Senior Manager Product Development – Private Label/Own Brands

About the company

Albertsons Companies is at the forefront of the revolution in retail. With a fixation on innovation and building culture, our team is rallying our company around a unique vision: forging a retail winner that is admired for national strength, deep roots in the communities we serve, and a team that has passion for food and delivering great service.

Albertsons is one of the largest retail employers, providing approximately 300,000 jobs across 2,200 stores, 22 distribution centers, 20 food and beverage plants and various support offices. We operate in 34 states and the District of Columbia under the Albertsons banner, as well as Safeway, Tom Thumb, Jewel Osco, Shaw’s and many more recognizable names.

What you will be doing

The Own Brands Product Development Department has an opening for a Senior Product Development Manager. This position is located in Dublin, CA.

The Senior Manager, Product Development, collaborates with cross-functional team as the lead Product Development resource to develop new and reformulated products from concept through retail execution, including key sensory attributes, shelf life, nutrition facts, processing, packaging, safety, coding, and regulatory compliance to assigned categories. Represent Product Development at key meetings to provide technical guidance and strategic direction. Analyze data and translate into actionable insights. Stay current with industry trends. Leads a team of experienced product developers as assigned.

Main responsibilities

• Leads a technical team to develop and approve new and reformulated food products based upon product quality & performance, cost, and project timelines. Includes reviewing product performance, conducting product sensory evaluations, researching product standards and attributes, product safety, and product shelf life.
• Develop, review, and/or approve packaging labels for new and reformulated products, assuring technical accuracy and internal requirements.
• This role is expected to work autonomously with cross-functional team members on key projects to ensure on-time delivery of strategic business and departmental initiatives.
• Provide leadership to guide and/or assist technical and non-technical peers and direct reports to mitigate technical and project hurdles.
• Provide direction and assessment of technical feasibility for new product concepts, manufacturing capability options, and ingredient functionality and selection.
• Create & manage product specifications. Includes requesting product specifications and other technical documentation from suppliers, creating internal specifications, and reviewing and approving any updates to current product specifications. Act as subject matter expert for the team regarding product specifications.
• Manage internal & external suppliers, contractors & other outside resources. Includes directing requested product changes, evaluations, consumer testing, and analysis.
• Provide technical direction to external supplier activities, including sample and product information requests, specifications development, and communication of product changes to address safety, product performance, and/or regulatory issues.

What we are searching

• Bachelor’s Degree, Food Science, Chemical Engineering, or equivalent applied science with experience in food manufacturing.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in Product Development, R&D, manufacturing (QA or Operations), across a broad range of categories.
• Minimum 2 years supervisory experience.
• Knowledge and understanding of the principles of Food Science and their application.
• Knowledge and understanding of ingredient functionality, product formulations, and food preparation.
• Experience with manufacturing equipment and systems, scale-up, and commercialization of new products.
• Understanding of food safety principles.
• Understanding of the impact of Federal Regulations upon different product categories (FDA, USDA, kosher, organic, various industry standards).
• Extensive experience managing multiple projects and rapidly shifting priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate with, lead, and motivate direct reports and cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency with MS Office and various nutrition databases (ESHA Genesis).
• Working knowledge of Sensory Analysis principles and application.
• Working knowledge of Culinary techniques and terminology.
• Working knowledge of packaging technology.

Base Salary Template Language (CA):

“The salary range is $ 114,100 to $ 159,700 annually. Starting salary will vary based on criteria such as location, experience, and qualifications. There may be flexibility for exceptional candidates.

What it is like at Albertsons?

Albertsons Culture Principles

Compassion: We always treat each other with kindness and respect

Team: We always support and recognize each other

Inclusive: We always value everyone’s perspective

Learning: We always strive to grow and develop ourselves and others

Competitive: We always act with integrity to win over the customer

Ownership: We always take actions to drive our success

Albertsons