Sr. Research & Development Manager

Pressed Juicery is growing! Join our purpose-driven community and help us make an impact.

About Pressed Juicery

Pressed Juicery is a modern wellness brand built with a mission to empower your wellness journey.


Founded in 2010 by three friends, Pressed began as a small space with a big idea: real, nourishing food should be accessible and fit into everyday life. What started in a tiny Los Angeles juice bar has grown into a dynamic omnichannel brand, with products available through thousands of retailers nationwide, alongside our company-owned stores and direct-to-consumer channel.


At Pressed Juicery, we operate as one community bringing high-quality, better-for-you products to market. Guided by passion and purpose, we’re building what’s next in wellness.


Our Mission

Pressed Juicery’s mission is to empower your wellness journey.

Our Workplace Culture

• We embrace diversity, equity, inclusion, and belongingness!
• We speak up with radically candid communication.
• We wholeheartedly support personal and professional growth.
• We believe mistakes can be valuable and lead to continuous improvement.
• Lastly, we value excellence and strive to achieve greatness in all we do!


Our Values

• Community - as leaders, we celebrate differences, champion strengths, and compassionately aspire to be our most vibrant selves.
• Passion - curious and humble, we inspire people to make healthy choices.
• Growth - pursuing wellness with intention, we create and embrace good energy.


Our Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision
• 401(k) - match up to 4% of compensation
• Awesome paid time-off and holidays
• Flexible Spending Account
• Generous paid parental leave
• Annual performance and compensation reviews
• Focus on career-pathing and promotions
• Professional and leadership development workshops
• Free Pressed products!


Job Purpose

The Senior Manager, Research & Development is a hands-on product development leader responsible for translating consumer insights, brand strategy, and innovation concepts into scalable, high-quality products within Pressed’s clean-label standards (no natural flavors, additives, or preservatives). This is a high-impact role for a builder who combines creativity, technical rigor, and operational pragmatism, and who works collaboratively with internal teams.
Based in our on-site R&D lab at Pressed’s Head Quarter, the Senior Manager, Research & Development leads prototype development, testing, and technical validation across juices, functional beverages, frozen desserts and emerging wellness formats. Reporting to the Director of R&D, this role works closely with cross-functional teams to execute concepts through the full innovation lifecycle from idea to pilot to commercialization, ensuring products are ready for successful execution in manufacturing.
Essential Job Functions
Product Development & Innovation
• Lead the end-to-end execution of new products and product improvements, from concept development through scale-up and launch.
• Formulate and iterate formulations using the R&D lab, ensuring flavor, functionality, nutrition, and manufacturability align with Pressed standards
• Translate brand briefs and consumer insights into feasible, scalable product concepts and prototypes
• Apply creative and innovative problem-solving within technical, regulatory, and operational constraints
• Explore and evaluate innovative ingredients, formats, and product trends relevant to beverage, juice, frozen, and ice cream categories
• Partner with suppliers and internal teams to assess technical feasibility, sensory impact, scalability, and clean-label fit of emerging ingredients and concepts
• Maintain strong awareness of ingredient, flavor, functional wellness, and broader CPG category trends

Technical Leadership & Lab Ownership
• Oversee and manage daily operations of the R&D lab, including workflow prioritization, equipment use, safety protocols, sanitation, and ingredient inventory.
• Lead benchtop trials, sensory evaluations, stability testing, and shelf-life assessments.
• Ensure lab work reflects production realities and supports repeatable, scalable execution.
• Document formulations, processing parameters, and technical specifications with precision and consistency.

Commercialization Partnership
• Partner collaboratively with Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing to scale recipes from lab to pilot to full production.
• Provide hands-on R&D support during pilot runs, line trials, and early productions at internal manufacturing facilities and co-manufacturing partners.
• Support p