About the role:

Liquid I.V. is looking for a creative, highly technical and execution focused Product Development Manager to help lead and execute resilience and cost savings initiatives for core business. Reporting to the Director of Core Hydration Product Development, this role will manage and have support from 1-2 PD Scientists. Candidates should bring prior people management experience and a demonstrated ability to coach, mentor, and develop technical talent. The Manager, Core Hydration Product Development, will be an integral team member of LIV R&D Organization and will engage with all levels of the organization cross-functionally along with Unilever counterparts.

The ideal candidate is both hands-on formulator and a technical leader with expertise in product development of powdered beverages. They are highly technical in their product development approach and are not only capable of designing/executing experiments independently, but to also communicating their findings to both technical and non-technical business partners.

Functions and duties of this role include, but not limited to:

• Lead technical management of core hydration business continuity, cost savings and brand improvement projects while upholding product quality and consumer experience
• Deliver including ideation with marketing, prototyping, specification development, technical transfer, and in market support
• Partner with supply chain, procurement and commercialization teams to identify and implement cost savings initiatives related to ingredients, formulations, manufacturing processes and packaging
• Collaborate with quality assurance on root cause investigations and implementation of corrective actions for product quality and production challenges
• Deliver product superiority measures with innovation, cost savings, and resilience projects
• Plan and execute stability/analytical studies for self-owned projects
• Oversee operations of the product development space, including organization, ingredient management, SOP development, equipment calibration and advancing documentation processes
• Support implementation of digital R&D systems, documentation processes, and best practices
• Collaborate with scientific affairs and sensory science partners to deliver robust science-based formulations
• Monitor and maintain on-time delivery of critical project milestones, lead internal communication with cross-functional partners as it relates to product briefs, formula evaluation and other deliverables
• Directly manage and coach one Product Development Scientists including setting clear priorities, project ownership, and development goals
• Develop and support junior members of the team to foster creative and science-based product design
• Partner with manager and colleagues to continuously optimize the PD processes with the goal of delivering smart agile execution, while maintaining product quality & superiority throughout the process
• Develop strong working relationships with innovation partners, suppliers, contract manufactures to meet and or exceed timelines
• Travel as necessary to represent team at industry conferences, tradeshows, supervise formula development, pilot, and/or production runs, work onsite at CM R&D facilities as needed to meet project approval milestones

Qualifications:

The successful candidate will have the following qualifications:

• Master's degree in food science or related field highly desired.
• Consumer obsessed with a record of accomplishment of success in developing amazing products for iconic brands.
• Deep technical expertise in areas such as powdered beverages, nutritional supplements, flavor design and development, specification development, formulation management.
• Strong working knowledge of food science, health and nutrition, food manufacturing processes, quality assurance principles, product development systems and processes, ingredient supply market, as well as scale up and product commercialization.
• Demonstrated analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to create both scrappy & detailed experiments, collect and interpret data, draw valid conclusions, and propose solutions.
• Experience and proficiency in executing strong co-development agreements with external partners with scope in: IP protection, negotiations, cost structure, and SOW development.
• A poised technical leader with the ability to influence and has strong oral/written presentation skills.
• Strong working knowledge of R&D program management.
• Agile and adaptable to change and demonstrates ability be self-motivated and to motivate others amidst aggressive business objectives and priority shifts.
• Former people manager strongly preferred, with experience leading and developing technical or R&D teams. Proven ability to coach talent, delegate effectively, and foster a high-performing team culture.

What We Give:

• 100% company-paid medical, dental and vision insurance for employees (PPO, HMO and Kaiser options).
• A 401k plan with company match, short and long-term disability coverage.
• A generous PTO and sick policy that includes 13+ paid annual holidays.
• Wellness classes (fitness, mental health, nutrition, finance, etc.).
• An Employee Assistance Program, including membership for guided meditation for all employees.
• Monthly tech and wellness reimbursement.
• An infinite supply of Liquid I.V. for endless hydration!

Work Environment:

• This role is (HYBRID) and based in El Segundo, CA with an expectation to work from the office 1-2 days per week. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.

The compensation band for this position is $116,100 - $174,1000 annually. The exact salary is determined by various factors including experience, skills, education, geographic location, internal company equity, and budget. The listed range is applicable only to the annual base salary and does not include additional perks, benefits, or applicable bonus eligibility comprising the total compensation package.