Product Development Scientist
Nom Nom delivers delight to your dog’s day. We’re driven by a deep love for dogs and a commitment to their well-being, and are guided by a simple yet powerful philosophy: to provide pups with meals that mirror the devotion, attention, and care that they give us.
Our variety of real good, feel good meals burst with vibrant ingredients and tasty textures. They’re prepared, portioned, and packaged in our very own kitchens, and personalized all the way down to the calorie to meet the unique needs of every dog we serve. Board-certified veterinary nutritionists and world-class scientists have made sure of that, by ensuring maximum nutrition from all of our recipes while advancing dog health at large.
Join us on our journey to push boundaries and innovate relentlessly, in order to create the most exciting dog food ever. You’ll be part of a world where passion meets nutrition, and every tail wag is a testament to our dedication to dogs—and the people that love them.
Product Development Scientist
Department: R&D
Reports to: Sr. Director, Product Development
Role Overview
The Product Development Scientist plays a critical role in bringing new pet food innovations from concept to commercialization. This role bridges R&D and Operations, ensuring that new recipes, formats, and packaging updates are successfully scaled, validated, and launched to market.
We’re looking for a scientist with a strong foundation in food science or food engineering who thrives at the intersection of technical problem-solving and cross-functional collaboration. You will lead product and process trials, coordinate with manufacturing partners, support product launches, and help ensure packaging changes are delivered smoothly. This is a hands-on role with room to grow into broader product development leadership over time.
Key Responsibilities
Product Development & Scale-up
- Lead benchtop, pilot plant, and production-scale trials for new products and reformulations.
- Partner with Operations and manufacturing partners to validate manufacturability, yields, and product quality.
- Document and communicate standard operating conditions and learnings from trials.
Launch & Commercialization Support
- Deliver R&D outputs for product launches, including trial reports and technical readiness documentation.
- Collaborate with Marketing, Operations, and Regulatory teams to ensure seamless transition from development to commercialization.
- Contribute to continuous improvement of existing recipes through reformulation and process optimization.
Packaging Coordination
- Serve as the R&D contact for packaging changes, including artwork updates, optimization initiatives, and new pack formats.
- Work with Marketing, Operations, and Regulatory teams to ensure packaging meets brand, technical, and compliance requirements.
- Summarize and communicate packaging test results and recommendations.
Cross-functional Collaboration
- Work closely with Nutrition and Product Development teams to align on formulation and product performance.
- Partner with Pilot Plant staff to design and execute experiments.
- Support testing functions with data capture and reporting.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, or related field.
- 3–5 years of experience in product development, process validation, or commercialization within food manufacturing.
- Experience running production trials and/or working with manufacturing partners.
- Familiarity with packaging design, testing, or artwork coordination preferred.
- Strong project management and documentation skills; ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
- Excellent communication skills across technical and non-technical teams.
- Comfortable working in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
Why Join Us
This is a unique opportunity to be at the center of innovation in fresh pet food. You’ll gain experience across product development, scale-up, and packaging, while working in a collaborative environment that values science, creativity, and impact. For the right candidate, this role offers the chance to grow into broader product development leadership.
Nom Nom embraces inclusion, diversity, and equal opportunity. We're committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. Nom Nom is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status.