Senior Director of R&D in GERMANTOWN, Wisconsin at Gehl Food & Beverage

Position Overview

The Sr. Director of R&D, reporting to the VP of R&D, leads and develops the R&D teams supporting Gehl Food & Beverage's three business units: beverage, food, and co-manufacturing. This role drives innovation aligned with company strategy, building a three-year product pipeline that is highly valued by our core customers and profitable for Gehl Food & Beverage. A primary responsibility is building a capacity-planning tool to align team resources with project load.

Job Responsibilities

• Defines project scope at the outset and ensures projects are delivered within it.
• Supports, communicates, and reinforces organizational and departmental initiatives to ensure a consistent message and targeted objectives are achieved.
• Facilitates development and scale-up timelines and deliverables for internal and customer projects that meet product specifications.
• Provides timely and accurate feedback to internal and external customers on project related activities.
• Supports adherence to label development and compliance requirements.
• Contributes to management of R&D budget.
• Ensures compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), Standard Operating Procedures, plant safety standards, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Ensures the team maintains the competencies required for product legality, safety, and quality in accordance with the Quality Policy and the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) standard.
• Helps drive process improvements, such as the R&D-to-quality/operations hand-off.
• Completes documentation to set up new raw materials in the company’s ERP system, following the change management process.
• Builds bench strength in junior employees through mentoring, coaching, and modeling best practices.
• Leads development of a three-year innovation pipeline that meets the company’s growth objectives.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in food science and technology or business.
• 10 years of progressively responsible R&D experience in a food manufacturing company.
• Demonstrated leadership skills, including coaching, accountability, resilience, and a strong team focus.
• Demonstrated sense of urgency and sound judgment in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent technical writing and verbal communication skills, with the ability to address audiences from staff to executive levels.
• Strong data collection, analytical, and problem-solving skills, using data to draw conclusions and implement solutions.
• Ability to work independently or as part of a team to accomplish organization goals.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and related software.

Preferred Qualifications

• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate with and influence others in the organization.
• Ability to interpret, communicate and execute plans or instructions in a time sensitive manner with limited direction and resources in a frequently changing environment.
• Technical knowledge of aseptic processes, equipment, and products.
• Experience with dairy and dairy proteins.