Senior Research & Development Manager

At Chewy, it is our mission to become the most trusted and convenient online destination for pet parents and our partners – vets and service providers – alike. Our success is measured by the happiness of the people and pets we serve, not simply by the amount of pet supplies we deliver. That’s why we continue to think of outside-the-Chewy-box ways to delight, surprise, and thank our loyal pet lovers!

Our Opportunity: 

Chewy is looking for a Senior Research & Development Manager to join our exciting, creative, and fast-paced Chewy Brands team in Plantation, FL. We are growing and if you are equally passionate about creating industry leading brands, this opportunity at Chewy might be a great match! In this role, you’ll lead Research and Development projects and be responsible for creating innovation and driving growth for our consumable Chewy brands. The ideal candidate should have a proven track record of developing pet food and treats, strong technical and nutritional skills, and the ability to work in a fast-paced product development environment with cross-functional teams. 

What You'll Do: 

• Create, design, and develop our private label pet food and treat products by collaborating with cross-functional Team Members (Supply Chain, Category Management, Quality Assurance, Regulatory and Marketing) as well as our manufacturing partners. 
• Own the creation and execution of a multi-million-dollar new product pipeline 
• Use strong business skills to appropriately scope the technical development of pet products as well as drive innovation for the company.   
• Lead and communicate technical complexity and project updates with external partners and within inter-departments. 
• Deliver project success with the agreed upon metrics including cost, aesthetics, technical feasibility, commercial feasibility and consumer acceptance. 

• Demonstrate the ability to troubleshoot and resolve various project challenges with the support of cross-functional Team Members. 
• Ability to track and manage timelines with external partners and within inter-departments. 
• Accountability will include formulation analysis, sourcing and recommending ingredients, interpreting nutritional results, setting up and interpreting feeding study results, evaluating statistical analysis, assessing process integration and co-packing feasibility, ensuring products are developed within nutritional regulatory and QA/Food Safety guidelines, ensuring product stability and conducting shelf-life testing. 

What You’ll Need 

• This position requires a BS/MS degree in a science field (e.g., Food Science, Meat Science, Animal Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Packaging, etc.) or equivalent experience in the industry. 

• Depending on degree type/level, required minimum relevant 7+ years of Research & Development experience. 
• Strong professional and academic networks in the field of pet food or human food. 
• Knowledge of USDA, FDA and AAFCO regulations as they relate to standards of identity, ingredients, nutrition labeling and label claims. 
• Strong scientific knowledge of meat science principles as they relate to meat processing: kibble manufacturing, wet food manufacturing, treat manufacturing – freeze dried, jerky, biscuit, dehydrated, etc. 
• Multi-functional team collaboration and project management with excellent communication skills, both verbal and written 

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to drive process improvement 
• Demonstrated integrity, maturity, professionalism, and sensitivity Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook) 
• May be required to travel up to 30-40%. 

Bonus: 

• Consumer product goods, e-commerce or retail experience preferred