Chobani · 3 weeks ago
Research and Development Director - Innovation
North Brunswick, NJ
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
$144K/yr - $216K/yr
10+ years expChobani is a food maker with a mission of making high-quality and nutritious food accessible to more people. The Research and Development Director will lead major innovation initiatives, focusing on creating better tasting, natural and more nutrient dense foods & beverages, and implementing them for launch in current and futures Chobani factories across the US.
Food and BeverageFood ProcessingManufacturing
Hiring Manager
Kari Dagel
Responsibilities
Identify innovative product and process solutions to meet consumer, customer and business needs as a strategic driver for business growth
Identify and document internal and external resource needs to support agreed upon development programs; effectively uses all available resources (internally and externally with strategic suppliers)
Ensure legal, regulatory and quality standards are defined and met during commercialization of new food products
Lead hands-on development activities as required to meet project objectives; involving, at times, performing the tasks normally conducted by food technologists and project leaders
Communicate effectively, cross-functionally and across diverse levels within and outside the organization
Identify and explore new areas of technical opportunities in connection with Chobani Labs, the Twin Falls and LC R&D teams, and grow our network of suppliers
Proactively improve existing platforms and technologies
Approve all pilot and trial designs to achieve the best cost, quality, and time to the target
Execute projects within the defined time and financial frame, while also delivering 100% expected quality and legal compliance
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's in Food Technology or Food Chemistry
Food industry experience; having a minimum of 10 years in the Dairy industry
Exemplary leadership skills; ability to lead and influence multi-disciplinary teams to drive initiatives and concepts from initiation to completion
Excellent project management, analytical, interpersonal, and communication skills (both written and oral)
Demonstrated understanding of product development requirements
Extensive knowledge of and about dairy products and ingredients
Extremely passionate about product quality and consumer satisfaction
Strong capability for problem solution management
Demonstrated passion for hands-on leadership
Ability to make complex decisions and communicate with both technical and non-technical team members
Strong understanding of and passion for the Food/CPG industry
Proven track record of consumer focused innovation, ability to analyze and interpret consumer research data, technical understanding and technical writing
Strong sensory capabilities
Willingness to travel (max 30% of time depending on project needs)
Preferred
Master's degree in Food Technology or Food Chemistry
Benefits
Medical, dental, vision coverage
Disability insurance
Health savings account
Flexible spending accounts
Tuition reimbursement
401k match of 100% on up to 5% of eligible pay
Fertility and childcare assistance
12 weeks of parental leave at full pay after six months of continuous employment
Wellness resources which include an employee assistance program
Fitness discounts
A wellness reimbursement
On-site gym access (certain locations)
A monthly wellness newsletter to connect you with resources and timely information
120 hours of paid time off
11 holidays
Paid volunteer time off
Military service leave
Company
Chobani
Chobani is a food company that produces and markets Greek yogurt crafted from natural ingredients.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Chobani has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (11)
2024 (15)
2023 (9)
2022 (13)
2021 (7)
2020 (9)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$2.55BKey Investors
TPG
2025-10-16Private Equity· $650M
2024-10-15Debt Financing· $650M
2024-01-11Debt Financing· $500M
Leadership Team
Hamdi Ulukaya
Founder and CEO
David Arena
Senior Vice President - Supply Chain Transformation and Enterprise Data Analytics
Recent News
2026-01-09
2025-11-23
Company data provided by crunchbase