Responsibilities
- Own the full beverage R&D lifecycle from concept through commercialization
- Constantly scan the market to identify opportunities for Mood to be a market leader in new beverage concepts, then translate those into technically feasible formulations
- Develop new beverage products including scientific formulation, benchtop prototyping, and iterative optimization based on sensory and analytical data
- Run hands-on formulation experiments yourself or in partnership with formulation houses, testing, sampling, and refinement to achieve target taste, onset, stability, and consistency
- Lead scale-up from benchtop to production with co-manufacturers
- Continuously improve current formulations to enhance taste, mouthfeel, onset time, bioavailability, and shelf stability
- Identify cost optimization opportunities without compromising product quality
- Prevent production issues and ensure rigorous adherence to best-in-class manufacturing standards
- Analyze consumer feedback, reviews, and behavioral data to inform product improvements and new product concepts
- Track competitive products across beverages, alcohol, functional drinks, and other beverage categories
- Translate insights into clear product opportunities in our innovation pipeline
- Ensure all products meet potency, safety, and quality standards through appropriate analytical testing and validated specifications
- Own shelf-life testing, stability programs, and formulation documentation
- Partner with Compliance to ensure regulatory alignment across markets for ingredients, claims, labeling, and manufacturing practice
- Manage relationships with co-manufacturers, labs, ingredient suppliers, and flavor houses
- Source and evaluate new ingredients, technologies, and partners
- Manage production runs, tech transfers, and ongoing manufacturer performance
- Ensure partners meet quality, cost, and timeline expectations
- Partner with Supply Chain, Sales, and Marketing to bring new products to market successfully
- Support forecasting, inventory planning, and launch readiness
- Contribute to packaging, pricing, and positioning decisions
- Ensure products are built for real-world distribution, including DSD and retail environments
- Create repeatable R&D processes, documentation, and SOPs to guide formulation, testing, and scale-up
- Establish formulation standards and testing protocols for sensory, analytical, and stability performance
- Help define what “best-in-class” beverage quality looks like at Mood —then systematically raise that bar over time through data-driven improvements
Requirements
- 5-10+ years of hands-on scientific beverage R&D or product development experience (formulating products yourself, not just managing brands or programs)
- Strong formulation experience (emulsions, flavor and sweetener systems, functional ingredients/actives, acidified beverages, or similar)
- Direct experience taking beverage products from concept through lab/benchtop, pilot, and full commercial production
- Experience working with co-manufacturers and scaling formulations
- Strong understanding of shelf stability, QA, and product performance
- Ability to operate both strategically and tactically in a lean, low-infrastructure environment
- High ownership mentality with a bias toward action, experimentation, and execution
- Strong problem-solving skills and comfort troubleshooting in real time
Nice to Have
- Experience in regulated categories (THC, cannabis, alcohol, supplements, etc.)
- Degree in Food Science, Chemistry, or related field
Work Arrangement
Hybrid
Additional Information
- Ability to directly shape Mood’s beverage portfolio and product quality
- Fast-moving environment with real impact and minimal bureaucracy
- Competitive compensation and benefits
