Location: Toronto, ON
Work Type: Full-time, On-site
Reports to: Director of QA/QC
About the Role
Victory’s Kitchen, a leading manufacturer of soups, sauces, and dips, is seeking an innovative and technically skilled food scientist / product developer to join our team as Head of R&D. This role combines culinary creativity with scientific precision. You’ll develop and improve recipes, reverse-engineer existing products, and support the scale-up of formulations from the test kitchen to full production.
The ideal candidate is someone with a great understanding of soups, sauces, and/or kettle-cooked products who loves translating great food ideas into consistent, scalable, and commercially successful products.
Key Responsibilities
Product Development
- Develop, test, and refine new soup, dip, and sauce recipes in alignment with customer needs and internal innovation goals.
- Reverse-engineer products to accurately replicate target characteristics.
- Balance creativity with functionality to achieve ideal flavour, texture, and stability.
Scale-Up & Commercialization
- Collaborate with production and QA teams to transition formulations from lab-scale to plant-scale runs.
Quality & Compliance
- Partner closely with the QA team to ensure products meet all safety, sensory, and shelf-life standards.
- Maintain accurate formula records, ingredient documentation, and product specifications.
- Ensure compliance with CFIA and FDA regulatory requirements.
Ingredient & Process Optimization
- Apply knowledge of functional ingredients (starches, gums, emulsifiers, stabilizers, etc.) to enhance product quality and performance.
- Investigate and recommend ingredient or process adjustments for improved yield, flavour, or texture.
- Implement systems and procedures to improve R&D workflows, data management, and decision making
Collaboration & Support
- Work with cross-functional teams (QA, Production, Procurement, and Sales) to ensure product goals are achieved on time.
- Help train production staff on new recipes and processes when transitioning products into full production.
Innovation & Trend Tracking
- Stay current with emerging ingredients, technologies, and consumer trends to inspire ongoing innovation.
Qualifications
Education:
- Degree or diploma in Food Science, Culinary Science, or a related field.
Experience:
- 5+ years of product development experience in a food manufacturing environment (soups, sauces, dips, or other kettle-cooked foods). Expertise in these types of products is mandatory.
- Experience with scaling up recipes from bench to production scale is a plus but not necessary.
Technical Skills:
- Strong understanding of formulation, food chemistry, and functional ingredient interactions.
- Hands-on experience with emulsified, pasteurized, or refrigerated products preferred.
- Working knowledge of HACCP, GMP, and food safety best practices.
Soft Skills:
- Creative thinker with strong analytical problem-solving skills.
- Detail-oriented, highly organized, and able to manage multiple concurrent projects.
- Effective communicator across technical and non-technical teams.
Computer Skills:
- Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite; experience with recipe management or formulation software is an asset.
Compensation & Benefits
- Salary: Starting from $70,000-$100,000 CAD annually (commensurate with experience)
- Benefits:
- Dental, vision, and extended health care
- Life insurance
Work Location: In-person (Toronto, ON)
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $70,000.00-$100,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental care
- Extended health care
- Life insurance
- Vision care
Application question(s):
- Give a short explanation of your food/culinary background. This is a food-based job, culinary expertise is of the utmost importance to us for this role.
Experience:
- Food Product Development: 3 years (required)
Work Location: In person
