype samples to plant trials and full commercialization. Develop the processing and technical requirements needed for scale up. Coordinate first production run product evaluations and approvals.
• Assist in the development of new cookie products from concept approval, formulation, product development, plant trial runs to launch and post-launch review by collaborating with sales, project management, QA and production
• Manage product development technical relationship with internal and external customers. Assume the role of an innovator and project leader demonstrating initiative, creativity, and thoroughness in the execution of complex projects.
• Conduct shelf life, sensory, product performance, and quality attribute testing of products as part of the development process.
• Generate new product technical information including production specifications.
• Develop the cooking instructions for the products
• Assist Regulatory with development of nutrition facts, allergen labeling and ingredient declaration.
• Provide ongoing technical support to Sales for new product introductions. Prepare product sales samples.
• Work in conjunction with the R&D and Marketing groups to develop innovative concepts and recipes.
• Continuous improvement: Improve current products regarding both cost and quality.
• Source new ingredients during the product development process and build vendor relationships, participate to the innovation day with suppliers.
• Monitor current market trends via trade journals and competitor market trips to predict future focus, and submit creative ideas
• Animate the benchmark session with the sales team to ensure an updated products market follow up.
• Maintain a clean and organized R&D Innovation center/Kitchen, ensure the traceability of the ingredients used in the lab.
• Ensure Genesis update
• Ensure the products presentations to the customers, and participate to the exhibitions, and ensure the staging of the products, bring a culinary expertise
• Bachelor's Degree in Food Science or related scientific field
• Minimum of 6 -8 years of experience required in a similar R&D role addition
• Practice in New Product Development, commercial food processing, project management, technical report writing, and ingredient sourcing.
• Creative, attention to details, problem solver.
• Ability to utilize Word, Excel and Genesis.
• Hands on lab experience developing food products. Ability to operate typical laboratory food processing equipment and instruments used in product development, with high level of quality, accuracy and quantity of analysis work.
• Team attitude and cooperation.
• Experience working with cross functional business teams to develop and commercialize new food/beverage products.
• Service Oriented: Becomes knowledgeable of our business and understands the relationships between our customers, suppliers and Cerelia. Places priority on expediently resolving customer issues - identifies and resolves processes that are not effective, creating delays or not being responsive.
• Initiative: Initiates courses of action that will lead to improved performance/effectiveness of the Business Unit Team. Sees a need and takes action to address; questions the way things are done and initiates changes where necessary; sticks with an issue until it is resolved
• Information Seeking: Investigates and researches information, digs to resolve discrepancies; obtains information or opinions internally and externally to gain insight or expertise – makes well informed decisions.
• Listening, Understanding & Responding: Demonstrates the ability to interact effectively with staff, other team members, customers and external contacts. Defers judgment on what someone is saying until they have they have thoroughly investigated; creates opportunities for meaningful discussion; builds rapport, trust and strong working relationships up, down and across org.
• Flexibility: Demonstrates the ability to adapt and work within a variety of situations, and with various groups and individuals; adapting one’s approach as the requirements of a situation.
• Self-confidence: Willing to take on a new challenge or assignment displaying confidence and enthusiasm; emphasizes the positive and upside aspects of difficult situations – every situation provides an opportunity for learning.
• Results Orientation: Strives to beat or meet project deadlines; sets own high standards for quality of work; seeks ways to use time and resources more cost effectively; highly organized with the ability to set priorities and multi-task.
• Team Work: Works cooperatively with others promoting team participation as a means to generate more ideas, greater consensus & engagement and a higher level of commitment to delivering results.
• Annual base pay of between CAD$95K-$105K
• Annual Bonus of 10%
• Fully Employer Paid Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life.
• 3 Weeks Paid Vacation
• 4 Paid Floater Days per year
• RRSP match
• Clean and safe production facility.
• Friendly working environment.
• Career advancement opportunities.

If you are eager and excited to work with a company driven by quality, commitment to excellence, and an awesome product, we want to hear from you!

Job Type: Full-time