Director of Product Development

Director of Product Development

Groundswell Food Group, Inc. (DBA Mitsoh)

Location: Onsite - Leduc, Alberta manufacturing facility

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

About Mitsoh

Mitsoh is building a new generation of clean-protein foods rooted in tradition and made for modern lifestyles. Our products are crafted with a focus on high-quality ingredients, nutritional integrity, and responsible sourcing. As a rapidly growing CPG food company, we operate with world-class manufacturing and food safety standards aligned with GFSI-recognized programs.

We are seeking a hands-on, technically rigorous Director of Product Development to build our product pipeline - from new formulations and validated processes to compliant labels - as Mitsoh scales across Canada and into the United States.

Position Overview

The Director of Product Development is responsible for Mitsoh’s product pipeline from concept to commercial production: formulating and validating new ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products and line extensions, scaling them into the Leduc facility, and ensuring every product meets Canadian and U.S. regulatory, labeling, and food safety requirements before it ships.

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, this role is solo to start and builds Mitsoh’s product development function from the ground up. The Director partners closely with Operations, Quality Assurance, Sales and Marketing, and Finance, and works directly with the production team on the plant floor during trials and first runs.

Key Responsibilities

Product Innovation & Formulation

• Own Mitsoh's product development pipeline from concept to approved formula, translating consumer, customer, and channel insights into RTE meat products that fit our clean-protein positioning

• Lead bench and pilot development of new SKUs, line extensions, and reformulations across pemmican, meat sticks, and future clean-protein platforms

• Build formulations on high-quality, clean-label ingredient systems that balance nutritional integrity, sensory quality, shelf life, and cost targets

• Design and run sensory evaluations and product testing, and document results and decisions through a disciplined stage-gate process

Commercialization & Scale-Up

• Lead the transition of new products from pilot to full-scale production at the Leduc facility, including process parameter development, plant trials, and first production runs

• Build the complete technical package for every launch: formula, bill of materials, process specifications, critical limits, and finished product specifications

• Drive line trials with Production and Maintenance across smoking, cooking, drying, slicing, and packaging, resolving yield, throughput, and quality issues before launch

• Set yield targets and standard formulation costs with Operations and Finance so that every new product is commercially viable at scale

Validation & Food Safety Science

• Own validation of new products and processes to GFSI-aligned and HACCP requirements, including lethality, stabilization, water activity, pH, and post-lethality controls for RTE meat

• Lead shelf-life, challenge, and accelerated stability studies with accredited laboratories, and maintain the scientific support behind every critical limit

• Partner with Quality Assurance to update HACCP plans, allergen assessments, and hold and quarantine criteria whenever a new product, ingredient, or process is introduced

• Serve as the internal technical authority on product and process validation during CFIA, USDA FSIS, GFSI, and customer audits

Regulatory Compliance & Labeling

• Own product regulatory compliance in Canada and the United States, including SFCR and CFIA requirements and USDA FSIS requirements for export-eligible production and U.S. market entry

• Lead nutrition analysis, ingredient declarations, allergen statements, and label claims, ensuring every label is substantiated, compliant, and approved before artwork is released

• Build the regulatory roadmap for U.S. market entry, including label compliance, formulation and ingredient eligibility, and the documentation required for export certification

• Monitor regulatory and labeling changes in both markets and drive product, label, and documentation updates ahead of effective dates

Specifications & Technical Documentation

• Own the master formulation and specification library - raw material, finished product, and process specifications and allergen matrices - under controlled document management

• Build a formal change-control process so that every formula, ingredient, supplier, or process change is assessed for food safety, regulatory, labeling, and cost impact before approval

• Maintain product documentation to GFSI audit standards so that specifications, validations, and formulation records are complete, current, and audit-ready

• Produce technical product information for customers, distributors, and retailer onboarding, including specification sheets, nutritional data, and product data forms

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner with Sales and Marketing to translate retail, club, distributor, and DTC customer requirements into product briefs, development timelines, and launch-ready specifications

• Work with Supply Chain to qualify ingredient suppliers and approve raw material specifications, and with Finance to confirm product costs and margins before launch

• Represent Mitsoh with co-manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, laboratories, and regulators on technical and product matters

• Build the product development function as Mitsoh grows - tools, processes, and eventually team - and coach production and quality staff on new products and processes

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive product development experience in the food industry, including direct, hands-on formulation and commercialization of ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products; RTE meat experience is essential for this role

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Meat Science, Microbiology, Food Engineering, or a related discipline is required; a graduate degree is an asset

• Working knowledge of RTE meat processing - smoking, cooking, drying, curing, slicing, and packaging - and the food safety science behind it, including lethality, stabilization, water activity, pH, and post-lethality controls

• Demonstrated success taking products from bench to full-scale production in a GFSI-certified facility, including plant trials, process parameter development, and HACCP plan updates

• Strong command of Canadian food regulations, including SFCR and CFIA labeling and nutrition requirements; U.S. labeling and USDA FSIS experience is a strong asset

• Experience designing and interpreting shelf-life, challenge, and microbiological studies with third-party laboratories

• Disciplined documentation habits - specifications, formulations, validation records, and change control that stand up to customer and regulatory audits

• Proficiency with nutrition analysis and formulation software, spreadsheets, and ERP or product lifecycle management systems

• Collaborative, hands-on operator who is comfortable on the plant floor, communicates clearly with production crews and executives alike, and thrives in a lean, fast-moving growth environment

Core Competencies

• RTE Meat Product Expertise

• Formulation & Sensory Science

• Validation & Food Safety Rigor

• Regulatory & Labeling Acumen

• Commercialization Discipline

• Technical Documentation

• Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Hands-On Ownership

Additional Information

This is a full-time, onsite role based at Mitsoh’s manufacturing facility in Leduc, Alberta, with daily presence on the production floor during trials and launches. Occasional travel to co-manufacturers, suppliers, laboratories, customers, and industry events in Canada and the United States is expected.

What We’re Looking For

• Mitsoh is looking for a builder - a product developer who has formulated and launched RTE meat products, understands the science and the regulations that make them safe and compliant, and wants to own the pipeline that carries a modern food company into its next stage of growth. If you are energized by taking a product from a bench idea to a retail shelf in two countries, and by establishing the systems a growing company will rely on for years, we want to hear from you.