Manager – Beverage Innovation

Mood

Head of Beverage R&D overseeing product lifecycle from concept to commercialization. Driving innovation while ensuring product quality and market competitiveness.

Posted 4/23/2026full-timeNew York City • California, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Texas • 🇺🇸 United StatesMid-LevelSenior💰 $100,000 - $170,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

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.
Develop new beverage products including formulation, prototyping, and iteration.
Run hands-on formulation work 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.
Own shelf-life testing, stability programs, and formulation documentation.
Partner with Compliance to ensure regulatory alignment across markets.
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.
Establish formulation standards and testing protocols.
Help define what “best-in-class” beverage quality looks like at Mood and raise the bar over time.

Requirements

What you’ll need

5-10+ years of hands-on beverage R&D or product development experience.
Strong formulation experience (emulsions, flavor systems, functional ingredients, or similar).
Experience taking products from concept to commercial production.
Experience working with co-manufacturers and scaling formulations.
Strong understanding of shelf stability, QA, and product performance.
Experience in regulated categories (THC, cannabis, alcohol, supplements, etc.) preferred.
Ability to operate both strategically and tactically without support infrastructure.
High ownership mentality with a bias toward action and execution.
Strong problem-solving skills and comfort troubleshooting in real time.
Degree in Food Science, Chemistry, or related field preferred.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Competitive compensation and benefits.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

beverage R&Dformulationprototypingshelf stabilityquality assuranceproduct developmentcost optimizationstability programsSOPsemulsions

Soft Skills

problem-solvingownership mentalitystrategic thinkingtactical executioncommunicationcollaborationanalytical skillscreativityadaptabilityleadership

Certifications

degree in Food Sciencedegree in Chemistry