R&d Manager

Overview:
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $79 billion in net revenue in 2021, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes LAY’S ®, DORITOS ®, CHEETOS ®, GATORADE ®, PEPSI ®, QUAKER ® and more. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive (pep+). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people.

Our employees drive our culture. No two days are the same; we are dynamic and full of passionate teams that embrace new ideas through our collaborative spirit. At PepsiCo, we know that our company can only succeed when our associates and the society we serve flourishes. We are committed to fostering a diverse workforce by creating a collaborative, equitable and inclusive space where everyone, regardless of what we look like, where we come from or who we love, has a voice. At PepsiCo we create a Space to be y( )u.

**Responsibilities**:
**What will you work on**:
R&D Manager Dairy platform is responsible for executing innovation, productivity and portfolio transformation projects for Brazil, with counterparts & multi-functional teams aiming to develop & implement key projects for the Annual Operating Plan (AOP) & Strategic Business Plan (SBP). Also responsible for documentation and characterization of key ingredients of the platform maintain strong link to the experts in Valhalla-NY, participation on global COPs (global collaboration forums thru conf calls and webex) and wiring the alignments with the local teams (QC, QA, Operations).

Strategically partner with Marketing and R&D Senior Leadership to build product and brands roadmaps for constant technical improvement (e.g.: sugar reduction, nutritional improvement, regulatory changes, etc), innovation pipeline and productivity opportunities.

**Accountabilities**
- Lead the team responsible for the development and implementation of the Dairy & Ingredients initiatives for Brazil, SoCo and Andean regions, ensuring safe, stable and legal products, on time and in full.
- Lead the product developments strategy for projects in house, co-packers and / or third partners, prioritizing, aligning funding support, resources allocation, global functions support and capability development (internally or thru external partners) to deliver sound technical information (formulation, specifications, preparation instructions) and consumer centric projects. Lead short, medium and long terms innovation projects for the category in Brazil.
- Be partner with Stage Gate, MKT and Operational teams
- Lead product development activities with co-manufacturer while guaranteeing technical documentation and product design accordingly
- Lead productivity and renovation agendas for the category in Brazil
- Guarantee flawless and consistent execution of the activities related to Research and Development of the annual innovation plan for productivity and renovation projects
- Responsible for shelf life study and report (accelerate and real time) - physical-chemical and sensory analysis on new developments
- Organize and conduct or support plant trials for new product development (depending on complexity) and productivity projects
- Guarantee product design according to consumer research and business strategy (formula, process)
- Review and approve label and legal information
- Work effectively with multi-functional team co leading local stage gate meetings, providing technical and product inputs to the team, aiming the best solutions and defining the best patch towards the strategic directions
- Work in partnership with local regulatory and nutritional teams
- Control R&D innovation, renovation and productivity budget for Brazil.
- Lead new material/ supplier qualification process following PepsiCo protocols for RTDplatform, supporting operations when process trials are required.
- Deliver technical information (specifications, manual, procedures, label approval, shelf life reports) for production success
- Support SQA on approval of new suppliers of existing ingredients and perform bench top tests of new ingredients and business troubleshooting tests
- Responsible for individual report professional development

Qualifications:
**Who are we looking for?**
- Graduated in Food Process Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Food Science or equivalent;
- Strong technical skills at mínimally BSc
- 10+ years of experience ideally
- Excellent project management and leadership skills
- Ability t