Product Design Manager

**Job Summary**:
Trophy Foods is Canada's leading supplier of high-quality edible nuts, dried fruit and confectionery products. We pride ourselves on providing the highest quality products, at the best value, through our direct channel of global grower relationships.

Trophy Foods Inc. is Canadian owned and operated with over 40 years of experience in serving our customers. We produce edible nuts, dried fruits, confectionery and bulk foods under our Trophy brand. We also work with grocery retailers, mass merchandisers, drug channel, and food service customers across the country to create and produce a wide variety of private label branded products.

**Overview**:The Product Design Manager will participate in the development of proprietary food products, as well as coordinate and lead plant trials & first production runs. Working under the guidance of the Product Development Manager, the incumbent will work with requests to create unique products and generate samples using a controlled and well-documented development process. Other areas of focus will include ingredient evaluations and testing, customer communication, supplier communication, understanding regulatory requirements, nutrition analyses, and continuous improvement projects including product and process improvements.

**Duties**:

- Collaborate with our Marketing team by participating in idea generation sessions in the concept development process to create an innovation pipeline.
- Formulate new and existing products to meet objectives for sensory and nutritional attributes, quality, cost, timeline, and plant scalability.
- Present formulation options and impacts to gain consensus on next steps.
- Test and validate product attributes, shelf life, and plant scalability.
- Lead plant trials, develop manufacturing procedures, monitor initial production, and finalize product implementation.
- Create and maintain detailed, comprehensive records of formulations, process parameters, finished product results, ingredient specifications, nutritional information, and disposition of final product.
- Hands on approach on product testing, evaluation, and sample preparation.
- Monitor competitor product development activities and food industry technology trends and developments.
- Key team member in the NPD process and cross functional team meetings.

**Requirements**:

- Bachelor’s degree in food science or food technology or higher.
- Typically, around 5-8 years of product development or research and development experience.
- Knowledge of food product manufacturing, packaging, storage, and distribution.
- Must possess good knowledge of the food manufacturing industry and food safety.
- Industry experience in the snacks, bakery and/or confectionary categories would be an asset.
- Creativity and passion for food and new product development, competitive market benchmarks knowledge, and regulatory compliance requirements
- Effective organizer - can handle several projects at the same time and can take products from conception to saleable product in the aligned project timeline.
- Effective communicator - able to listen effectively.
- A pulse on current food trends in the marketplace.
- Strong in follow-up - detail oriented.
- Must possess strong computer skills, including working knowledge of Microsoft Office.
- Ability to work well in a fast-paced environment, and to multi-task, concentrate and work within tight deadlines.
- Proactive self-starter with a strong sense of urgency, who also works well within a team environment.

**Accountabilities for Success**:

- Collaborate and partner with others through actively building positive and productive relationships, working to understand different viewpoints, and treating people of varying backgrounds and perspectives fairly.
- Communicate ideas and information in an effective manner by listening, demonstrating understanding, readily sharing information, and keeping appropriate parties up to date.
- Take initiative to understand and produce results aligned to department priorities and accept responsibility for performance and results.
- Identify causes of problems and develop solutions to make effective, timely decisions.
- Demonstrate a commitment to Trophy’s vision and mission. Understand how individual decisions and actions impact the needs of the department as well as overall corporate goals.

**Work Environment**:

- While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to walk through the Plant and office areas. The office work environment is open, provides adequate lighting, is temperature controlled and relatively quiet. In the Plant environment the employee is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions and moving mechanical parts. The noise level is usually loud.
- Frequent periods of intense concentration and must respond to all types of deadlines, special requests, and emergencies.
- Overtime as required.

Trophy is an equal opportunity employer that values workforce diver