Job Description

Location: Toronto, ON

Work Type: Full-time, On-site

Reports to: Head of R&D

About the Role

Victory's Kitchen, a leading manufacturer of soups, sauces, and dips, is seeking an innovative and technically skilled R&D Food Scientist / Product Developer to join our team. This role combines culinary creativity with scientific precision. You'll develop and improve recipes, reverse-engineer existing products, and support the scale-up of formulations from the test kitchen to full production.

The ideal candidate is someone with a great understanding of soups, sauces, and/or kettle-cooked products who loves translating great food ideas into consistent, scalable, and commercially successful products.

Key Responsibilities

Product Development

Develop, test, and refine new soup, dip, and sauce recipes in alignment with customer needs and internal innovation goals. Reverse-engineer products to accurately replicate target characteristics. Balance creativity with functionality to achieve ideal flavour, texture, and stability.
Scale-Up & Commercialization

Collaborate with production and QA teams to transition formulations from lab-scale to plant-scale runs.
Quality & Compliance

Partner closely with the QA team to ensure products meet all safety, sensory, and shelf-life standards. Maintain accurate formula records, ingredient documentation, and product specifications. Ensure compliance with CFIA and FDA regulatory requirements.
Ingredient & Process Optimization

Apply knowledge of functional ingredients (starches, gums, emulsifiers, stabilizers, etc.) to enhance product quality and performance. Investigate and recommend ingredient or process adjustments for improved yield, flavour, or texture.
Collaboration & Support

Work with cross-functional teams (QA, Production, Procurement, and Sales) to ensure product goals are achieved on time. Help train production staff on new recipes and processes when transitioning products into full production.
Innovation & Trend Tracking

Stay current with emerging ingredients, technologies, and consumer trends to inspire ongoing innovation.

Qualifications

Education:

Degree or diploma in Food Science, Culinary Science, or a related field.
Experience:

5+ years of product development experience in a food manufacturing environment (soups, sauces, dips, or other kettle-cooked foods). Expertise in these types of products is mandatory.*
Experience with scaling up recipes from bench to production scale is a plus but not necessary.
Technical Skills:

Strong understanding of formulation, food chemistry, and functional ingredient interactions. Hands-on experience with emulsified, pasteurized, or refrigerated products preferred. Working knowledge of HACCP, GMP, and food safety best practices.
Soft Skills:

Creative thinker with strong analytical problem-solving skills. Detail-oriented, highly organized, and able to manage multiple concurrent projects. Effective communicator across technical and non-technical teams.
Computer Skills:

Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite; experience with recipe management or formulation software is an asset.
Compensation & Benefits

Salary: Starting from $70,000-$100,000 CAD annually (commensurate with experience) Benefits: Dental, vision, and extended health care Life insurance
Work Location: In-person (Toronto, ON)

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $70,000.00-$100,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Dental care Extended health care Life insurance Vision care
Application question(s):

Give a short explanation of your food/culinary background. This is a food-based job, culinary expertise is of the utmost importance to us for this role.
Experience:

Food Product Development: 3 years (required)
Work Location: In person