Product Development Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

The Director of Product Development - Edibles is responsible for leading the Edibles product development team, bringing new edibles products to life from concept through commercialization. This role owns the product development process end-to-end: translating product briefs into winning formulations, building and running a sensory sampling and evaluation process, vetting and qualifying new ingredients, and developing and owning product specifications that guide consistent, high-quality products. The department is comprised of a dynamic team of food scientists and culinary experts, fostering a culture of creativity, rigor, and continuous improvement. This role partners closely with innovation, consumer insights, and implementation to ensure new products are both delightful to consumers and ready to scale. This leadership role is responsible for mentoring, developing, coaching, and advancing the edibles product development team. Green Thumb is growing fast, and as our Director of Product Development -Edibles, you will be tasked with ensuring we are staying cutting edge in this rapidly growing industry. A demonstrated expertise in food science, sensory evaluation, and a variety of CPG product development concepts, practices, platforms, and procedures is a must. 

This position will require occasional flexibility in working hours to set up and complete sensory sessions, bench trials, or product testing that may extend past typical working hours. This position requires 10% travel to different manufacturing facilities in the GTI network.  

Strategic Leadership: 

• Develop and execute the company's new product strategy in alignment with overall business objectives. 
• Drive innovation and new product development efforts to meet market demands and gain a competitive edge. 
• Take product briefs from concept to finished formulation, defining and assessing project scope, ingredient and flavor direction, feasibility, and project financials. 

Team Management and Development 

• Recruit, mentor, and manage a team of professionals, including food scientists. 
• Foster a collaborative and innovative work environment, encouraging cross-functional collaboration with other departments, including innovation, quality assurance, and procurement, and implementation to bring new products to market successfully. 
• Set clear performance expectations, conduct regular performance reviews, and provide constructive feedback to ensure constant growth of our GTI team members. 

Product Development: 

• Oversee the end-to-end product development process, from ideation to commercialization. 
• Take product briefs and translate them into finished products, leading concept development, ingredient selection, and bench formulation from first prototype through final formula. 
• Build, lead, and continuously refine a structured sensory sampling and evaluation process, gathering and synthesizing internal and consumer feedback to guide formulation decisions. 
• Vet, qualify, and approve new ingredients and suppliers for flavor, function, safety, cost, and supply reliability before they are incorporated into product formulations. 
• Develop and own product specifications (formulas, flavor profiles, sensory attributes, and finished product parameters), ensuring they are accurate, current, and clearly communicated.   
• Partner closely with the Implementation team throughout formulation handoff, fostering a collaborative, positive working relationship between the two teams. 
• Be onsite for the first scale-up of every new formula, providing hands-on guidance and product expertise as the Implementation team translates the recipe into a real manufacturing run. 
• Remain engaged and available to troubleshoot with the Implementation team if formulation-related issues arise in the field as they scale Product Development's recipes. 

Test Kitchen & Facility Management: 

• Manage the team's offsite leased test kitchen, the dedicated space where all product development work takes place, including the equipment within it and all processes and procedures.   
• Serve as the primary point of contact with the landlord, coordinating any building accommodations, maintenance, or repairs needed to keep the test kitchen running smoothly. 
• Ensure safe kitchen practices, food safety standards, and proper equipment maintenance are consistently followed throughout the test kitchen. 

Research and Trends Analysis: 

• Stay current with industry trends, consumer preferences, and emerging technologies to drive innovation. 
• Conduct market research and competitor analysis to identify growth opportunities.  
• Engages with cannabis and CPG current events to support recommendations of new products.  

Project Management and Technical Expertise: 

• Implement project management best practices to track progress, timelines, budgets and milestones for product development initiatives. 
• Maintain a deep understanding of the technical aspects of the projects and products the team is working on, and educate and share your technical knowledge with cross-functional partners to help them better design products and projects. 

Budget Management: 

• Develop and manage the budget for all projects flowing through product development, ensuring efficient allocation of resources to support PD initiatives.  
• Explore cost-saving opportunities in ingredients and processes.  

Regulatory Compliance and Quality: 

• Work with QA and Compliance to ensure that all products meet relevant food safety, labeling, and regulatory requirements. 
• Implement and maintain robust quality control processes and procedures for new products. 
• Address and resolve quality and compliance issues. 

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Food Science, Culinary Science, Chemistry, or a related field; 
  • Master's degree or PhD strongly preferred. 
• 10+ years of leadership experience. 
• Food science or product development experience in a CPG or food/beverage setting, including hands-on formulation and sensory evaluation. 
• Proven track record in accomplishing significant and impactful business results. 
• Demonstrated high level of leadership, relationship management, and communication skills; ability to work effectively with global teams. 
• Ability to be a technical and strategic leader as well as a hands-on implementer.  
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with coworkers and management. 
• Familiarity with FDA and OSHA regulations. 
• Understanding & adhering to applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations as they pertain to the industry, safety regulations, local municipal codes and organizational rules, regulations, directives and standard operating procedures. 
• Highly motivated, self-directed, innovative and able to work independently or among teams with keen judgement, common sense and resourcefulness 
• Adapts and thrives in a demanding, fast-paced environment 
• Possesses a high level of critical thinking 
• Operates with a high level of professionalism and integrity, including dealing with confidential information 
• Must understand and comply with the rules, regulations, policies, and procedures of Green Thumb 
• Must have a solid understanding of the Cannabis laws, rules and regulations and passion to further their understanding and knowledge of the industry and the laws.  

• Active driver's license or State ID card. 
• Must be a minimum of 21 years of age. 
• Must pass any and all required background checks. 
• Must be and remain compliant with all legal or company regulations for working in the industry. 
• Must be approved by the regulatory agency, if required, and maintain compliance with any employee badging process. 
• This position will require occasional flexibility in working hours to set up and complete sensory sessions, bench trials, or product testing that may extend past typical working hours. 
• This position requires 10% travel to different manufacturing facilities in the GTI network.  

Working Conditions:  

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to perform grasping, talking, hearing, seeing and repetitive motions. 
• Physical demands – May be required to stand and/or walk for extended periods of time. Must be able to lift, carry and balance up to 50 pounds (200 pounds with assistance). 
• Extended periods of sitting and computer work. 
• This is a GMP facility and the Employee Hygiene and Personal Effects Policy must be followed, which prohibits wearing/having false eyelashes/eyelash extensions, false/long fingernails, fingernail polish/art, hairpins, non-permanent jewelry (permanent means it can only be remo