7-Eleven is an iconic family of brands with over 86,000 locations, surpassing every retailer in the world.We revolutionize convenience, restaurants and fuel through cutting edge innovation - working hard to be the customer's first choice. 7-Eleven empowers our employees to 'activate awesome' and make a meaningful impact in their stores and communities every day.If you're ready to grow, lead and make a difference, come join our team and help shape the future of convenience.
JOB SUMMARY:
The Senior Manager, Technical Food Research and Development provides technical leadership across the Private Brands portfolio, ensuring products are developed, commercialized, and maintained with scientific rigor. This role is responsible for ensuring all products meet regulatory and brand QA standards while performing consistently over their intended shelf life. The position requires close collaboration with cross-functional internal teams and external suppliers to drive technical excellence and support long-term growth and operational excellence.
KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Lead end-to-end technical research and development and commercialization for innovation, renovation, and maintenance initiatives across the Private Brands portfolio
Apply and continuously improve technical development and commercialization systems that embed food safety, regulatory compliance, QA standards, and shelf-life considerations
Translate product concepts into scalable, manufacturable formulations and processes, ensuring technical readiness for launch
Own product performance over shelf life, including defining test strategies, validating assumptions, and managing technical risk for formulation, process, and supplier changes
Ensure all products comply with applicable food regulations and brand QA standards
Partner closely with QA, Regulatory, Legal, and Sensory to support approvals, audits, testing, and ongoing compliance
Serve as a primary technical partner to co-manufacturers, establishing expectations for quality, performance, and compliance
Identify opportunities for continuous improvement and lead implementation with suppliers and internal teams
Support supplier performance management, including technical input to scorecards, corrective actions, and continuous improvement
Partner with Strategic Sourcing to identify, qualify, and onboard new suppliers through technical evaluations and capability assessments
Develop, govern, and maintain technical specifications and standards, including formulations, ingredients, processes, and shelf-life assumptions
Lead technical change management, ensuring changes are evaluated, documented, approved, and executed in a controlled manner
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Chemistry, or related field
YEARS OF RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE: 8+ years
YEARS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE: 8+ years
SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:
Strong technical knowledge of food chemistry, microbiology, and processing technologies
Expertise in formulation development, ingredient functionality, and food product optimization
Proficiency in experimental design, product testing methodologies, and data analysis
Understanding of food safety principles, HACCP, and regulatory requirements for food products
Experience with sensory evaluation techniques and consumer testing methodologies
Strong project management skills with ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
Excellent problem-solving abilities with a solutions-oriented approach
Effective communication and documentation skills to present technical information to various audiences
Ability to translate consumer insights and market trends into viable product concepts
Strong supplier relationship management skills with experience in technical oversight
Collaborative mindset with demonstrated success working in cross-functional environments
Proficiency with R&D documentation systems and product lifecycle management tools
*Position not eligible for sponsorship*
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This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the individuals assigned to this job. This is not an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. Management reserves the right to amend and change the duties and responsibilities of this job to meet business and organizational needs, as necessary.
If an hourly or salary range is included in this ad it represents the range 7-Eleven in good faith believes is the range of compensation for this role at the time of this posting. The Company may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range is only applicable for jobs to be performed in this state. This range may be modified in the future. No amount is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable under the terms and conditions of the applicable policies and plans. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, long-term incentive compensation, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company's sole discretion, consistent with the law.
For a general description of all benefits 7-Eleven is offering in the US for the position, please visit this link.
For a general description of all benefits 7-Eleven is offering in Canada for the position, please visit this link.