{"id":25170,"date":"2026-06-01T15:43:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T15:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pasona.com\/job\/062338\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T15:43:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T15:43:54","slug":"062338","status":"publish","type":"job_listing","link":"https:\/\/www.pasona.com\/en\/job\/062338\/","title":{"rendered":"Head of R&amp;D Innovation &#8211; Japanese Bilingual"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Head of R&amp;D &amp; Innovation<\/h1>\n<p><strong>Location:<\/strong> New Jersey (Onsite)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Employment Type:<\/strong> Full-Time<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reports To:<\/strong> President<\/p>\n<p><strong>Compensation:<\/strong> $90,000 &#8211; $130,000 <\/p>\n<p><strong>Benefits:<\/strong> Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), PTO<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>Company Overview<\/h2>\n<p>A growing Japanese Food Company is seeking an experienced and innovative <strong>Head of R&amp;D &amp; Innovation<\/strong> to lead product development and commercialization initiatives across multiple locations. This position will oversee a R&amp;D team and play a critical role in driving innovation, supporting business growth, and bringing new food products from concept to market.<\/p>\n<p>The ideal candidate is a strategic leader with strong food industry experience, a passion for innovation, and a proven track record of successfully commercializing products.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>Position Summary<\/h2>\n<p>The Head of R&amp;D &amp; Innovation will be responsible for developing and executing the company&#039;s innovation strategy across foodservice and retail channels. This role will lead product development initiatives, identify growth opportunities, manage commercialization projects, and foster a culture of innovation throughout the organization.<\/p>\n<p>Working closely with executive leadership, this individual will drive new product development, improve existing products, and support the company&#039;s long-term growth objectives.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>Key Responsibilities<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Serve as a strategic partner to the President on innovation and commercialization initiatives.<\/li>\n<li>Develop and implement comprehensive innovation and commercialization strategies aligned with company goals.<\/li>\n<li>Identify and evaluate new product, service, ingredient, and technology opportunities.<\/li>\n<li>Lead the commercialization process from concept development through product launch.<\/li>\n<li>Drive innovation initiatives that support company growth and market leadership.<\/li>\n<li>Foster a culture of creativity, continuous improvement, and cross-functional collaboration.<\/li>\n<li>Manage and develop R&amp;D team members and related processes.<\/li>\n<li>Establish goals, timelines, and performance metrics for product development projects.<\/li>\n<li>Conduct market and competitive research to identify emerging trends and opportunities.<\/li>\n<li>Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Supply Chain teams to ensure successful product launches.<\/li>\n<li>Manage product portfolios and SKU optimization efforts.<\/li>\n<li>Develop strategies that support company vision, revenue growth, and operational excellence.<\/li>\n<li>Establish quantitative and qualitative measures to evaluate project success and organizational effectiveness.<\/li>\n<li>Monitor and improve processes related to quality, efficiency, and continuous improvement initiatives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>Qualifications<\/h2>\n<h3>Required<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Bachelor&#039;s degree or equivalent experience.<\/li>\n<li>Minimum 5 years of experience in Food Industry product development, innovation, commercialization, or related functions.<\/li>\n<li>Minimum 5 years of leadership and team management experience.<\/li>\n<li>Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to make data-driven decisions.<\/li>\n<li>Excellent verbal and written communication skills.<\/li>\n<li>Proven ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines.<\/li>\n<li>Strong organizational and time-management skills.<\/li>\n<li>Experience building relationships with suppliers, partners, and cross-functional stakeholders.<\/li>\n<li>Experience working in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.<\/li>\n<li>Proficiency in Microsoft Office and business systems (ERP experience preferred).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Preferred<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Experience in food manufacturing, food production, or consumer packaged goods (CPG).<\/li>\n<li>Experience leading product commercialization and product launch initiatives.<\/li>\n<li>Japanese-English bilingual ability is highly preferred but not required.<\/li>\n<li>Experience working in multicultural business environments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_promoted":"","_job_location":"","_application":"","_company_name":"","_company_website":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_filled":0,"_featured":0,"_remote_position":0,"_job_salary":"","_job_salary_currency":"","_job_salary_unit":""},"job-categories":[],"job-types":[],"class_list":["post-25170","job_listing","type-job_listing","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pasona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job-listings\/25170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pasona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job-listings"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pasona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/job_listing"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pasona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"job_listing_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pasona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job-categories?post=25170"},{"taxonomy":"job_listing_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pasona.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job-types?post=25170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}