Anywhere Job Type
Full-time
Description
ABOUT US:
Carnivore Meat Company is a rapidly growing, award winning, raw pet food company located in Green
Bay, Wisconsin. Most recently, Carnivore has been recognized for their accomplishments in growth and
manufacturing excellence and were recipients the following: Greater Green Bay Chamber Growth
Award, State Manufacturer of the Year Award, Governor’s Export Achievement Award and the
Greater Green Bay Chamber Manufacturing Award of Distinction and INC 5000 Fastest Growing Small
Business.
Carnivore manufactures 100% of its products at its own facilities, leveraging a unique and best-in-class
supply chain approach and relationships to ensure that most ingredients are frozen immediately after
harvesting to lock in freshness and nutrients. The ingredients are then processed at Carnivore’s own
facilities, and dried using proprietary freeze dry equipment and technology.
From traditional favorites – beef, chicken, turkey, duck – to more innovative tastes such as ahi tuna and
rabbit. Carnivore Meat Company products are free of grains, gluten, artificial preservatives, rendered by-products, fillers, flavoring, and coloring. Carnivore’s all-meat freeze-dried products are safe, convenient, and shelf-stable, making them ideal for traveling, training, snacking and everyday feeding, making the segment one of the fastest growing areas within pet food today.
Carnivore’s products are sold under its flagship Vital Essential® brand. Vital Essentials® is distributed in
over 7,200 retailers today in the Independent Pet channel, and in 14 international markets. Vital
Essentials® is one of the fastest growing brands in the pet food industry.
PURPOSE:
Are you a passionate pet lover with over a decade of experience? Imagine leading the charge in revolutionizing pet food and treats as our Director of Research and Development. In this exciting role, you’ll spearhead the creation of innovative products, enhance existing ones, and refine manufacturing processes to ensure our furry friends get the very best. Your expertise in pet nutrition will be your superpower, enabling you to swiftly drive projects from prototype to market-ready solutions. Join us and make a lasting impact on the lives of pets and their devoted humans anywhere in the world.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Participate in the identification of company product innovation initiatives providing technical insight in the areas of nutrition, functionality, organoleptic, ingredients, and regulation.
- Work with the CMC Sales and Marketing teams to define technical requirements necessary to meet desired innovation targets.
- Work with the private label sales team to define customer requirements and facilitate the development of product formulas to meet those requirements while driving cost targets.
- Remain current with pet food industry innovation and formulation trends in the areas of ingredients, nutrition, and new product development communicating potential initiatives to the executive leadership team.
- Identify opportunities for improving existing brand formulations in the areas of cost, nutrition, and quality.
- Facilitate the process for validating and verifying conformance of branded and private label products to nutritional regulations including AAFCO nutritional profiles.
- Gain and maintain an in-depth technical understanding of key competitor product offerings to be used in scheduled competitive product cuttings.
- Facilitate product cuttings against CMC requirements and competitor products. Provide insights to the formulation & manufacturing of competitive set products.
- Provide technical insight in support of ingredient cost saving initiatives to ensure our commitment to protein integrity is maintained.
- Facilitate production of lab samples, pre-production samples, and first run production in support of the product formulation and commercialization process.
- Work with the Food Safety Team to properly account for any potential nutritional attributes associated with new ingredients.
- Identify, develop, implement, and maintain measurement systems for product nutritional requirements.
REPORTING STRUCTURE:
Reports to: VP of Technical Services
Peers: FSQA Manager
Team: Food Technologist II
Requirements
QUALIFICATIONS:
- The position is located in Green Bay, WI
- Advanced degree in Food Science and/or related field is required.
- 10+ years of successful hands-on experience guiding product development from prototype to commercialization. Direct experience in pet nutrition is highly desired
- Critical thinking approach to formulation and scaling from bench top to large scale production
- Demonstrated leadership and people development skills
- Deep knowledge of methodologies and pre-commercialization product testing requirements including required testing protocols for claims support, nutrients and Guaranteed Analysis, and shelf stability
- Solid working knowledge of AAFCO, NASC, FDA, USDA-APHIS and FSMA regulations as they pertain to pet foods and nutritional supplements
- Knowledge of formulation development software
- Ability to work with a high level of autonomy
BENEFITS:
- Competitive Salary and Bonus Opportunity
- 4% 401K match, medical, dental, vision, voluntary life and pet insurance, 100% company-paid basic group life, short-term and long-term disability insurance, 9 paid holidays (including 1 floating holiday to use as you choose), PTO, employee discounts on pet food and treats, tuition and wellness reimbursement, EAP
Carnivore Meat Company is an equal opportunity employer.