Senior Director of Research and Development

Job Description

Job Description

Summary of Position:

The Senior Director of Research and Development is a high-impact leadership role responsible for driving the company’s R&D and Innovation strategy across all categories, with a primary focus on Pizza and an additional emphasis on Frozen Breakfast. Reporting directly to the Chief Growth Officer, this leader plays a critical dual role: working in real time to deliver explosive near-term Pizza wins across all sales channels, while simultaneously advancing long-term Innovation platforms that secure sustainable growth. This individual oversees the technical design and execution of the R&D and Innovation pipeline, ensuring new product development is insights-driven, operationally feasible, and commercially successful. While the Director, Category Management – Pizza provides category insights, customer alignment, and market strategy, the Senior Director of R&D leads the product creation, technical feasibility, and commercialization. Together, the two roles ensure the Pizza portfolio is both market-relevant and technically executable.

Direct Reports: Director of R&D, Pizza Technician, Frozen Breakfast Technician

Key Responsibilities:

R&D and Innovation Leadership

- In partnership with the Director, Category Management – Pizza, co-define the company-wide R&D and Innovation strategy, balancing near-term Pizza growth with long-term category development. - Lead the technical design, development, and execution of new products across Pizza, Frozen Breakfast, and emerging categories. - Build and manage the Innovation pipeline, ensuring projects are technically feasible, scalable, and aligned with customer needs. - Drive breakthrough ideation and product design while ensuring alignment with commercial strategies provided by Category Management. - Champion a culture of curiosity, agility, and Innovation excellence across R&D and technical teams.

Product Development & Commercialization Oversight

- Own the product development process from benchtop to commercialization, ensuring speed-to-market and technical feasibility. - Partner with Category Management to prioritize near-term Pizza launches that deliver measurable commercial wins. - Ensure compliance with USDA, state-specific requirements, and regulatory standards. - Translate consumer and customer insights into differentiated, technically viable product solutions.

Cross-Functional Leadership

- Collaborate with Category Management to align Innovation with market trends, customer needs, and pricing

strategies.

- Partner with Marketing and Sales to craft compelling Innovation stories, with Category Management leading the

commercial positioning and R&D ensuring technical credibility.

- Work closely with Operations, Procurement, and Quality Assurance to ensure supply chain readiness and

production scalability.

Strategic Growth Impact

- Deliver near-term Pizza growth through Innovation-driven launches, while also developing long-term whitespace

platforms.

- Track and manage Innovation KPIs such as ROI, pipeline health, technical success rate, and speed-to-market.

- Monitor competitive activity and emerging technologies to anticipate and develop technical capabilities that

support future category growth.

Qualifications

Education and Experience:

- Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Engineering, Business, Marketing, or related field required; MBA preferred.

- 10+ years of progressive experience in food R&D, Innovation, or product development, with strong exposure to

frozen or bakery categories.

- Proven track record of delivering near-term commercialization wins and building sustained Innovation pipelines

across multiple channels.

- Preferred: Experience working for PE-backed or growth-driven, fast-paced companies.

Skills & Competencies:

- Visionary leader with ability to drive near-term commercial wins while advancing long-term technical strategy.

- Strong business acumen with deep understanding of product development, commercialization, and technical

feasibility.

- Excellent collaboration skills with proven ability to work cross-functionally, particularly with Category

Management, Sales, and Marketing.

- Data-driven decision-maker with strong analytical, technical, and trend-forecasting capabilities.

Success Measures:

- Measurable growth in Pizza revenue and share through near-term wins across sales channels.

- Growth in Frozen Breakfast and other categories driven by long-term Innovation initiatives.

- Percentage of company revenue from new products launched.

- ROI, profitability, and technical success rate of the Innovation pipeline.

- Cross-functional alignment and efficiency in bringing new products to market at scale.