Senior Manager, Research and Development – Tortilla - San Antonio, TX

MissionHires is seeking a Senior Manager, R&D – Tortilla to lead and scale our tortilla product development function. This people‑first leader will manage a team of scientists, own project prioritization and flow, and act as the primary technical and project contact across Sales, Category/Marketing, Operations, Quality, Purchasing, suppliers, and customers. The role blends hands‑on bakery/tortilla technical expertise with cross‑functional leadership, commercialization, and continuous improvement to deliver high‑quality, manufacturable products on time. This is a 5‑day, on‑site role in San Antonio with up to ~50% travel and a $23K bonus target.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of R&D scientists and coordinators; provide technical guidance and make critical decisions on feasibility, direction, and execution
• Own end-to-end product and process development from concept through commercialization for tortilla and grain-based products
• Evaluate, prioritize, and assign project requests based on capabilities, workload, and timelines; coordinate resources with other R&D leaders
• Track and ensure accurate, timely documentation of formulas, specs, and project records across internal systems
• Serve as the primary communication link among R&D, Sales, Marketing/Category, Operations, Quality, and Purchasing
• Conduct regular team and 1:1 check-ins; set goals, address challenges, give feedback, and drive next steps
• Develop professional development plans; foster a high-performance, growth-oriented team culture
• Participate in customer-facing planning sessions; assess feasibility, align on objectives, and lead follow-through to commercialization
• Provide hands‑on technical leadership in plant trials, process evaluations, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement
• Advance formulations, processing technologies, quality attributes, and specifications in collaboration with suppliers and internal partners
• Optimize existing products from bench to scale-up and through commercialization to improve quality, cost, and manufacturability
• Represent R&D in presentations to customers and industry groups; communicate progress and technical rationale effectively
• Conduct performance evaluations; oversee staffing decisions and role definition for direct reports
• Ensure adherence to GMPs and relevant industry standards in development and scale-up environments
• Perform other duties as assigned and travel as needed (up to ~50%) to plants, customers, and suppliers

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Baking Science, or related technical field (advanced degree preferred)
• 10+ years of R&D and/or Technical Services experience in food manufacturing with strong, hands‑on commercial tortilla experience (must‑have baked products/tortillas)
• Proven leadership managing technical teams, including coaching, workload planning, and performance management
• Demonstrated success leading projects from concept through launch and commercialization
• Experience collaborating with customers, suppliers, co‑manufacturers, or assemblers to develop and commercialize new products
• Strong understanding of scientific principles in food product development and broad knowledge of food ingredients (grain-based expertise strongly preferred)
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and related software tools; strong documentation discipline
• Excellent problem‑solving skills; ability to support plant teams with technical troubleshooting and process optimization
• Familiarity with food manufacturing environments and tortilla‑processing operations; working knowledge of GMPs and industry standards
• Strong awareness of emerging trends in food science, ingredient technology, and consumer preferences
• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills; ability to translate between technical and commercial stakeholders
• Proven ability to manage complex, concurrent projects and competing timelines
• Ability to train and transfer knowledge to Operations and QA; effective cross‑functional collaboration
• Strong organizational, delegation, and priority‑setting skills; customer‑ and supplier‑facing professionalism
• Willingness to work on‑site 5 days/week in San Antonio and travel up to approximately 50% based on business needs
• Ability to occasionally lift up to 15 pounds and work in manufacturing environments with variable conditions