Sr Director of Product Development & Regulatory

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Dawn Foods is a global leader in bakery manufacturing and ingredients distribution. As the partner of choice for inspiring bakery success, we helpcustomers grow their business through meaningful partnerships, research-driven insights and innovations, and products and expertise they can depend on. As a family-owned company, our commitments to our people, products, customers, and corporate values, are all part of our recipe for success.

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Why work for Dawn Foods?

PEOPLE. PRODUCTS.CUSTOMERS.

Why should you apply? We invest in you!

• Industry-leading health insurance on Day 1!
• Competitive Pay
• 401(K) + company match
• 10 Paid Company Holidays
• Paid Time Off
• Professional training
• Family-owned business with over 100 years of service.
• An opportunity for career advancement, working as part of an empowering workforce.

Job Purpose and Overview

The Senior Director of Product Development and Regulatory is a strategic leadership role responsible for driving innovation, ensuring regulatory compliance, and delivering agile, customer-focused product solutions across Dawn Foods' North American business. This position leads the coordination and execution of product development initiatives, integrating scientific rigor, historical ingredient knowledge, and data-driven insights to create differentiated offerings that meet evolving market demands.

This leader will proactively monitor and interpret changes in the regulatory landscape, implementing forward-looking strategies to ensure compliance and reduce risk. By embedding regulatory expertise early in the development process, this role ensures that Dawn's products are not only innovative but also market-ready and compliant.

Working cross-functionally with commercial, procurement, and operations teams, the Senior Director will help shape category strategies, resolve raw material shortages, and address quality and operational challenges. The role demands a strong understanding of ingredient functionality, process interactions, and manufacturing capabilities to unlock non-obvious solutions and deliver value to customers.

The key focus of this role is to leverage science and historical insights to solve real customer problems, driving innovation that is both differentiated and commercially impactful. Success in this role requires the ability to engage directly with customers, understand their challenges, and apply a scientific approach to develop solutions that meet their evolving needs. By combining a scientific approach with strong interpersonal skills, this role enables the creation of a robust product portfolio that not only protects core business but also unlocks new growth opportunities.

The Senior Director will also lead and develop a high-performing team of food scientists and regulatory experts, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, scientific excellence, and accountability.

Work Environment & Travel: This is a hybrid position, requiring on-site presence at our Home Office in Jackson, MI, at least 3 days per week, with up to 10% travel.

What You'll Do as a Sr. Director of Product Development and Regulatory at Dawn Foods?

• Lead Agile Product Development: Drive the end-to-end product development process with agility, ensuring rapid iteration, cross-functional collaboration, and alignment with customer and commercial needs.
• Deliver Customer-Centric Solutions: Translate customer insights and market trends into differentiated product offerings that create value and strengthen Dawn's competitive position.
• Regulatory Strategy & Compliance: Monitor and interpret changes in the regulatory landscape, proactively integrating compliance into product development and commercialization strategies.
• Build Innovation Pipeline: Help develop and maintain a robust pipeline of product innovations aimed at defending core business, expanding market share, and enabling entry into new categories.
• Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Partner with commercial, procurement, and operations teams to support category strategy, resolve raw material shortages, and address quality and operational challenges.
• Advance Baking Science: Elevate Dawn's scientific understanding of baking, ingredient functionality, and process interactions to unlock new capabilities and enable non-obvious solutions.
• Integrate Emerging Technologies: Identify and apply new technologies and methods to enhance product performance, sustainability, and manufacturing efficiency.
• Lead and Develop High-Performing Teams: Manage and mentor a team of food scientists, process engineers, and packaging experts, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Drive Scientific Rigor: Establish and promote robust scientific processes across R&D, ensuring data-driven decision-making and knowledge transfer to other functions.
• Support Business Agility: Provide rapid technical support for commercial initiatives, quality issues, supply chain constraints, and cost optimization opportunities.
• Strategic Portfolio Management: Evaluate and prioritize product development opportunities, balancing short-term deliverables with long-term strategic goals.
• Champion Dawn's Values: Promote and embody the philosophies and policies of Dawn Foods, supporting the Circle of Excellence and contributing to a purpose-driven culture.

What Does It Take to be a Sr. Director of Product Development and Regulatory at Dawn Foods?

Below are the minimum qualifications to be a fit for this job.

Education & Experience

• A Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Material Science & Engineering,Chemistry,Chemical Engineering, or a related technical discipline with8 years of progressive experiencein product development, regulatory affairs, or food innovation
  -or-
• A Master's degree in the above fields with6 years of relevant experience
  -or-
• A Ph.D. in a related field with4 years of relevant experience

Leadership & Management

• A minimum of 3 years of people leadership experience, including coaching, mentoring, and performance development of technical teams.
• The proven ability to manage budgets, allocate resources effectively, and align team efforts with strategic business goals.

Innovation & Commercial Acumen

• Experience building and managing aproduct innovation pipelinethat supports core business, market expansion, and new category entry.
• A high level of business acumen with the ability to translate technical capabilities into commercial value.
• The ability to leverage external networks, including suppliers, academic institutions, and industry partners, to identify and integrate emerging technologies.

Technical & Scientific Expertise

• A deep understanding of ingredient functionality, processing technologies, and their impact on finished product performance.
• Demonstrated experience inprocessing R&D, including the interaction between ingredients, equipment, and manufacturing processes.
• A strong foundation in scientific methodology, with the ability to apply data-driven approaches to solve complex technical challenges.
• Proficiency in usingstatistical and analytical toolsto support product development and process optimization.

Regulatory & Compliance

• A solid knowledge of North American food regulations and experience integrating regulatory requirements into product development.
• The ability to anticipate and respond to changes in the regulatory landscape with proactive strategies.

Industry Background

• Experience inB2B food manufacturing, bakery, or ingredient technology is strongly preferred.
• Familiarity withagile product development methodologiesand cross-functional collaboration in a matrixed organization.

Personal Attributes

• Self-directed, forward-thinking, and comfortable making complex decisions in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a Team Member to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• The normal setting for this job is an office environment and work-from-home office with up to 10% travel.

Note:The level of physical effort may vary from site to site and in some cases be greater or lesser than documented here

If this sounds like the opportunity that you have been looking for, please click "Apply."

About Our Benefits

Dawn is proud to employ the top talent in the baking industry, and we reward our people with comprehensive health and well-being coverage, competitive compensation packages, and award-winning benefit offerings. We also help protect your future financial health with a generous 401(k) matching program that provides additional retirement funds and many tools and resources on financial wellness. Dawn encourages professional growth through tuition assistance and educational programs, and we are always searching for ways to improve our industry-leading services and benefits.

Compensation

$140,880-$246,700 with bonus eligibility.

#LI-Hybrid #LI-AH1

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An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/gender expression, citizenship status, military or veteran status, genetic information or any other status or condition that is protected by applicable law.

Requisition ID: 37440