Sr Product Developer - Food & Bev

Sr Product Developer - Food & Bev, Product Development & Sensory

Description

• Leads ideation, development, and commercialization of Private Brand Food and Beverage products. Partners cross-functionally with Sourcing, Regulatory, Nutrition, Quality, and Compliance teams to bring products to market that meet Whole Foods Market (WFM), Amazon, and regulatory standards.

• Key job responsibilities

• Ideation & Insights

• Identify trending ingredients and products using market research, trend-mapping, category insights, competitor shops, and trend treks.

• Research consumer trends and synthesize findings into actionable category insights.

• Formulation & Development

• Lead product development, including comparisons against target products and sensory benchmarks.

• Drive formulation development by identifying benchtop and/or retail gold standards.

• Lead organoleptic evaluations and vendor sample comparisons.

• Work with the sensory team to design and execute sensory testing to reduce evaluation bias.

• Communicate sensory, nutritional, and quality parameters to vendors; provide feedback and reformulation requests.

• Launch & Production

• Manage first production activities: send requirements, lead conference calls, and oversee vendor execution.

• Evaluate first production samples against approved retains and issue approval/release decisions.

• Attend first productions as needed.

• Quality & Compliance

• Review and evaluate supplier-submitted product and formulation specifications; communicate findings to stakeholders promptly.

• Collaborate with Product Safety and Quality teams on input and feedback.

• Evaluate, validate, and finalize product preparation instructions where applicable.

• Uphold WFM and Amazon quality and brand standards; resolve quality discrepancies with internal teams and vendors.

• Supplier & Cross-Functional Support

• Help identify new co-packing partners and support co-packers in sourcing raw materials.

• Visit suppliers to review capabilities and explore innovation opportunities.

• Other

• Support special projects, including competitive product evaluations and rollout of new policies and technologies.

• Perform other miscellaneous product development duties as necessary.

• A day in the life

• Part of the appeal of a Product Developer job is the varied activities from day to day and mix of desk work and hands on product work. A day in the life might include a specification review for a new product, a cutting, some competitive shopping, and a meeting with your cross-functional stakeholders who help develop products (Sourcing, Nutrition, Food Safety, Logistics, Packaging, Quality, Sensory, Project Manager).

• Basic Qualifications

• Experience with strong project management skills and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment

• Experience that includes strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and effective communication abilities

• Experience working effectively across cross-functional teams and partnering well with people at all levels within an organization

• 6-8 years of product development experience in CPG, grocery retail, or ingredient industries.

• Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Chemistry, Food Science, or related field

• Willing and able to sample and evaluate all types of food.

• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook); experience with AI tools and writing prompts.

• Available for occasional travel (