Associate Manager, Commercialization (Product Development)

Who is Taco Bell?

Taco Bell was born and raised in California and has been around since 1962. We went from selling everyone’s favorite Crunchy Tacos on the West Coast to a global brand with 8,200+ restaurants, 350 franchise organizations, that serve 42+ million fans each week around the globe. We’re not only the largest Mexican-inspired quick service brand (QSR) in the world, we’re also part of the biggest restaurant group in the world: Yum! Brands. 

Much of our fan love and authentic connection with our communities are rooted in being rebels with a cause. From ensuring we use high quality, sustainable ingredients to elevating restaurant technology in ways that hasn’t been done before… we will continue to be inclusive, bold, challenge the status quo and push industry boundaries.   

We’re a company that celebrates and advocates for different, has bold self-expression, strives for a better future, and brings the fun while we’re at it. We fuel our culture with real people who bring unique experiences. We inspire and enable our teams and the world to Live Más.

At Taco Bell, we’re Cultural Rebels. Want to join in on the passion-fueled fun? Learn more about the career below. 

About the Job:

This position handles the commercialization of new ingredients in support of our new menu Pipeline through effective collaboration, robust specifications, processes, innovation, and consistent, high-quality ingredients. This role is responsible for new ingredient product quality, food safety, and product performance. This candidate would be responsible for identifying and developing improvements for our Core Ingredients as needed, working with outside vendors to discover new production capabilities, collaborate and drive cross-functional teams including but not limited to Product Development, Quality Assurance, Food Safety, Operations, Purchasing Co-op, and Taco Bell Suppliers.  

The Associate Manager, Commercialization is responsible for commercializing new ingredients in support of our new menu Pipeline and drives impact across the Taco Bell business by ensuring those ingredients are made to the Taco Bell spec and quality standards, collaborating closely with key suppliers, and fine-tuning manufacturing processes to efficiently bring new, fresh, high-quality products to market. With this role, the opportunities are endless: identifying new ingredient processing technology, leading the scale up of some of the most interesting ingredients in QSR!. Associate Manager, Commercialization will report to Nancy Kanis (Sr. Manager, Commercialization).  

The Day-to-Day:

• Convert production procedures from the formula/processing guidelines obtained from the Product Development group into robust specifications
• Coordinate scale-up of new products and report results to help develop the most efficient production/packaging processes and attend production runs, often standing on your feet for extended periods of time
• Organize and lead pre-production calls, product evaluations, and collaborative work sessions
• Make detailed reports of assessments obtained through testing, scale-ups and trial productions to determine necessary next steps and for future reference
• Effectively communicate program status or updates to leadership, prepare cross functional review information, facilitate internal approvals
• Be “curious” and ask questions that will probe, give learnings, and inform decisions about ingredient processing: proactively identifying potential production and packaging problems and assisting with resolution
• Lead key cross functional and internal meetings to ensure project timelines and deliverables are being met while owning and using the commercialization tracker to guide discussion
• Work closely with Product Development team and strategic suppliers to identify and develop new production capabilities to drive new ideas for the innovation pipeline

Is This You?

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Agriculture, Chemistry, Microbiology or other related fields
• 8+ years’ food industry with manufacturing experience: grains, proteins, and sauces preferred
• Strong organizational verbal, and written skills, with the ability to work independently and multi-task in a complex, fast-paced, and deadline-driven environment
• Strong internal motivation, intellectual curiosity, logical thinking, and desire to have a considerable impact on our organization
• Ability to proactively develop and/or improve procedures and processes within a function
• Flexible and willing to travel minimum 25%, sometimes on the weekend
• Manage timelines to meet the needs of the business while being able to flex with shifting priorities