Product Developer - Food & Beverage

Helps bring innovative, high-quality products to life within our Exclusive Brands categories. Provides vital support for technical requirements and project workflows, ensuring smooth development and commercialization of new products. Assists in evaluating product samples and specifications for both new and existing items. Collaborates with Senior and Principal Product Developers to craft and maintain products that align with Whole Foods Market's rigorous quality standards and regulatory guidelines.Additional Information:* This role will be based in Austin, TX.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Support varying product categories and project teams, sometimes concurrently and as the business necessitates.
• Contribute to scoping phase of ideation within product categories by identifying trending ingredients and products at the request of Senior Product Developers-including, but not limited to market research partners, trend-mapping, category insights recommendations, and competitor shopping.
• Follow up with supplier on outstanding specification requests, as necessary.
• Communicate with suppliers to ensure the specifications are accurate, complete, and compliant with regulatory guidelines and WFM (Whole Foods Market) Quality Standards.
• Collect supporting technical information such as raw material and ingredient specifications, certifications, and SDS.
• Assist with reporting specification related information to Product Development leadership and internal stakeholders.
• Assist with technical information management.
• Perform data entry and workflow of technical information utilizing web-based project management applications.
• Partner with Senior Developers to create category insights decks by researching current consumer product goods via market research partner database.
• Identifying and conducting comparisons against target products (if applicable) and sensory benchmarks through exploratory comp shops and cuttings.
• Support organoleptic evaluation for potential products, including comparisons between multiple potential vendors’ sample submission.
• Suggest sensory techniques to best evaluate sample submissions and reduce bias in evaluation.
• Communicate sensory, nutritional, and quality parameters to Senior Developers.
• Support effective launch of items through first production evaluation of samples against approved retains of final formulations.
• Communicate specification evaluations to Senior Product Developers in a timely manner.
• Evaluate product preparation instructions for Exclusive Brands products (if applicable).
• Assure accuracy and integrity of product and ingredient specifications by adhering to WFM core values, quality, and brand standards.
• Perform other miscellaneous product development duties, as necessary.

Requirements and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Chemistry, Food Science, or related field.
• 2-3 years’ experience working in the CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) or ingredient industries.
• Must have knowledge of benchtop formulation and product development as it relates to CPG products.
• Must possess the ability to manage multiple projects and priorities and deliver against rapid development timelines.
• Must be detail oriented and extremely organized.
• Must possess excellent communication skills and possess the ability to excel in cross-functional team settings.
• Must have computer proficiency and familiarity with most Microsoft Office applications, especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Preferences

• Cursory understanding of product development and related business processes.
• Sensory evaluation experience and skills are a plus.
• A passion for food, beverage and the culinary world is a major plus.
• Experience developing natural and organic products is a plus.
• Knowledge of NFL regulations as they relate to product development is helpful.
• General understanding of product development, manufacturing, and commercialization.
• Familiarity of retailer web-based specification systems would be ideal.

At Whole Foods Market, we provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all Team Members and candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, marital status, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic. Whole Foods Market hires and promotes individuals solely based on qualifications for the position to be filled and business needs.Whole Foods Market works with job sites like Indeed, LinkedIn, and ZipRecruiter to promote opportunities at our company. Please be aware that other career sites may not be accurate or up to date and may even be fraudulent. We encourage and recommend all candidates to apply via our site.