About the Role
Rubix Foods is seeking a dynamic and visionary Senior Vice President of Research & Development (SVP, R&D) to lead our customer driven innovation engine and drive growth through culinary excellence, food science, and operational improvement. Reporting to the CEO, this executive-level role will oversee four critical functions: the Culinary Sales Team, In-House Culinary Development, Food Science Application Team, and the Continuous Improvement Team. The SVP will be responsible for aligning innovation with customer needs, advancing food technology, and ensuring Rubix Foods remains the trusted partner for our customers.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
- Develop and execute the R&D strategy aligned with Rubix Foods’ business objectives and customer partnerships.
- Serve as a thought leader in customer driven innovation, food science, and operational excellence.
- Lead a complex organization of direct and indirect teams, setting vision, driving accountability, and cultivating a culture of high performance and cross-functional partnership.
- Collaborate with executive leadership to identify growth opportunities and emerging trends across food service and private label retail channels.
Culinary Sales Team
- Lead and inspire the culinary sales team to deliver customer-focused solutions that achieve our annual growth goals.
- Partner with sales and marketing leadership to translate culinary insights into actionable business opportunities.
- Represent Rubix Foods at key customer meetings, industry events, and innovation showcases.
In-House Culinary Development
- Oversee the creation of new menu concepts, flavor systems, and product prototypes.
- Ensure culinary development aligns with consumer trends, operational feasibility, Rubix’s core competencies, and the customer’s strategic needs.
- Foster collaboration between chefs, food scientists, and commercial teams to accelerate customer-driven innovation.
Food Science Application Team
- Direct the application of food science to enhance product performance, shelf life, and sensory quality.
- Guide the team in developing scalable solutions that meet regulatory, safety, and nutritional standards.
- Champion cross-functional projects that integrate culinary creativity with scientific rigor.
Continuous Improvement Team
- Lead initiatives to optimize processes, reduce waste, and improve efficiency across Rubix Foods’ manufacturing network.
- Implement Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to strengthen our pipeline and boost our hit rate.
- Drive a culture of continuous learning, experimentation, and operational excellence.
Essential Duties
- Execute business objectives related to product development and commercialization of profitable value-added products and technologies.
- Prioritize projects daily and adapt to shifting business needs, ensuring continuous progress and communication across all projects – while traveling up to 50% and remotely mentoring and directing the cross-functional leaders and direct reports.
- Empower and elevate the Culinary team.
- Work with strategic manufacturing partners to design, execute, and implement new processing methods and equipment that enable optimum scale-up of newly developed technology.
- Fulfill all product development needs while cultivating a nimble, adaptable team that maintains a positive attitude and consistently supports the brand.
- Partner with Supply Chain and Procurement colleagues to manage raw materials and supplier coordination.
Qualifications
- Location: This role is based in Jacksonville, Fl. Local candidates or those open to relocation are required.
- Education: A degree in Food Science or a related field is required; an advanced degree is preferred. Experience in culinary sales management is a plus.
- Experience: 15+ years of experience in Research and Product Development, with a proven track record of leading food teams and creating scalable, customer-driven innovation suitable for large scale manufacturing while keeping the end-user experience in mind.
- Proven project and people management experience is required.
- Management skills: Expertise in project management familiar with project planning tools and collaboration, ability to delegate tasks and authority, effective time management.
- Leadership skills: Analytical thinking, problem solving and decision making, ability to communicate technical knowledge and expertise with internal team members and customers resulting in cross-functional collaboration.
- Technical skills: Strong knowledge of food science product development and knowledge of regulatory and industry standards related to food science and food processing.
- Travel: Up to 50% travel may be required.
About Rubix Foods
Rubix Foods is a full-service product development house with end- to-end manufacturing capabilities. We blend culinary creativity, food science, and consumer intelligence to fuel innovation for the industry’s most exciting, high-momentum brands. From concept to commercialization, we streamline and accelerate the entire product development journey – delivering white-glove service, disciplined execution, and consistent results that raise the bar every time.
Our Vision: To be the food industry’s first call – known for our speed, trusted for our quality, and chosen for our reliability.
Our Mission: To solve the food industry’s toughest problems – creatively, collaboratively, and with unrivaled speed and execution.
