• Torrance, California
• Food
• $60K - 90K
• Full Time regular employee
•  Monday - Friday; 9:00 - 18:00
•  New

Job Description

Position
Bilingual R&D Specialist

Summary
A food manufacturer is seeking a qualified R&D Specialist to play a vital role in supporting product development and production activities. This role involves managing and executing processes to create R&D package product samples for both internal and external clients. Candidates must be fluent in English with business-level proficiency in Japanese.

Essential Duties

• Culinary Expertise: Understand a variety of cuisines and demonstrate the ability to explain, analyze, and create products in both creative and traditional formats. Conduct benchmarking to compare and improve on competitor products.

• Product Development: Oversee all stages of product development, from conceptualization to formulation, prototyping, optimization, standardization, cost calculation, commercialization, and product launch. Product categories include frozen, dried, and chilled goods.

• Material Sourcing: Select and negotiate prices for both new and existing materials, updating vendor lists as needed to optimize costs.

• Product Testing & Stability: Design and test products to ensure stability across shelf life, quality (flavor, color, texture), and nutritional content. Perform analyses to support ongoing product improvement.

• Consumer & Market Research: Conduct research on consumer awareness, preferences, and market trends, including regulatory and legal considerations. Validate consumer taste preferences through internal and/or external testing.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with SCM, R&D teams, process engineers, plant managers, marketing, and external customers to ensure project alignment, budget adherence, and timely completion.

• Production Trials & Quality Control: Conduct production trials and monitor ongoing production to ensure consistency with design criteria. Train plant operations staff on production standards and quality control measures.

• Regulatory Compliance: Maintain knowledge of relevant quality and regulatory requirements (e.g., food labeling, food additives) and collaborate with regulatory consultants as needed.

• Documentation & Reporting: Prepare reports, standard formulations, and procedural documentation to support commercialization and ensure food safety. Deliver product demonstrations and updates to internal teams and customers.

• Inventory & Equipment Management: Manage inventory of materials and supplies, including purchasing and shipping of lab equipment. Ensure all R&D areas and equipment remain clean and organized.

• Team Supervision: Train and oversee assigned associates, reviewing work quality and reporting performance to supervisors.

• Additional Duties: Perform other tasks as assigned to support R&D operations.

Working Hours, Working style
Monday - Friday; 9:00 - 18:00 (1-hour unpaid lunch, OT may occur)
On-Site

Woking Location
Torrance, CA

Salary/Benefit
$60K - 90K DOE

Holidays
Saturdays, Sundays, and Major US Holidays

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition, Food Science, or Food Technology (or equivalent experience), with a minimum of 3 years of relevant R&D experience.
• Knowledge of nutritional science preferred.
• Fluent in English, with business-level proficiency in Japanese.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to analyze variables and interpret diverse instructions (written, verbal, diagrammatic).
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Teams, and Outlook.
• Flexible to work overtime as needed.
• Possesses a startup mindset.
   

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