Vice President of Product Development/R&D @ Innovative Food Startup

Eclipse Foods is building the future of dairy using micelles (the microscopic magic of milk.) Eclipse has developed the world's first plant-based dairy tech platform which makes plant-based products that are indistinguishable from conventional dairy. We are transforming the $500B dairy industry and are the team behind JUST Mayo, have chef’d/ staged at 16 Michelin stars, and are alt-protein experts. We’ve raised over $60M from leading investors such as Y Combinator, the chairman of Beyond Meat, the founder of Reddit, the creator of Gmail, Forerunner Ventures, Sozo Ventures, Initialized Capital, and more. Our mission is to create a more sustainable, healthy, and humane food system by making amazing plant-based foods that require no sacrifice.

Joining Eclipse Foods as the Vice President of Product Development,  you will be bringing the next massive plant-based food brand to consumers. This role matches your ability to lead and innovate plus create new + enhance and redesign existing plant-based products that are indistinguishable from dairy.

Who are you?

You have 12+ years progressive experience with project management, working closely with project leaders in engineering, research and development, manufacturing, supply chain, sourcing, sales, channel marketing, marketing communications, packaging, and finance.

You have a Bachelor’s Degree in a related field (food science, food engineering, or related discipline).

You have significant experience developing new food products as well as new product concept definitions, particularly with food that is new to the market. Ideally you possess at least 5 years experience working directly in R&D and Product Development in plant based food. 

You possess a solid understanding of innovations in the manufacturing process.

You have strong planning, project management, and execution skills, and the ability to articulate where and how you have used them

You demonstrate rigorous data driven/analytical capability and ability and presence to present data effectively to a leadership team

You monitor current and new technologies in the dairy and nondairy space; bonus if you have solid knowledge of fermentation, culturing, enzymatic reactions, and their uses within a system.

You must be willing and able to occasionally work outside of regular business hours.

You have strong business acumen with demonstrated understanding of the financial aspects of product development.

You have an ownership mindset and are a strategic thinker. Setting goals and priorities when appropriate, creating and executing plans, measuring KPIs and metrics, and aligning tactics with key results all comes naturally to you.

You have management experience across cross-functional teams (bonus points if your experience is from a start-up).

You are curious, constantly seeking opportunities to improve, optimize, and innovate.

You’re a fantastic team player who teaches by doing. You work smart and know when to roll up your sleeves. 

You’re nimble, scrappy, and a leader in ambiguous situations. You create solutions to problems, take proactive ownership, and keep a positive attitude even when times are tough.

You’re highly organized, structured, and excellent at prioritizing based on company goals.

You’re passionate about your work. You care deeply about changing our food system.

You’re a great person, in and out of work. You practice humility, collaboration, proactivity, trustworthiness, kindness, organization, and diligence.

Who are we?

We’re the next massive plant-based food company, revolutionizing the $100B dairy sector.

We’re on a mission to save our planet, our health, and animals by creating a solution to rescue the food system.

We’re the people behind some of the best selling plant-based products in the world (JUST mayo, for example).

We’re people of integrity. We do what we say we will do, we treat others right, we care deeply about those around us, and we put our hearts into our work.  

We are constantly hustling to get things done that need to get done. We all get dirty and we all do the dishes. We embody the true spirit of a startup.

Last, but not least, we are CREAMY. Our values are Communication, Recharge, Ego-free, Attentive, Moral compass points north, and Yes we can attitude. If you embody all of these values, you’ll fit right in.

What will you do?

Work directly with our CTO, Thomas Bowman, to develop the next round of Eclipse Foods products and continue iteration on existing ones.

Own product development process end-to-end, prioritizing and allocating work, building and tracking timelines, KPIs, and deadlines, and identifying resource gaps and constraints.

Establish strategies and tactical plans for each formula product.

Manage the PD / R&D team, providing direction, feedback, and mentorship and ensuring accountability and a high-performance culture.

Scope new roles, interview, and hire additional members to the PD / R&D teams, leveraging your network to source exceptional hires.

Validate new equipment, ingredients, products or processes through bench and pilot work.

Work with current and new suppliers and vendors for new innovation and CI. 

Work with QA to update master Q&A documents with new product Q&A information.

Engage cross functionally with all departments to accomplish company-wide goals.

This is a full-time, in-person at our headquarters in Oakland. You must be willing and able to travel domestically (up to 20%). We are located in Oakland, CA, and offer free on-site parking, vegan snacks, team lunch on Fridays, unlimited PTO, and unlimited coffee. 

Candidates will be required to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 upon commencing employment. Reasonable accommodations will be considered on a case-by-case basis for exemptions to this requirement in accordance with applicable law.

Eclipse Foods is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products, and our customers. We are deeply committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Company Size: Not Specified

Year Founded: 2019

Country: United States