The Head of Product Development will be responsible to guide the
technical aspects of new product development at Clara Foods. This
individual will work closely with the Marketing, R&D and our partners to
develop value propositions for the new proteins in order to establish
performance standards for new products as well as identify the most
attractive target categories/customers for the products.
Job Title: Head of New Product Development
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer
FLSA Status: Exempt, Full Time
Location: Remote temporarily until we transition back to office in
South San Francisco, CA
Role and Responsibilities:
- Lead the Product Team and serve as technical voice-of-customer for
internal Ingredient New Product Development, working closely with
Marketing and R&D, establish targets for specifications and
performance for Clara proteins in selected applications while
developing robust value propositions to guide development projects.
- Support Marketing and Commercial teams to implement the three-year
business plan for the new protein products developed by Clara Foods
- In conjunction with our Sales Team and partner distributor(s),
support and participate in technology-based discussions with
customers, primarily with the R&D and technology groups to establish
NPD projects ultimately leading to sales.
- Develop and maintain a strong working technical and applications
knowledge of the target categories and the competitive environment
to facilitate business development efforts. Pro-actively provide
applications/category competitive intelligence to appropriate sales,
marketing and R&D personnel.
- Provide technical understanding of products and the product value
proposition to the Marketing and Sales team and support initial
sales activity with the goal of meeting short and long-term targets
for revenue, profitability and market share.
- Support Clara participation at trade shows and other technical
venues to build knowledge and identify new prospects.
- In partnership with Marketing, analyze the leading players in target
categories to determine which should be most receptive to
incorporate into new protein product offerings, and implement these
learnings in Clara NPD programs.
- Monitor and track NPD performance and benchmark best practices to
drive continuous improvement.
- Monitor and track competitive products in the microflora-derived
ingredient space.
Qualifications and Education Requirements:
- Bachelors' Degree in Food Science or other relevant scientific,
engineering, or business discipline. Additionally, an MBA is a plus.
- 7 to 10 years of experience in a food industry company, preferably
in a B2B food ingredient supplier.
- Must be authorized to work in the United States for Clara Foods
Preferred Skills and Abilities:
- Experience at a high-growth startup in the ingredient, flavor,
agricultural and food a plus!
- Significant direct and practical Business development, New
Ingredient product development, Marketing and Technical experience
in food or specialty ingredients.
- Excellent presentation and communication skills, both in creation
and execution
- Demonstrated analytical and problem-solving skills required.
- Strong Interpersonal and leadership skills
- Ability to interact effectively with all levels of the organization
and in a variety of cultures -- both internal and external.
- Available to travel domestically approximately 10-20%.
- Ability to take risks to achieve desired results
- Ability to adapt and support others through change, ambiguity and
complexity
- Ability to anticipate customer needs and proactively create new
solutions and operate with a sense of urgency
What Clara can offer:
- Generous benefits package; 100% medical, dental, and vision employee
coverage, 401k matching, and stock options
- Optional benefits; FSA, HSA, Commuter, Pet Care, and additional life
insurance
- Flexible PTO
- Free parking, unlimited gym access, lounge, mini-golf patio, yoga
and fitness classes onsite
- Unlimited supply of sparkling water, granola bars, snacks, local
coffee and tea
- Weekly themed happy hours and quarterly company outings
- Monthly all-hands meetings and 1:1 with CEO and leadership
- Close to South San Francisco BART and Cal Train stations, including
free shuttle service
About Clara Foods™
Clara Foods™ is a Bay Area venture capital-backed company working
towards a disruptive advance in food technology by producing animal
proteins without the animal using fermentation. We join a new generation
of entrepreneurs, activists and scientists who recognize that the
decades-old factory farm model cannot sustain the dietary needs of 7
billion people and counting - and that technology may hold a solution.
As much as the growing market demands for animal protein production
exert pressure on food producers to improve their efficiencies and
outputs, there is also growing public distaste for the environmental,
animal welfare, and health compromises of industrial-scale animal
agriculture.
Clara Foods™ aims to subvert this moral and economic deadlock by taking
the animal out of the equation. We're bringing products to the table
that are produced completely animal-free, use less land and water
inputs, while matching the taste, nutritional value, and unique culinary
properties of animal proteins.
How to apply
