- Bachelor's degree in food science, food engineering, chemistry, or a related technical field, plus 7+ years of progressively responsible experience bringing food or beverage products from idea to market. Experience in a multi-unit retail food and beverage, café, coffee, or restaurant environment is strongly preferred; coffee and specialty beverage experience is preferred.
- Deep hands-on experience developing and commercializing products through a structured stage-gate process, from formulation and validation through scale-up and operational readiness. Beverage development experience is strongly preferred, particularly coffee and specialty beverages that must translate into simple, repeatable store-level recipes and operating procedures.
- Demonstrated experience building R&D capability and leading technical talent, including direct reports and/or matrixed technical resources, with the ability to design, recruit and develop a high-performing R&D team as Philz grows.
- A track record of creating products customers choose again and again - products with a clear point of difference, sound technical foundations, and an experience that delivers on the Philz brand.
- Strong knowledge of sensory science and the ability to translate consumer learning into technical product targets, formulation decisions, and quality standards.
- Curiosity about emerging ingredients, food science, processing technologies, nutrition and labeling requirements, and broader food and beverage trends, with the ability to identify relevant technical implications and opportunities for Philz.
- Deep working knowledge of food safety, regulatory requirements, labeling, nutrition, quality systems, shelf-life validation, specifications, and the role each plays in responsible product development and commercialization.
- A practical, analytical problem solver who can get to the root of technical challenges, make thoughtful trade-offs, and keep work moving forward.
- Clear and influential written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to make complex technical information understandable and actionable for partners across Philz.
- Strong organization and follow-through, with the ability to set priorities, build realistic plans, and deliver across multiple workstreams.
- Strong project leadership skills and a collaborative working style that brings R&D, Product Innovation, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Brand, Marketing, Finance, and other partners together around a shared outcome.
- Excellent attention to detail without losing sight of the bigger picture; able to manage multiple priorities, identify risks early, and create practical paths forward.
- Strong technical judgment across formulation, recipe development, ingredient functionality, food safety, regulatory compliance, quality systems, process development, store execution, scale-up, commercialization, and troubleshooting, with particular strength translating technical solutions into simple, repeatable processes that can be consistently executed by frontline teams across a multi-unit retail environment.
- Ability to build simple, effective R&D ways of working and development tools that help Philz innovate with greater consistency and speed.
- Willing and able to travel moderately to support supplier work, trials, commercialization, store or market learning, and other business needs.
- Comfortable working safely across the environments where Philz products come to life, including offices, labs, supplier facilities, and manufacturing settings where noise and other occupational hazards may be present.
**Compensation & Benefits
A reasonable estimate of the annual salary for this role is $150,000 to $170,000. Please note that the salary will vary based on qualifications, previous experience, and work location.
When you join our team, we better your days through our benefits and support programs – we offer our team members medical, dental, and vision insurance, company-paid basic life insurance, optional family life insurance, 401(k) with company match, flexible spending accounts, commuter benefits, mental health support, holiday pay, Flexible Time Off & Sick Time, Team Member discounts, freebie drinks and discounted beans, fun Philz swag, opportunities for growth and advancement, and more!
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