Director, Research & Development & Quality Assurance
Location: Cambridge, Ontario
Industry: Food Manufacturing & Ingredient Distribution
Employment Type: Full-Time
About The Opportunity
We are currently recruiting for a Director, Research & Development & Quality Assurance to provide strategic leadership across Product Development, Research & Development, Technical Services, Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, and Food Safety.
This is a senior leadership position with responsibility for driving innovation, technical excellence, regulatory compliance, and quality performance across both manufacturing and ingredient distribution operations.
The Director will contribute to business strategy, support organizational growth, and ensure the technical functions have the people, resources, processes, and capabilities required to support both current operations and future business objectives.
Key ResponsibilitiesLeadership & Strategy
- Provide strategic leadership across R&D, Product Development, Technical Services, QA, Regulatory Affairs, and Food Safety.
- Establish departmental priorities, objectives, KPIs, and performance measures aligned with organizational goals.
- Contribute to strategic planning, business development, organizational development, and senior-level decision-making.
- Ensure resources, capabilities, and investments are aligned with business needs.
- Build a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Work closely with Production, Warehouse Operations, Sales, Supply Chain, and Customer Experience teams.
Research, Product Development & Innovation
- Lead the organization's product development and innovation strategy.
- Oversee the development and commercialization of new products and product improvements.
- Manage and prioritize the product development pipeline based on customer needs, market opportunities, and business objectives.
- Identify and evaluate emerging technologies, ingredients, and scientific advancements.
- Ensure R&D and technical capabilities support both current operations and future growth.
Technical Services
- Lead the technical strategy supporting the ingredient distribution business.
- Ensure strong technical expertise in ingredient functionality, applications, regulatory requirements, and market trends.
- Oversee technical support and value-added services that strengthen customer relationships and support commercial growth.
- Develop and maintain strategic relationships with customers, suppliers, and industry partners.
- Oversee the development of application concepts, prototypes, technical tools, and demonstration materials.
- Identify new ingredient technologies, supplier opportunities, and market applications.
- Partner with Sales to provide technical leadership and support solution-based business development.
Quality Assurance, Regulatory & Food Safety
- Provide strategic oversight of Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, and Food Safety programs.
- Ensure compliance with regulatory, customer, certification, and corporate requirements.
- Maintain effective Quality and Food Safety Management Systems.
- Ensure readiness for customer, certification, third-party, and regulatory audits and inspections.
- Lead supplier quality, food safety, regulatory compliance, and quality culture initiatives.
- Oversee the management of quality incidents, customer concerns, non-conformances, corrective actions, and product recall preparedness.
- Monitor changes in regulatory and industry requirements and ensure the organization responds appropriately.
- Drive continuous improvement across quality, regulatory, and food safety functions.
Qualifications & ExperienceEducation
- Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Microbiology, Chemistry, or a related scientific discipline.
- Advanced degree considered an asset.
Experience
- 10-15+ years of progressive leadership experience within the food or ingredient industry.
- Proven experience leading teams and programs across areas such as Product Development, Technical Services, Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, and Food Safety.
- Experience within an ingredient distribution environment, including technical sales support, supplier partnerships, and customer application development, is highly valued.
- Strong knowledge of food regulations, ingredient functionality, quality systems, and food safety requirements.
- Experience managing customer audits, certification programs, regulatory inspections, and commercialization projects.
- Demonstrated ability to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives in a fast-paced environment.
Leadership Profile
The Successful Candidate Will Be
- A results-oriented leader who can translate technical strategy into measurable business outcomes.
- A strong communicator and relationship builder who can influence stakeholders across all levels of an organization.
- Strategic and commercially minded, with the ability to balance innovation, quality, compliance, and business priorities.
- An experienced people leader who can build and develop high-performing teams.
- Comfortable working cross-functionally with R&D, Operations, Sales, Supply Chain, and other business functions.
- A strong problem solver with excellent decision-making, project management, and change leadership capabilities.
- Passionate about innovation, continuous improvement, food safety, and technical excellence.
Why Consider This Opportunity?
This is an opportunity to join a growing organization in the food manufacturing and ingredient distribution sector and take ownership of several critical technical functions.
The Director will have a significant influence on innovation, product development, technical services, quality, regulatory compliance, and food safety, while also contributing to the organization's broader strategic direction and growth.
If you are a senior food industry leader looking for an opportunity to combine R&D, innovation, technical leadership, and quality with broader business strategy, we would love to hear from you.
