Food Technologist - Technical Innovation

Join Riverside Natural Foods Ltd., a Canadian-based, family-owned, and globally operating business, committed to leaving the world better than we found it. As a B-Corp certified, Triple-Bottom Line company, we proudly manufacture nutritious, 'better-for-you' snacks such as MadeGood and GOOD TO GO. We value teamwork, humility, respect, ownership, adaptability, grit, and fun.

We’re on an ambitious mission to double our business by 2030, and we need talented individuals like you to help us reach new heights. At Riverside, you’ll have the opportunity to chart your own path to success while contributing to ours. We believe anything worth doing is worth doing right, and our values will guide us through the rugged terrain – and yes, it will get rough. But that’s what makes the journey worthwhile.

So, lace up your boots and let’s tackle the climb together.

You can learn more about us at www.riversidenaturalfoods.com .

Purpose:

The Food Technologist on the Technical Innovation team will be responsible for supporting Innovation and new product development at Riverside. The Food Technologist should be a creative self-starter with an aptitude for learning and applying knowledge of food science principles to different scenarios. The candidate should have a solid foundation in applied science and a demonstrated skill and interest with recipe development and/or culinary arts.

The ideal candidate should be curious, flexible, adaptable to changing priorities and comfortable with ambiguity and change. They will possess the grit to overcome steep obstacles with a positive attitude. They should be able to navigate challenges creatively, follow detailed processes accurately, use data to inform decision-making, and translate scientific findings into actionable insights.

The successful candidate should embody Riverside’s core values and be a role model for the team. They should be passionate about science and committed to delivering honest results.

Primary Responsibilities:

Demonstrate and uphold Riverside’s Core Values

Participate in identification of new innovation opportunities to meet Riverside’s current needs and future growth plans

Keep abreast of industry trends in the global snack marketplace and beyond

Attend trade shows, seminars, customer/vendor meetings, etc. as needed

Build collaborative relationships with existing or new ingredient vendor partners

Develop new recipes and flavours with guidance in line with required brand attributes, cost targets, timelines, certifications (e.g. Kosher, Organic, Vegan, Gluten-Free, etc.), and other relevant food safety, regulatory and quality parameters

Complete proof of principle research and testing to ensure feasibility and readiness of new products for refinement and launch in large scale manufacturing. Including but not limited to:

Follow established protocols for experimental design and execution. Seek guidance for higher complexity projects.

Perform testing at lab scale, pilot scale or full-scale manufacturing trials both internally and externally to ensure feasibility of product

Use sound scientific evidence to seek truth, rather than success or failure. Use this information to make informed decisions and provide actionable insights with guidance

Select, execute, and interpret sensory evaluation tests with guidance

Clearly communicate findings to cross-functional and non-technical stakeholders

Collaborate with brand marketing teams to ensure alignment with market & consumer trends, brand guardrails and technical feasibility

Manage projects and conduct technical risk assessments while collaborating with multiple stakeholders under supervision. Complete assigned tasks on-time & collaborate with cross-functional partners

Develop and maintain accurate project records to ensure seamless transitions of project ownership and capture learnings from project successes and failures

Execute projects to improve R&D or Innovation processes & capabilities

Respect and promote the company’s health and safety program, maintaining a safe working environment and ensure the continued compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety act and JHSC recommendations

Manage timeline and documentation of personal project load

Demonstrate adaptability when faced with changes to project scope and timelines, participate in risk assessments and implements mitigation strategies identified.

Support fellow R&D and Technical Innovation colleagues as needed. Support onboarding of new staff as needed

Other duties as required

Education and Qualifications:

Post-secondary degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry, Engineering, or related field

Experience in Food Research and Development (1-3 years), ideally a portion in food/recipe/product innovation development

Co-op/intern experience acceptable

Experience working in kitchens, laboratories, pilot plants, and/or manufacturing facilities

Experience in bakery, slab, sweet or savoury snack foods, confectionary, dessert, inclusions, or chocolate is preferred

Proficient with MS Office, MS Outlook, MS Excel, SharePoint. Experience with Genesis, Specright, Monday.com, SAP an asset

Skills and Abilities:

Proactive and self-motivated; able to see gaps and take OWNERSHIP to fill them without being asked

Analytical and problem-solving skills, driven to seek honest answers

Disciplined; uses food science fundamentals and maintains technical rigour in everyday work

Demonstrated ADAPTABILITY and GRIT when faced with setbacks, rapid change and ambiguity

Creative flair; pushes the boundaries to find unconventional solutions

Embraces discomfort, HUMBLE and excited to explore new challenges and territories

PASSIONATE for innovation and brings enthusiasm daily

Deep desire for knowledge, personal skill development and career growth

Excellent time management and organizational skills; can function independently

Known as a TEAM player, who is skilled in collaboration and operates with RESPECT

Ability to sample Riverside brands’ products and ingredients or products of interest

Ability to travel regularly to Riverside manufacturing sites (Toronto/Vaughan area) and occasionally nationally/internationally (5%)

Functional & Leadership Competencies:

Functional Capabilities

Definition

Competencies

Comments

New product development

Ability to create new products meeting project guardrails (formulation, certifications, cost, timing, etc.)

Formulation Knowledge

Ingredient Functionality

Manufacturing Knowledge

Data management

Organoleptic evaluation

-Uses food science foundations to develop new food products efficiently

-Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure the product is appropriate

-Uses tools available effectively

-Aware of personal skill gaps and bridges them where needed

Ideation and Innovation

Ability to translate and apply industry knowledge to drive innovation and ideation. Navigates ambiguous challenges by leveraging scientific expertise and problem solving to generate novel ideas.

Critical Thinking

Creativity

Problem Solving

Experimental Design

- Uses critical thinking and creativity to translate industry trends & insights into relevant and novel food products for Riverside’s pillars

- Can persevere through ambiguity to present technical recommendations

Leadership Capabilities

Definition

FYI Competencies

Comments

Building Collaborative Relationships

Working with internal and external partners respectfully to build win-win relationships and foster opportunities for shared insights and success

Collaborates

Builds Networks

- Self-motivated to reach out to others and start new relationships

- Readily connects and engages with network at Riverside and externally to solve problems, fill gaps, get support, and return help

Delivers Results

Delivering results by creatively and effectively seeking the necessary resources, and using