Technical Manager

Lyons Magnus leads the food industry with creativity and innovation, crafting top-quality products across all manufacturing phases, from raw materials to marketing. With over 2000 diverse items for industrial ingredient and food service sectors, Lyons caters to leading restaurant chains nationally and internationally.

At Lyons, our diverse and talented staff is the heart of our organization. We foster a thriving work environment where employees are engaged in shaping both the company's and their own future.

The highly motivated, successful applicant will be expected to be a member of the Research & Development team, able to effectively implement innovative ingredient and processing technologies in new and existing products to ensure the sustainable growth and profitability of the company.

Pay Range: $100,000 - $115,000 per year

Hours: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Schedule: Monday - Friday

Location: Fresno, CA

Travel Requirements: None

Work Environment Available: On-site

Core Responsibilities:

• Direct the coordinated development of new products and improvements of current products to deliver on objectives of the annual business plans. Apply sound culinary and scientific techniques to design products with consumer/customer valued attributes.
• Lead and manage multiple development projects using detailed investigations, well-thought-out experimental design, sound scientific techniques and data-based decision making.
• Investigate for product and process challenges; provide creative solutions to solve challenges in development and commercialization.
• Establish professional relationships with fellow scientists and team members of our customers and suppliers.
• Work with other departments (Manufacturing, Engineering, Maintenance, Quality and Purchasing) to determine equipment, materials and processes necessary to produce products to maximize capacity and optimize product quality and differentiation.
• Assure technically sound sensory panels are conducted for product development, shelf-life studies, improving/maintaining present products and competitive testing.
• Identify and complete technical study of ingredients, suppliers, co-packers relevant to meeting project objectives and meeting Lyons Magnus standards.
• Develop supportive relationships with cross-functional peers within the Lyons Magnus marketing, sales, manufacturing, sourcing, engineering, finance, and business support functions.
• Build partnerships and leverage technical expertise of ingredient suppliers.
• Travel to manufacturing sites when deemed necessary to oversee plant trials and/or scale up of critical products.
• Provide product demonstrations and presentations to customers when requested.
• Project management, alignment within all cross-functional departments for product commercialization. Gather, communicate and monitor sales forecasts for limited time offers and new product introductions.
• Update internal departments with project details, timelines, and customer requirements.
• Customer interface with select accounts.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work with cross functional teams, internally and externally (e.g. research institutes, representatives of processing and produce industries, suppliers, laboratories, etc.).
• Ability to work independently and as part of a technical team.
• Individual must have strong product development skills in ingredient functionality, material selection, and formulation.
• Candidate must expertly plan and conduct trials, data collection, and interpret results to drive program and technical knowledge forward, developing robust action plans, risk assessments, and contingency planning.
• Demonstrated problem-solving skills (pays attention to details and effort to understand causes instead of just the effects) and creativity for developing innovative solutions and applications.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with strong emphasis on technical presentations and reports.
• Excellent communication to external partners including customers and vendor network.
• Ability to effectively manage multiple projects under short timelines to produce commercially viable solutions.
• Proven ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong project management skills, influential savvy, and perseverance.
• Consistently meet deadlines.
• Self-motivated, self-starter
• Ability and willingness to work extended or odd hours when necessary.
• Ability to thrive in a fast paced, dynamic working environment.
• Mature, friendly, enthusiastic, and motivated team member.
• Effective written and oral communication skills.
• Excellent work ethic with proven ability to effectively balance multiple priorities.
• Ability to establish credibility with others.
• Ability to recognize and support the organizations preferences and priorities.
• Proficient in Excel, Access, Power Point, and ERP systems.
• Analytics skills, developing and building data models.
• Strong passion for science and creative problem solving.
• Technical knowledge with good reasoning and sound judgment abilities.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, or an equivalent science program.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in an industrial or applied research environment in food science and technology, food processing, or new product development.
• Prior experience with customer interaction.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (e.g., Master's or Ph.D.) in Food Science, Dairy Science, or an equivalent science program.
• Experience with milk or plant proteins, flavors, stabilizers, and milk- or plant-based consumer products.
• Experience with Food Service and Quick Service Restaurants (QSR).