Location: Vista, CA
Salary: $40.00 USD Hourly - $50.00 USD Hourly
Description: Our client is currently seeking a Innovation and R&D Consultant for a contract-to-hire position.
Medical, dental, and vision insurance are available to qualified candidates who meet eligibility requirements.
Role OverviewAs a key member of the Innovation Team, the Product Innovation Specialist plays a central role in shaping the future of product development by developing bold new concepts brought to you, refining recipes, and guiding products from ideation to commercialization. This role blends culinary curiosity with technical expertise-perfect for someone who loves cheese, food product development and knows their way around a bench, a blender, and a business brief.
Key Responsibilities:- Lead the creation and development of new cheese-based products, with a strong focus on consumer trends, culinary inspiration, and evolving market demands.
- Develop and refine formulas through hands-on bench work, from early-stage prototypes to scale-up trials.
- Troubleshoot product and formulation challenges with agility and creative thinking.
- Monitor and apply relevant food and flavor trends to inspire innovation and ensure product relevance.
- Support pilot runs, sensory evaluations, and shelf-life testing to ensure technical and commercial success.
- Maintain accurate records of formulations, testing results, and process learnings throughout the development lifecycle.
- Produce and package samples for various meetings and customers
- Communicate with the Innovation Team for cross functional needs, such as ingredients, packaging etc.
- Work with make plants on ingredients and/or revisions of ingredients needed for future innovation projects
- Work with QA on formulations and/or troubleshooting
What The Individual Will Bring:- A solid understanding of cheese types, dairy science, and flavor systems.
- Strong culinary intuition and a deep appreciation for flavor and texture.
- Experience in R&D, product development, or culinary innovation, ideally in the cheese or dairy industry.
- Ability to translate blue-sky ideas into viable, scalable products.
- A collaborative spirit with strong communication and problem-solving skills.
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