Job Description

OVERVIEW

As the Senior Research and Development Engineer for Innovation, Technology, and Quality (ITQ) you will be responsible for the execution of new product, core, and HMM strategies; proposing new approaches; and partnering with others to enable the business to win in the marketplace.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to impact the ITQ function by leveraging your strong technical, influence, leadership, and project management skills to support all aspects of the product cycle while collaborating with internal and external business partners to expand new product businesses, make major product improvements, and deliver HMM.  This role is focused on executional excellence in process design/development and advancing the technical capabilities for the Pillsbury business.  The Pillsbury business has had 4 consecutive years of share growth and is solidly on track for a 5th.  During that time, the brand has grown and is on-track to deliver $1.7-$1.8B in RNS this year while continuing to be a major NAR profit contributor

The right candidate for this role will leverage strong innovation, project leadership, and technical problem-solving skills, to create new and continuously improve existing products and processes. The projects you manage in this role will provide you with technical depth, breadth, and an opportunity to explore possibilities with a specific focus on the processing capabilities and future of the Pillsbury business.  Additionally, in this role you will have the opportunity to develop the ability to influence across organizations, coordinate small teams, advance technical possibilities, and develop leadership skills as a subject matter expert on a business team. 

Key Career Experiences Gained:

Functional: Consumer First Design, Supply chain and plant connection, Technology, Experimentation, Total Product Experience, Commercialization, Product Maintenance, VSU Tools, Total cost management, Process, and product innovation
Leadership: Matrix Relationship Management, Functional team leadership, Cross-Functional Team influence and leadership
Broadening: Multi-Functional, Multi-Business, Corporate, Transformation Initiative

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Provide process development leadership for the Pillsbury business and ITQ
Support development and maintenance of a product pipeline with a focus on optimizing commercialization and process design inputs
Develop new and innovative processes that meet customer and consumer needs while championing quality and food safety requirements
Provide support to innovation, core renovation and HMM projects within the business
Champion food safety and product quality from product design through production
Identify and support Total Delivered Cost improvement (HMM) initiatives for the business, focusing on opportunities to improve manufacturing processes
Collaborate with Operations and key suppliers to deliver against the business plan
Lead and develop consistency across the Process and Applications team to ensure executional excellence of VSU tools, process rigor on manufacturing design, and robust technical depth on Innovation, renovation, and HMM projects

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Food Science, Packaging, or related field 
5+ years of experience in process engineering, product development, technology teams, or an applied science
Travel (<20%)
Proven ability to deliver executional excellence and demonstrate technical and scientific rigor
Ability to collaborate in a cross-functional and external environment and provide key product and process guidance
Ability to be flexible and adapt to multiple situations
Experience leading new product or process development in collaboration with internal plant teams

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Demonstrated ability to lead technically driven projects
Strong experience and technical background in food
Experience with VSU tools
Experience leading and supporting capital project initiatives
Innovative thinker, creative, willing to challenge established methods and beliefs
Self-starter with a strong bias for action, as well as skills for problem-solving and troubleshooting
Able to engage with and influence cross-functional team members