Regulatory Manager (Flavors) at Vibrant Ingredients – Cranbury, New Jersey

Founded in 1954, Vibrant Ingredients is a leading provider of natural, clean label ingredients and systems that power extraordinary food and beverage experiences. The company’s broad portfolio — including natural flavors, botanical extracts, functional nutrition, cold brew coffee, tea essences, and food protection solutions — enhances taste, texture, color, shelf life, and performance across a wide range of applications. Vibrant operates four state-of-the-art facilities across the United States and works with leading brands, manufacturers, and foodservice operators. With vertically integrated capabilities and a proven track record of innovation and execution, Vibrant helps customers accelerate to market without compromise.

About the role:

We are a trusted partner to our customers when it comes to innovation and an industry leader in clean label ingredients, we are a true partner. We collaborate with our customers in ways that respect people and the environment. A commitment to Purely Better™ drives our innovation team to discover new, on trend solutions.

As a Regulatory Manager, you will oversee day-to-day regulatory operations, ensure compliance across assigned product lines, support market-access activities, and lead a team of regulatory professionals. You will partner closely with R&D, Quality, Commercial, and Operations teams to provide regulatory expertise that enables compliant product development, customer support, and operational excellence.

How will you contribute:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. Essential job functions and duties include, but are not limited to:

Regulatory Operations & Compliance

• Manage regulatory oversight for assigned portfolios, ensuring compliance with applicable U.S. and international food & flavor regulations (FDA, FEMA, EFSA, CFIA, USDA, TTB).
• Interpret regulatory requirements for ingredients, formulations, certifications, claims, and labeling.
• Review and approve standard and moderately complex product documentation, including formulations, labels, and customer regulatory statements.
• Support regulatory assessments for new product development and ingredient qualification.
• Serve as the regulatory expert for all flavor ingredients and formulations.
  

Team Management & Development

• Supervise, mentor, and develop Senior Regulatory Specialists and Regulatory Specialists.
• Assign workload and maintain clear team priorities aligned with business needs.
• Support onboarding, training, and continuous development of regulatory staff.
• Ensure accurate and consistent outputs and support team KPI delivery.
  

Product Documentation & Customer Support

• Ensure timely preparation and maintenance of regulatory documents (TDS, SDS, allergen/GMO statements, nutritional and natural certifications, NGP forms, Kosher/Halal certs, COO, Prop 65, flavor labeling, TTB submissions, and more).
• Support global market-entry requirements through certification preparation and regulatory submissions.
• Support customer requests, audits, documentation portals, and documentation reviews.
• Provide compliance guidance to internal teams to support product development and commercialization.
  

Regulatory Intelligence & Process Improvement

• Monitor regulatory changes and industry updates impacting flavors, ingredients, and consumer products.
• Communicate regulatory updates internally and recommend appropriate actions.
• Drive improvements in regulatory systems, digital tools, and documentation workflows.
• Support audit, inspection, and compliance review preparation.
  

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with R&D, Quality, Procurement/Supply Chain, Marketing, and Sales to ensure compliant product development and ingredient qualification.
• Serve as a regulatory subject-matter expert in cross-functional meetings.
• Collaborate with customers and regulatory agencies to resolve regulatory issues.

Minimum Requirements/Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Quality, Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, or related field.
• 5+ years’ experience in flavor industry; additional experience in food/beverage, ingredients, or related consumer goods industry a plus.
• Working knowledge of global food and flavor regulations (FDA, FEMA GRAS, USDA, CFIA, EU, Organic, Kosher, Halal, TTB, labeling, import/export).
• Experience with Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade, and Non-GMO Verification Project preferred.
• Knowledge of Dietary Supplements, AAFCO, and IFRA a plus.
• Experience supporting innovation pipelines and new product development from a regulatory perspective.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong regulatory interpretation and problem-solving capabilities.
• Demonstrated leadership, coaching, and decision-making skills.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate regulatory requirements for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Highly organized and capable of managing multiple concurrent projects.
• Strong cross-functional influence with a compliance-driven mindset.
• Proficiency in MS Office and regulatory database systems; experience with Salesforce and Product Vision preferred; Business Central a plus.

Work Environment:

• May involve exposure to allergens such as Soy, Wheat, Fish, Shellfish, Milk, Egg, Tree Nuts and Sesame.

What Vibrant Ingredients can offer you:

• Generous time off for vacations
• Paid Holidays
• 401(k) with company match
• Tuition reimbursement
• Medical/Dental/Vision
• Health & Wellness programs

Vibrant Ingredients does not provide visa sponsorship for this role. Please do not apply for this role if at any time (now or in the future) you need immigration support (i.e., H-1B, TN, STEM OPT Training Plans, etc.)

More about us:

Vibrant Ingredients, headquartered in Lake Mary, FL, is one of the world's leading independent providers of natural ingredients. With a legacy spanning over 70 years, we deliver a diverse portfolio of clean label ingredients and innovative system solutions to the food and beverage industry. Our commitment to quality and performance is reflected in our American-made products, which enhance both taste and functionality. Backed by advanced manufacturing capabilities, we specialize in fermentation, patented cold brew extraction, custom flavor development, and a range of drying and blending technologies. Operating from four state-of-the-art facilities strategically located across the U.S., we ensure the accessibility of real, high-quality ingredients—helping our customers create better-for-you food and beverage for consumers.

"Improving the food and beverages consumed by providing real ingredients from nature that work."

This position is currently classified as on-site at our Cranbury, NJ site.

Employees are eligible to participate in Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, 401(k), Holidays, Vacation, Tuition Reimbursement Program.

The final salary offered for this position may take into account a number of factors including, but not limited to, location, skills, education, and experience.

The Company reserves the right to modify, update, change and/or make corrections to this job description, at the sole discretion of senior management, at any time during the employee’s employment term, at the sole discretion of management.

EEO Statement

Vibrant Ingredients is an equal opportunity employer committed to employing a diverse workforce and providing accommodations for people with disabilities in all parts of the hiring process as required under its Employment Accommodation Policy. Vibrant Ingredients will work with applicants to meet accommodation needs that are made known to Vibrant Ingredients in advance.

**Please no external recruiters**