Food Technologist - Technical Innovation

 

Purpose:

The Food Technologist on the Technical Innovation team will be responsible for supporting Innovation and new product development at Riverside. The Food Technologist should be a creative self-starter with an aptitude for learning and applying knowledge of food science principles to different scenarios.  The candidate should have a solid foundation in applied science and a demonstrated skill and interest with recipe development and/or culinary arts.

The ideal candidate should be curious, flexible, adaptable to changing priorities and comfortable with ambiguity and change.  They will possess the grit to overcome steep obstacles with a positive attitude. They should be able to navigate challenges creatively, follow detailed processes accurately, use data to inform decision-making, and translate scientific findings into actionable insights.

The successful candidate should embody Riverside’s core values and be a role model for the team. They should be passionate about science and committed to delivering honest results.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Demonstrate and uphold Riverside’s Core Values 
• Participate in identification of new innovation opportunities to meet Riverside’s current needs and future growth plans
• Keep abreast of industry trends in the global snack marketplace and beyond
• Attend trade shows, seminars, customer/vendor meetings, etc. as needed
• Build collaborative relationships with existing or new ingredient vendor partners
• Develop new recipes and flavours with guidance in line with required brand attributes, cost targets, timelines, certifications (e.g. Kosher, Organic, Vegan, Gluten-Free, etc.), and other relevant food safety, regulatory and quality parameters
• Complete proof of principle research and testing to ensure feasibility and readiness of new products for refinement and launch in large scale manufacturing. Including but not limited to:
  • Follow established protocols for experimental design and execution. Seek guidance for higher complexity projects.
  • Perform testing at lab scale, pilot scale or full-scale manufacturing trials both internally and externally to ensure feasibility of product
  • Use sound scientific evidence to seek truth, rather than success or failure. Use this information to make informed decisions and provide actionable insights with guidance
  • Select, execute, and interpret sensory evaluation tests with guidance
  • Clearly communicate findings to cross-functional and non-technical stakeholders
• Collaborate with brand marketing teams to ensure alignment with market & consumer trends, brand guardrails and technical feasibility
• Manage projects and conduct technical risk assessments while collaborating with multiple stakeholders under supervision. Complete assigned tasks on-time & collaborate with cross-functional partners
• Develop and maintain accurate project records to ensure seamless transitions of project ownership and capture learnings from project successes and failures
• Execute projects to improve R&D or Innovation processes & capabilities
• Respect and promote the company’s health and safety program, maintaining a safe working environment and ensure the continued compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety act and JHSC recommendations
• Manage timeline and documentation of personal project load
• Demonstrate adaptability when faced with changes to project scope and timelines, participate in risk assessments and implements mitigation strategies identified.
• Support fellow R&D and Technical Innovation colleagues as needed. Support onboarding of new staff as needed
• Other duties as required 

Education and Qualifications: 

• Post-secondary degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry, Engineering, or related field
• Experience in Food Research and Development (1-3 years), ideally a portion in food/recipe/product innovation development
  • Co-op/intern experience acceptable
• Experience working in kitchens, laboratories, pilot plants, and/or manufacturing facilities
• Experience in bakery, slab, sweet or savoury snack foods, confectionary, dessert, inclusions, or chocolate is preferred
• Proficient with MS Office, MS Outlook, MS Excel, SharePoint. Experience with Genesis, Specright, Monday.com, SAP an asset

Skills and Abilities:

• Proactive and self-motivated; able to see gaps and take OWNERSHIP to fill them without being asked
• Analytical and problem-solving skills, driven to seek honest answers
• Disciplined; uses food science fundamentals and maintains technical rigour in everyday work
• Demonstrated ADAPTABILITY and GRIT when faced with setbacks, rapid change and ambiguity
• Creative flair; pushes the boundaries to find unconventional solutions
• Embraces discomfort, HUMBLE and excited to explore new challenges and territories
• PASSIONATE for innovation and brings enthusiasm daily 
• Deep desire for knowledge, personal skill development and career growth 
• Excellent time management and organizational skills; can function independently
• Known as a TEAM player, who is skilled in collaboration and operates with RESPECT
• Ability to sample Riverside brands’ products and ingredients or products of interest
• Ability to travel regularly to Riverside manufacturing sites (Toronto/Vaughan area) and occasionally nationally/internationally (5%)

 

Functional & Leadership Competencies:

Functional Capabilities	Definition	Competencies	Comments
New product development	Ability to create new products meeting project guardrails (formulation, certifications, cost, timing, etc.)	Formulation Knowledge Ingredient Functionality Manufacturing Knowledge Data management Organoleptic evaluation	-Uses food science foundations to develop new food products efficiently -Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure the product is appropriate -Uses tools available effectively -Aware of personal skill gaps and bridges them where needed
Ideation and Innovation	Ability to translate and apply industry knowledge to drive innovation and ideation. Navigates ambiguous challenges by leveraging scientific expertise and problem solving to generate novel ideas.	Critical Thinking Creativity  Problem Solving Experimental Design	-        Uses critical thinking and creativity to translate industry trends & insights into relevant and novel food products for Riverside’s pillars -        Can persevere through ambiguity to present technical recommendations

 

Leadership Capabilities	Definition	FYI Competencies	Comments
Building Collaborative Relationships	Working with internal and external partners respectfully to build win-win relationships and foster opportunities for shared insights and success	Collaborates Builds Networks	-        Self-motivated to reach out to others and start new relationships -        Readily connects and engages with network at Riverside and externally to solve problems, fill gaps, get support, and return help
Delivers Results	Delivering results by creatively and effectively seeking the necessary resources, and using grit to tackle challenges faces along the way	Resourcefulness Resilience Manages Ambiguity	-        Views obstacles and failure as opportunities -        Creative and resourceful to find solutions to situations where others may stumble -        Reacts to change with positivity -        Willing to take initiative
Breakthrough Thinking	Driving innovation by thinking beyond the mold and being unafraid to take bold risks and try, try, and try again Demonstrating contagious excitement to do things differently	Cultivates Innovation	-        Passionate and enthusiastic about innovation -        Takes risks rooted in scientific foundations -        Not afraid to fail -        Uses learning from failure and challenges to pivot, grow, and continue moving forward -        Humble

 

Key Accountabilities 

Responsibility	KPI/ Metric to Measure Success	Rating (1 – 3)	Comments
Support the innovation cycle by developing new innovations and formulations to meet business needs (approx. 0-1 major, 4-6 minor/year)	-        4+ new formulations meeting all project guardrails complete for handover to R&D Commercialization	Crucial tasks, day to day, role-critical, urgent	Flying the plane
Continuous improvement of R&D & Innovation processes – Leading 1-2 key process improvements/year	-        1-2+ processes improved (metric TBD – time savings, $ savings, etc. targets)	Important tasks, supporting the team	Building the plane
Manage product development activities in a project timeline	-        Manage 3+ projects and their respective product development timelines -        Ensure projects remain on track and appropriate technical activities are complete	Important tasks, supporting the team