GRIT Staffing & HR Solutions · 8 hours ago
Research And Development Manager
DC-Baltimore Area
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
$125K/yr - $125K/yr
5+ years expGRIT Staffing & HR Solutions is a boutique recruiting and HR consulting firm, and they are seeking a Research And Development Manager for a well-established artisan bakery. The R&D Food Scientist will lead product development for bakery items, driving innovation and collaboration across various teams to bring new products from concept to commercialization.
Staffing & Recruiting
Hiring Manager
MariElla D. SHRM-CP, PHR
Responsibilities
Develop new bakery and dough-based products—bread, rolls, doughs, tortillas, cookies, crackers—from concept to commercialization
Create prototypes, test ingredient functionality, and optimize formulations for quality, cost, and scalability
Conduct plant trials, support production start-ups, and troubleshoot manufacturing challenges
Serve as a technical partner for customer R&D, Culinary, and QA teams
Present prototypes, gather feedback, and translate insights into actionable formulation improvements
Communicate development progress to internal stakeholders to ensure on-time and on-budget delivery
Maintain and update formulas, SOPs, ingredient specs, and documentation
Generate Nutrition Facts Panels, ingredient statements, and support regulatory and labeling requirements
Execute formulation change management: approved recipes, BOM updates, version control
Collaborate with Procurement to source and evaluate ingredients that meet performance, quality, and marketing requirements
Coordinate with corporate teams on supplier verification and raw material feasibility
Lead shelf-life studies and performance evaluations for new and existing products
Apply knowledge of process capability, QC/QA principles, HACCP, and food safety programs
Reverse-engineer bakery products when needed
Review formulas for cost savings while maintaining product integrity
Consolidate similar raw materials to streamline operations
Evaluate emerging processing technologies and functional ingredients relevant to bakery innovation
Manage development schedules and timelines
Partner with Finance to build early-stage cost models for feasibility
Support co-manufacturing or third-party development if required
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Microbiology, or related field (MS preferred)
5+ years in product development within bakery, bread, dough systems, cookies, crackers, tortillas, or similar categories
Strong understanding of ingredient functionality, dough rheology, formulation design, and commercialization
Knowledge of HACCP, GMP, sanitation, microbial hazards, and food safety programs
Familiarity with ISO 17025, SQF, and process capability/quality control principles
Experience with formula costing, nutrition labeling, and ingredient statements
Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite
Ability to work across both office and plant settings and manage multiple projects simultaneously
Understanding process capability and the application of process control/quality control within those processes
Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
Highly organized with strong attention to detail
Comfortable working in manufacturing environments with heat, cold, noise, allergens, and wet or slippery conditions
Ability to perform sensory evaluations of food products
Preferred
Experience in bakery manufacturing, clean-label formulation, or dough-based product development
Experience in operations or supply chain is a plus
Strong analytical and documentation skills
Company
GRIT Staffing & HR Solutions
GRIT STAFFING, WHERE TALENT, LEADERSHIP, AND GRIT ALIGN.
51-200 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageCompany data provided by crunchbase