Sr. Manager, Product Development, R&D - Premier Nutrition

Here's what all the hype is about: Premier Nutrition Company (PNC) is one of the fastest-growing companies in the convenient nutrition space showing clear leadership in the category of protein shakes and protein powders. We make the brands Premier Protein, Dymatize, and PowerBar, which is sold internationally, and we are part of our holding company, BellRing Brands (NYSE: BRBR).

We have a simple, yet powerful, formula for our success, which we’ve been nailing for over 15 years. We start off with an organization powered by our company purpose—Changing Lives with Good Energy. Then our purpose-driven people are given the support and autonomy to develop and grow. Next, we are super-intentional about designing a culture where everyone feels like they truly connect and belong, which is one of our five company core values. Purpose-driven, connected employees who are consistently mastering new skills deliver amazing business results. And winning companies with amazing people and thriving cultures attract and retain top talent, so the cycle becomes self-reinforcing or what we call our regenerative culture.

We don’t mind sharing our formula since, as people who we believe in the power of changing lives with good energy, we think the world would be a better place if more workplaces treated adults like adults and gave them the platform to do the best work of their lives—alongside some truly amazing colleagues. Why don’t more companies do this? It takes deep-in-your-bones conviction to your people, products, and purpose to pull it off. It also takes resisting the urge to try to control people, and instead trusting them to make the right decisions. The results of our vibrant culture speaks for themselves: We were certified as a Great Place to Work™ for the 7^th year-running in 2023. And we currently rank #2 on Fortune Magazine’s Best Workplaces in our category, and in the top 12 for each of the last 5 years.

We have a long list of ways we take care of our people, but here are some crowd-pleasers that our employees often say they love most: Year-round ½ day Fridays, in-office massages, free lunches & snacks, dogs in the office, month-long cultural annd diversity celebrations, monthly over-the-top in-office events like bring your kids to work day, 6% 401k match after 1 year, as-needed sick leave, generous paid family leave regardless of gender, all positions bonus-eligible, company-wide volunteer days, company-matched charitable donations, no employee handbook, no dress code, coaching conversations instead of performance reviews, walking meetings, free exercise classes, and company-paid gym membership for Emeryville-based employees.

PNC seeks individuals who will flourish in this type of work environment and will add to our culture and help build this high-growth company for the next phase in our amazing journey. Does this sound like you? Then read on…#LI-hybrid

The Role…  

The successful candidate will be an experienced R&I leader who will provide technical leadership, product developmentexpertise and oversight to various product development projects and related initiatives (alternate sourcing, cost reduction, continuous improvement). 

This position will be leading a team of 3-5scientists, overseeing RTD and RTM projects (executing some of their own projects) and demonstrating joint accountability (with cross-functional leads and project manager) for project success, by building strong partnerships with internal stakeholders and external resources to drive projects successfully to completion.  

This position is a mid-level R&I position, is a key part of R&I Management Team and will directly lead a team of scientists (3-5) at various levels and works closely with R&I cross-functional partners and third-party resources.   

On a typical day you may find yourself brainstorming on product improvements, delving into project brief to ensure proper assumptions, resources and timing are in place, supporting team members to identify ways to improve their workstreams, and then guiding a third party through key deliverables overview.  If you are ready to flex your thinking between technical problem solving, guiding, and coaching team members, and reviewing a project proposal or recommendation, then welcome aboard.  

The position will be based out of our 60,000 sq. foot, modern Emeryville, California office.  WE ARE A CULTURE OF PERSONAL CONNECTON, WHICH IS WHY WE’VE CHOSEN A PERMANENT HYBRID WORK ENVIRONMENT WITH NORMS THAT EQUATE TO 2-3 DAYS MID-WEEK IN THE OFFICE FOR EMPLOYEES BASED IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.  The expected pay scale for this role is $155 – 165k, which may vary based on relevant experience, qualifications, geographic area (if applicable), and internal equity for the role.

You’re excited about this opportunity because your time will be filled with…  

Critical thinking and technical leadership: 40% of time 

Job Duties: 

• Responsible for execution of all assigned projects and alignment with project brief, stage gate process, business strategies, PNC standards and practices.  Responsible for product compliance (food safety, ingredient usage, NLEA information, product claims) against internal and external standards (FDA, USDA, and third-party certification) through collaboration with regulatory, QA, marketing and other parties. 
• Takes active role in high-risk projects to help mitigate risks, remove barriers, help define contingency plans and provide support/mentorship to scientist.  
• Identifies area for continuous improvement and puts action plan in place.   
• Provides technical expertise to solve problems on ingredients, formulations, processing, sensory and consumer testing.  Maintain up to date knowledge of ingredients and technology. 

R&I People leadership and culture: 30% of time 

Job Duties: 

• Contribute and maintain a positive and enthusiastic environment of technical excellence, product development know-how, consumer and customer centric approach, entrepreneurial spirit all within high trust and integrity.    
• Embody situational leadership based on skillset of team members and embrace coaching with radical candor; Embrace PNC values in daily activities. 
• Identify stretch opportunities for team members and set up safety net so that failing forward is part of mindset.   Responsible for technical and professional development based on skillset of team members.  
• Lead team to ensure successful completion of projects and balance workload and allocation of RD staff.  Monitors activities against budget. 
• Actively participates in R&I Management Team. 

Innovation mind set and skill set: 5% of time 

Job Duties: 

• Stays on top of relevant trends through professional network, seminars, individual research.  Ability to leverage suppliers and vendors.  
• Provides strategic insight to long term RD plans and/or pipeline – e.g input on resources, skill gaps, equipment needs and facility upgrades, identify opportunities to leverage new tools and processes.  

Influence and leadership skills: 5% of time 

Job Duties: 

• Ability to influence leaders and co-workers across organization.  
• Lead cross-functional initiatives and build cross-functional partnerships. 
• Represents R&I function, advocates for R&I resources and provides insights, solutions, and critical thinking as necessary.  

The daily stuff that everyone does but few quantify: 20% of Time. 

• Attending meetings and presentations 
• Participating in company-wide activities and events galore 
• Impromptu conversations with colleagues 
• Administrivia like email, calendaring, expense reports, and other non-value-added work 

What are we looking for? 

• Ability to explain complex technical subject matters to non-technical team 
• Ability to apply technical know-out to real world problems.  
• Pivot quickly between projects and guide or bring along others.  
• Strong collaborative skills and ability to work well in teams. 
• Possess curiosity, creativity, and alternative thinking to develop better or new solutions with a scientific approach. 
• Ability to explain complex technical subject matters to non-technical teams. 

Education: 

Required:  Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Biological Sciences, ChemicalEngineering or similar field  

Nice haves:  Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in a related field is preferred.  

Experience: 

Required:  

• 10 + years in Food industry (CPG), powder and/or aseptic protein beverages formulation and/or processing. Including collaboration with third parties, technical troubleshooting and analytical and shelf life testing.  
• 3+ years people management 

Preferred:  

• formulation expertise in dairy proteins (RTD and RTM), gums, stabilizers, clean label 
• commercialization of products at co-manufacturing facilities 

Skills: 

      Required: 

• Ability to communicate and present technical details to business (effective translation of technical info to business language) to drive decision making. 
• Demonstrated ability to execute projects within timelines by providing solutions to problems and managing risk. 
• Demonstrated ability to work effective in team environment through excellent interpersonal, influencing and communication skills (both written and verbal)   
• Ability to excel in dynamic fast paced business environment, demonstrated ability to self-motivate and manage multiple priorities. 
• Travel- 20%

Select 5 Key Capabilities & Traits Important to Add to and Diversify your Current Team: 

• Emotional intelligence 
• Thrive in ambiguity amid competing priorities 
• Connect & Belong 
• Play to Win 
• Creativity, exploration, & innovativeness 

You will thrive here and may just do the best work of your life if… 

• You want to be an integral part of shaping and nurturing an amazing work culture. 
• You can be flexible in your approach to challenges and abandon past practices if they don’t make sense or lead to a poor outcome. 
• You are comfortable being natural, casual, open, and even a bit playful at work. 
• You don’t have a big ego and hate siloed thinking. 
• You can be friendly, vulnerable, and self-deprecating in one moment, and deal with a challenging, delicate people-related matter as a professional in the next. 
• You can do periods of focused, deep work on projects to move the needle. 

This may not be your ideal next career move if… 

• You like a lot of structure, rules, predictabilityand uniformity. 
• You like hierarchy, command and control management. 
• You want to build lots of processes, systems, governance, or policies and make a beautiful bureaucracy. 
• Dealing with ambiguity or experimentation is not your jam. 
• You try to resolve challenging interpersonal situations over instant messaging or passive aggression. 
• You like managing from your house with your camera off and demonstrating excellence through email. 
• You tend to chase whatever shiny object presents itself during the day instead of real results. 

Here’s the deal with our not-so-standard, ahem…standard  interview process because we know you are the curious type, which is why you’re still reading this…

• Quick 30 min phone chat with a member of our Talent Acquisition team to do a quick overview of your background and answer any burning questions you have
• Team interviews are kept to a minimum to foster a more efficient, candidate-friendly process (too many interviewers yields little value and drags out the process for you—
• and who wants that?):
  • A series of in-person or video interviews in a 1:1 setting; these are usually with the hiring manager, one or two other team members, and a person from another team to get broader perspectives (note: we don’t do panel interviews because they don’t give interviewers a chance to ask you unique questions, and we assign interviewers different roles so we’re probing different capabilities)
• A case study or job task to simulate what you’d actually be doing in the role (since your job is not actually to be interviewed for a living, so why is that the thing companies rely on so much? Yes, there will be a small panel for this one so you don’t have to do it more than once, and yes, they might ask you some kind yet probing questions at the end after the applause stops.
• Once your interview concludes, the team will meet for an in-depth consultative process to ensure we are hiring the right person for the right job. Interviewers must come in with a strong yes or no vote beforehand to avoid groupthink with supporting reasons. The collective thoughts on your candidacy will be discussed in an environment of safety to challenge ideas respectfully, debate. and be open to all important qualifications of the candidates.  A trained, disinterested bias blocker will be present to help mitigate bias so the team can make a sound hiring decision. The moment of truth arrives when the hiring manager makes the big decision. If you nailed the interviews and the case study was brilliant, guess what? The offer is all yours! And the ball is in your court. Will you accept? We sure hope so because this place is the real deal, and don’t just believe us—just ask the 93% of our people who said this is a great place to work in our most recent employee survey.

If we haven’t convinced you to apply already, here are some of our favorite perks and benefits:

• Friday afternoons off year-round (and of course a hefty PTO package plus 11 holidays)
• 6% 401K match. Literally free money
• Hybrid work with an average of 2-3 days a week in the office for local folks
• All jobs are bonus-eligible
• Work-out time during work
• Free custom lunch twice a week. Plus, plenty of snacks and shakes.
• 2 weeks of work from anywhere time to move your Big Rocks
• Quarterly team building events/happy hours (city-wide scavenger hunt, bowling, ropes course, putt-putt)
• Bring your dog to work (3 days/week)
• Extended paid parental leave regardless of gender or familial make-up