Product Development Specialist (R&D)

About Brothers International Food Holdings, LLC: 

Brothers International brings the world's best fruit to its customers. Our Ingredients divisions supply every major food and beverage manufacturer in North America with the fruits from the best growing regions of the world. Our CPG division sells market-leading branded and private label freeze-dried fruits to retailers nationwide. 

We are seeking a full-time Product Development Specialist to join our talented team in our Rochester, NY office!

Position Overview

The Product Development Specialist will combine technical food science expertise with cross-functional project coordination. This individual will drive R&D initiatives from concept to commercialization, serving as the technical lead for both innovative Brand launches and Private Label projects. The Specialist will bridge the gap between innovation and commercialization, ensuring every product is high-quality, viable, and delivered on time to stakeholders, meeting the evolving taste of our consumers and specifications of our retail partners. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Technical R&D Formulation: Develop and refine fruit products that meet specific nutritional, flavor and cost profiles.  

Conceptualization: Bring concepts to life! Develop samples for internal stakeholders and external customer presentations.  

Branded Innovation:  Research trends and ingredients to pitch “first-to-market” concepts.  Validate product idea submissions as appropriate. 

R&D Scale-Up: Translate test level products into viable mass-production products, working closely with supply chain, operations, quality, sales and marketing.  

Private Label Execution:  Reverse-engineer “national brand equivalent” (NBE) products while maintaining a competitive structure.  

Project Coordination:  Act as the “hub” between sales (customer needs) and Supply Chain (Ingredient sourcing) to ensure launch dates are met from an R&D perspective.
 

Commercialization: Lead the hand-off from R&D to Quality Assurance and Operations, ensuring SOPs are followed during the first production run.  

Compliance: Perform physical and organoleptic evaluations of finished products, adhering to all applicable food safety and quality standards as per FDA food regulations and customer requirements. 

Education Requirements

BS in Food Science, Food Engineering, or a related Chemistry/Biology field.  

Culinary Arts Training or a Certified Food Scientist (CFS) certification preferred. 

Required Experience

Minimum of 5 years experience in R&D or Product Development within the food industry (CPG experience is a must; fruit experience preferred).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Deep understanding of food composition, specifically regarding fruit pH, Brix levels, water activity, and shelf-life stability.  

Working knowledge of FDA/USDA regulations, including NLEA labeling requirements, GRAS ingredients, and HACCP/FSMA safety standards.  

Expertise in sweeteners, acidulants, stabilizers, and preservatives used in fruit-based systems to achieve desired textures and flavors.  

The ability to deconstruct a “National Brand” product through sensory and analytical testing to replicate/modify within a specific cost model.  

Skilled in organoleptic testing (flavor, aroma, texture, color) and conducting “difference testing” or “gold standard” comparisons.  

Ability to formulate products to a specific Cost of Goods Sold target without compromising quality.  

The “hub” mentality- the ability to manage multiple project timelines and push cross-functional teams towards a hard launch date.  

Conceptual Storytelling- the ability to take a marketing trend and turn it into a physical prototype that can be “sold”.  

Comfort with ambiguity; able to troubleshoot issues and make real-time adjustments.  

Ability to draft precise SOPs, ingredient specifications, and finished product standards.  

Ability to communicate effectively written and orally.   

Brothers International is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, age, veteran status, or other characteristics.