Senior Technical R&D Manager, Private Brands

Senior Manager, Technical Food Research and Development

7-Eleven is an iconic family of brands with over 86,000 locations, surpassing every retailer in the world. We revolutionize convenience, restaurants and fuel through cutting edge innovation working hard to be the customer's first choice. 7-Eleven empowers our employees to "activate awesome" and make a meaningful impact in their stores and communities every day. If you're ready to grow, lead and make a difference, come join our team and help shape the future of convenience.

Job Summary

The Senior Manager, Technical Food Research and Development provides technical leadership across the Private Brands portfolio, ensuring products are developed, commercialized, and maintained with scientific rigor. This role is responsible for ensuring all products meet regulatory and brand QA standards while performing consistently over their intended shelf life. The position requires close collaboration with cross-functional internal teams and external suppliers to drive technical excellence and support long-term growth and operational excellence.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end technical research and development and commercialization for innovation, renovation, and maintenance initiatives across the Private Brands portfolio

Apply and continuously improve technical development and commercialization systems that embed food safety, regulatory compliance, QA standards, and shelf-life considerations

Translate product concepts into scalable, manufacturable formulations and processes, ensuring technical readiness for launch

Own product performance over shelf life, including defining test strategies, validating assumptions, and managing technical risk for formulation, process, and supplier changes

Ensure all products comply with applicable food regulations and brand QA standards

Partner closely with QA, Regulatory, Legal, and Sensory to support approvals, audits, testing, and ongoing compliance

Serve as a primary technical partner to co-manufacturers, establishing expectations for quality, performance, and compliance

Identify opportunities for continuous improvement and lead implementation with suppliers and internal teams

Support supplier performance management, including technical input to scorecards, corrective actions, and continuous improvement

Partner with Strategic Sourcing to identify, qualify, and onboard new suppliers through technical evaluations and capability assessments

Develop, govern, and maintain technical specifications and standards, including formulations, ingredients, processes, and shelf-life assumptions

Lead technical change management, ensuring changes are evaluated, documented, approved, and executed in a controlled manner

Education and Experience

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Chemistry, or related field

YEARS OF RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE: 8+

YEARS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE: 8+

Specific Knowledge and Skills

Strong technical knowledge of food chemistry, microbiology, and processing technologies

Expertise in formulation development, ingredient functionality, and food product optimization

Proficiency in experimental design, product testing methodologies, and data analysis

Understanding of food safety principles, HACCP, and regulatory requirements for food products

Experience with sensory evaluation techniques and consumer testing methodologies

Strong project management skills with ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously

Excellent problem-solving abilities with a solutions-oriented approach

Effective communication and documentation skills to present technical information to various audiences

Ability to translate consumer insights and market trends into viable product concepts

Strong supplier relationship management skills with experience in technical oversight

Collaborative mindset with demonstrated success working in cross-functional environments

Proficiency with R&D documentation systems and product lifecycle management tools

*Position not eligible for sponsorship*