Director, Beverage R&D

Bevi is on a mission to disrupt the beverage supply chain and replace single-use water bottles with smart water machines. Thousands of companies use Bevi to sustainably provide their employees with pure, sparkling, and flavored water at work. As the market leader in IoT-enabled beverage machines, we?ve raised over $160M in venture capital and we have grown tremendously each year since launch. In addition to maintaining hypergrowth with our current product line, Bevi is heavily investing in new product development.

Bevi is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Director, Beverage R&D to join our Beverage team to further our position as the industry leader, with the most delicious, healthy, and high-quality beverages on the market. You will play a key role in realizing our vision of creating a beverage brand and drinks that people rave about. This role requires a dynamic, results-driven individual with a passion for delivering outstanding user experiences, demonstrated success in commercializing new products in fast-paced environments, and the ability to balance cost and quality objectives effectively.

You will be responsible for converting high-level market strategies into finished concentrates and beverage products that are used in Bevi's high-tech dispensers. This encompasses driving the beverage development process from initial benchtop concepts, refining formulas based on consumer feedback, finalizing successful products for production, and continuing to optimize already launched products. This role will hire and manage a growing team that will be developing and improving Bevi's beverage offering.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership Skills:

• Improve our capabilities through a mix of hiring and managing excellent team members, and outsourcing.
• Be the source of Beverage Technical Knowledge within the company and educate the rest of the team

R&D:

• Obsess over ensuring that Bevi is designing the most delicious beverage experiences for our users.
• Manage the end-to-end product development cycle, from collaborative concept generation, prototyping, and sensory testing, to scale-up and commercialize flavors, functions and new categories.
• Design tests for sensory evaluations and shelf life, and ensure execution.
• Oversee all aspects of the internal R&D Lab.
• Manage 3rd party R&D contractors to bring in additional skills or accelerate timelines.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Work closely with Product, Engineering, Quality and Manufacturing teams to ensure seamless product launches and alignment with consumer needs.
• Test alongside Hardware and Software to deliver the best solutions in our machine formats.

Ingredient Sourcing & Evaluation:

• Identify and evaluate ingredients and suppliers that align with product requirements for sensory, nutritional profile, concentration ratios, and sustainability.
• Ability to find creative and innovative solutions and root cause problems.
• Refine and iterate on formulas for sensory and field testing.

Production support:

• Ensure formulations are designed for manufacturing processes and resolve any complications.
• Establish and execute documentation needs for production validation/trials, production and commercialization including specifications.
• Regulatory experience including creation of ingredient list and nutrition facts panels.

Sustaining Continuous Improvement:

• Improve existing formulations for sensory, cost, quality, and shelf-life.

Quality & Compliance:

• Ensure all products meet regulatory standards, food safety, and quality guidelines for target markets.
• Own beverage documentation signoff and control.

Market Trend Analysis:

• Stay ahead of trends in the beverage industry and leverage insights to inform product strategy and pipeline development.
• Share market insight learnings with the team and help define where Bevi should be innovating

Requirements

• Master's degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Biochemistry/Microbiology, or related field or equivalent experience
• 7+ years of experience in beverage development
• Experience hiring and managing small teams
• In-depth knowledge of beverage formulation, including flavor systems, emulsions, stabilizers, preservatives, and sweeteners
• Proven track record in developing and launching successful beverage products from concept to market, and comfort with short development timelines
• Strong understanding of product testing, sensory evaluation, and process optimization
• Familiarity with FDA, USDA, and other regulatory bodies related to the food and beverage industry
• Demonstrated ability to lead projects, manage timelines, and collaborate with cross-functional teams
• Ability to think creatively and bring innovative solutions to market
• Willingness to travel (~10%) (trade show, vendor visits)
• Ability to be in the office 4 days per week

Benefits

• Relocation assistance available
• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision insurance plans with BlueCross BlueShield, 95% paid by employer
• 401(k) with company match, and environmentally responsible investment options
• Flexible PTO plus 9 company holidays, and additional paid days for sick leave, etc (including sustainability or social justice volunteer events)
• Generous fully paid parental leave for both birth parents and non-birth parents
• Fully employer paid disability and life insurances
• Wellness and fitness reimbursements
• Monthly stipends for cell phone use and commuting costs
• Onsite snacks, weekly catered lunch, and (of course) unlimited Bevi ... plus composting and terracycling, too
• Happy hours, team-building events, bagel breakfasts, Hero awards - and more!