Senior R & D Manager
Remote
Full Time
Senior Manager/Supervisor
Senior R&D Manager
COMPANY SUMMARY (“Who are we?”)
We are The Honest Kitchen. We’re a team of pet-obsessed foodies, who put our heart and soul into our work – making a line of human-grade whole foods, treats, and supplements for dogs and cats. We’re a rapidly growing business that is a proud B Corp, (which is a legal corporate structure that allows us to operate and make decisions based upon a triple bottom line, factoring in social and environmental impacts right alongside our prioritization of long-term financial sustainability!). We were also named one of Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Work for 6 straight years and certified as a Great Place to Work!
We strive for an inclusive work culture that supports a diverse array of skills, experiences, and perspectives our employees bring to the table. For us, differences are a source of strength. We celebrate strong performance and ethical processes, and we work hard every day to nurture an inclusive culture where all employees can innovate and thrive. Here, you will not only build your career, but you will also uncover new experiences and collaborate with passionate colleagues.
The Honest Kitchen values a diverse workforce. Everyone, including women, people of color, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community are strongly encouraged to apply. The Honest Kitchen believes that an equitable and inclusive work environment and a diverse, empowered team are key to achieving our mission. We’re looking for candidates who can expand our business culture by bringing their whole, authentic selves to work. We strive to provide all qualified candidates with an equitable and accessible recruitment process.
POSITION SUMMARY (“What are we looking for?”)
The Senior R&D Manager, Pet Food will report to VP Research & Development and will be a key technical leader driving formulation excellence, innovation, and cost-savings across The Honest Kitchen’s human-grade pet food portfolio.
This role is responsible for leading the development of new products, improvements to existing recipes, and technical stewardship across dehydrated, dry, wet, baked, and treat formats. The Senior R&D Manager will partner closely with Marketing, Operations, Quality, Procurement, and Finance to ensure all products meet THK’s high standards for human-grade quality, safety, nutrition, and consistency, while enabling sustainable growth and delivering margin targets.
This position requires deep technical expertise, strong cross-functional leadership, and the ability to translate consumer insights and business needs into commercially viable, high-quality pet food products.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic & Technical Leadership
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
BENEFITS OF WORKING FOR THE HONEST KITCHEN (“What do we offer?”)
We offer a competitive compensation package, including salary and robust employee benefits. Some key highlights included:
As a Public Benefit Corporation, our company's practices and outputs are assessed and evaluated across five categories: Governance, Workers, Community, The Environment, and Customers. We track our social and environmental impact over time and publicly disclose our performance in our annual impact report.
As an employee of a Certified B Corp, it is required that in performing your role, you factor social and environmental impacts into decision-making and actions as they pertain to your role with The Honest Kitchen, so as to ensure that our actions make a positive impact where possible.
The salary range for this role is $125,000 - $175,000/year
*The Honest Kitchen is an equal opportunity employer. The Company’s policy prohibits discrimination based on race, religious creed (which includes religious dress and grooming practices), color, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status.
COMPANY SUMMARY (“Who are we?”)
We are The Honest Kitchen. We’re a team of pet-obsessed foodies, who put our heart and soul into our work – making a line of human-grade whole foods, treats, and supplements for dogs and cats. We’re a rapidly growing business that is a proud B Corp, (which is a legal corporate structure that allows us to operate and make decisions based upon a triple bottom line, factoring in social and environmental impacts right alongside our prioritization of long-term financial sustainability!). We were also named one of Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Work for 6 straight years and certified as a Great Place to Work!
We strive for an inclusive work culture that supports a diverse array of skills, experiences, and perspectives our employees bring to the table. For us, differences are a source of strength. We celebrate strong performance and ethical processes, and we work hard every day to nurture an inclusive culture where all employees can innovate and thrive. Here, you will not only build your career, but you will also uncover new experiences and collaborate with passionate colleagues.
The Honest Kitchen values a diverse workforce. Everyone, including women, people of color, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community are strongly encouraged to apply. The Honest Kitchen believes that an equitable and inclusive work environment and a diverse, empowered team are key to achieving our mission. We’re looking for candidates who can expand our business culture by bringing their whole, authentic selves to work. We strive to provide all qualified candidates with an equitable and accessible recruitment process.
POSITION SUMMARY (“What are we looking for?”)
The Senior R&D Manager, Pet Food will report to VP Research & Development and will be a key technical leader driving formulation excellence, innovation, and cost-savings across The Honest Kitchen’s human-grade pet food portfolio.
This role is responsible for leading the development of new products, improvements to existing recipes, and technical stewardship across dehydrated, dry, wet, baked, and treat formats. The Senior R&D Manager will partner closely with Marketing, Operations, Quality, Procurement, and Finance to ensure all products meet THK’s high standards for human-grade quality, safety, nutrition, and consistency, while enabling sustainable growth and delivering margin targets.
This position requires deep technical expertise, strong cross-functional leadership, and the ability to translate consumer insights and business needs into commercially viable, high-quality pet food products.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic & Technical Leadership
- Deliver functional and individual goals aligned with the Annual Operating Plan (AOP), including innovation milestones, cost-savings initiatives, vendor optimization, and productivity targets.
- Serve as a technical leader within the R&D team, demonstrating sound scientific judgment, data-driven decision-making, and an understanding of pet nutrition, food safety, and processing fundamentals.
- Lead development of new human-grade pet food products and the reformulation of existing items across multiple platforms (dehydrated, dry, wet, treats, supplements).
- Translate project briefs into robust formulas and commercialize recipes that meet brand guardrails, AAFCO requirements, regulatory standards, sensory targets, operational capability, and COGS goals.
- Conduct bench development, pilot trials, co-manufacturer trials, and plant scale-ups to ensure successful commercialization.
- Own the creation and maintenance of all Product Formulation Documentation, including ingredient breakdowns, spec sheets, process parameters, work instructions, nutritional panels, preparation instructions, and shelf-life validation requirements.
- Partner with Operations to establish process control points, critical limits, and technical guardrails to ensure consistency across manufacturing locations.
- Build cost models and collaborate with Finance & Procurement to ensure new products and reformulations deliver the required margins.
- Collaborate with Regulatory to ensure compliance with:
- AAFCO regulations
- FDA labeling requirements
- human-grade ingredient and production standards
- claim substantiation
- ingredient documentation and spec verification
- Ensure formulas and processes support THK’s high standards for quality, food safety, and transparency.
- Engage effectively with Marketing, Sales, Operations, and QA throughout the development cycle to ensure alignment on objectives, timelines, risks, and deliverables.
- Provide clear, proactive updates through structured communication forums, cross-functional meetings, and project trackers.
- Identify, escalate, and resolve critical issues with urgency and professionalism.
- Mine existing recipes and processes for cost-savings, ingredient simplification, process efficiencies, and margin improvement opportunities.
- Maintain a pulse on category trends, processing advances, and ingredient innovations to keep THK at the forefront of the industry.
- Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Animal Science, Chemical Engineering, or related technical field with 7+ years of product development experience
- Proven track record of developing formulas concept → bench → pilot → plant → launch.
- Experience working with pet food, high-moisture and low-moisture systems, extrusion, dehydration, thermal processing, treats, or baked snacks strongly preferred.
- Strong understanding of:
- AAFCO nutritional requirements
- Food safety and HACCP
- ingredient functionality
- processing fundamentals
- Highly organized, detail-oriented, and disciplined in documentation and follow-through.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills; able to influence, present, and build alignment with cross-functional partners.
- Collaborative team player with the ability to challenge assumptions respectfully, assert recommendations, and drive toward solutions.
- Ability to travel as needed to co-manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and production facilities.
- Proficiency in MS Office, SmartSheets, and C5 Formulation
- This is a remote role; however, the ideal candidate will reside in the Topeka, Kansas, area and will be able to travel at least 35% of the time.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
- Ability to lift up to 50 lbs periodically.
- Ability to work in production environments including kitchens, pilot plants, manufacturing areas, freezers, and hot processing rooms.
- Ability to bend, lift, climb stairs, and move equipment or materials as required.
- Flexibility to support trials outside standard business hours as needed.
BENEFITS OF WORKING FOR THE HONEST KITCHEN (“What do we offer?”)
We offer a competitive compensation package, including salary and robust employee benefits. Some key highlights included:
- Time off: We offer a highly competitive time-off schedule, including unlimited vacation and additional sick time, along with a generous company-paid holiday schedule.
- Benefits: Various health insurance plans with generous employer contributions to premiums. We also offer vision, dental, short-term disability, long-term disability, accident, critical illness, an employee assistance program, and an FSA/HSA.
- Financial wellness: Enjoy perks such as a company 401 (k) with an employer match.
- Mission-Driven: Employees can take up to 40 hours of volunteer time per year, and we offer donation matching for nonprofit organizations of their choice.
- Pet Friendly: Pet-friendly offices, Team calls, discounts on pet insurance, and of course, free pet food!
- Collaborative Team: We offer a fun, team-oriented work environment where you feel you make a difference every day.
As a Public Benefit Corporation, our company's practices and outputs are assessed and evaluated across five categories: Governance, Workers, Community, The Environment, and Customers. We track our social and environmental impact over time and publicly disclose our performance in our annual impact report.
As an employee of a Certified B Corp, it is required that in performing your role, you factor social and environmental impacts into decision-making and actions as they pertain to your role with The Honest Kitchen, so as to ensure that our actions make a positive impact where possible.
The salary range for this role is $125,000 - $175,000/year
*The Honest Kitchen is an equal opportunity employer. The Company’s policy prohibits discrimination based on race, religious creed (which includes religious dress and grooming practices), color, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status.
Apply for this position
Required*