Van Drunen Farms - Momence, IL
posted 3 months ago
As Product Development Project Manager at Van Drunen Farms, you will play a pivotal role in leading projects that are essential for the company's growth and strategic objectives. This position involves the development of new applications, platforms, and products, requiring both collaborative and independent efforts. You will engage in a variety of projects, ranging from short-term, single-deliverable tasks to longer-term, multi-faceted initiatives. Your role will also include customer-centric troubleshooting to effectively address challenges and opportunities faced by our corporate customers, manufacturing plants, innovation pipeline (Marketing), Quality department, and the R&D Team. In this position, you will demonstrate expertise in our ingredients and product formulations, particularly in flavor and sensory science, as well as the impact of food chemistry on organoleptic characteristics and manufacturing performance. You will oversee all aspects of the concept-to-launch development cycle, which includes sales/customer consultation, project scoping, documentation assembly, formula and application development, trials of various scales, and technology transfer. Your proficiency in Van Drunen Farms' processing technologies will be crucial as you serve as both an internal and external consultative ingredient and food science expert. You will be responsible for formula optimization concerning nutrition, sensory, and processing attributes, while also troubleshooting product design or ingredient-related production issues. Building and maintaining strong relationships with co-manufacturers, suppliers, and internal stakeholders will be key to your success. You will independently manage technical projects, collaborating with cross-functional teams to meet defined timelines, budgets, and deliverables. Additionally, you will develop written reports and presentations for various stakeholders, ensuring clear communication throughout the process. Flexibility for occasional travel is also a requirement of this role.