Product Development Manager

Location: New York City

Who We Are: Banza reimagines your favorite comfort foods, like pasta, pizza, mac & cheese and rice, using chickpeas. Why? Because we know chickpeas aren't just delicious, they're also one of the most nutritious and sustainable foods. Yet 80% of the country isn't eating enough of them. Our mission is to inspire people to eat more chickpeas and other beans, making a positive impact on human health and the environment. Banza is the fastest-growing pasta brand in the country, and our products are available in over 21,000 stores nationwide. We've been named one of TIME Magazine's Best Inventions of the Year, Adweek's Best Food Brand, and are proud to have fans at Good Morning America, The New York Times, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and more.

Your Mission: We are looking for an entrepreneurial Product Manager to join our team and manage all new and existing products within our Dry portfolio. You will oversee the maintenance and optimization of our current legume-first product lines (Pasta, Mac & Cheese, and Rice) and partner cross-functionally to launch new products that embody Banza's mission and values. You will be tasked with ensuring the absolute best product hits shelves, while managing timelines, sensory and cost inputs, cross-functional partners, and long-term strategy. You will work closely with the Senior Director of Product and other product team members to ensure our products are the best they can be.

What You'll Do

• Lead all R&D projects tied to Pasta, Mac, and Rice product lines across all manufacturing partners

• Drive forward sensory & cost optimization projects for designated product lines and work cross-functionally to trial & implement changes at scale

• Build and maintain close partnership with manufacturing partners

• Work closely with the Quality team to implement and iterate on product standards, ensuring manufacturing partners are consistently producing to specification

• Coordinate benchtop prototyping for new and existing products with partners; implement R&D plans and validate performance at scale

• Partner with the Sensory team on sensory optimization projects, help guide methodology based on project goals, and leverage results to make data-driven decisions

• Lead Banza raw material performance optimization and work closely with Procurement to make informed supply chain decisions based on sensory research inputs and cost

• Support the marketing team with packaging, including proofing changes and providing approvals

• Improve upon product development processes and workflows to seamlessly manage new launches and product improvements across departments and external partners

Who You Are:

• 5-8+ years of professional experience in CPG product development, ideally including 2-5+ years at a food/beverage company

• Master's degree (MSc, Master's of Food Science, MEng) preferred

• Have successfully worked cross functionally to manage product optimization projects and/or taken consumer products from idea to production

• Strong communicator with project and personnel management experience

• Experience working with dry gluten-free products or extrusion preferred

• Adaptable and autonomous; able to adhere to ambitious timelines and able to translate technical concepts into strategic business decisions

• Organized and efficient, with track record of managing information and designing processes to make speedy, data-driven decisions

• Confident, passionate, and high commitment

• Ability to travel 25%

• Ability to drive and valid driver's license required, for occasional travel during manufacturing visits and other work trips

• Ability to commute into our Midtown office at least 2x per week

• Must love Banza!

To Apply: Write a cover letter describing why you want to join Banza and why you would be an excellent fit for this role (yes, we actually read every cover letter!) and then apply directly to this posting. If you have any questions, please email jobs@eatbanza.com.

We're aware of the research showing that historically underrepresented groups are less likely to apply for a job if they don't believe that they meet all of the criteria. Do you hesitate to submit an application because you believe you need to check every box? Please apply anyway with a thoughtful cover letter! We would love to hear from you to discuss how you can help us build a great team at Banza.

Our Commitment: Banza is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. To achieve our mission of inspiring people to eat more chickpeas and other beans, we greatly benefit from a range of perspectives, which comes from diversity of all types, at all levels of the organization. Achieving true diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do and the smart thing for our business. So we strongly encourage women, veterans, people with all abilities, people of color, and gender nonconforming candidates to apply.

Banza is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. Banza will consider qualified applicants including those with criminal histories consistent with legal requirements.

Compensation, Perks, and Benefits

Our salary ranges are based on verified market data and our philosophy of paying competitively for our size and industry. In addition to base salary, full-time team members receive equity in the company, medical, dental, and vision insurance through United Healthcare, free Banza products, and monthly stipends for fitness, internet, and cell phones.

Individual pay rate decisions are based on a number of factors, including qualifications for the role, experience level, skillset, and balancing internal equity relative to peers at the company. We expect the majority of the candidates who are offered roles at our company to fall healthily throughout the range based on these factors. The salary range for this position is $110,000 - $130,000. The range is for the expectations as laid out in the job description, however, we are often open to a wide variety of profiles and recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced (or more senior) than this job description as posted. If that ends up being the case, the updated salary range will be communicated to you as a candidate.