Product Development Scientist

WHO ARE WE? 

BARK is a company building products, experiences, and entertainment for dogs and the people who love them.  BARK’s Product Development-Consumables team is responsible for creating healthy, nutritious, tasty, and fun food & treats that delight dogs and their humans.  Internally, we partner closely with Design, Supply Chain, and Sourcing teams and with the help of our third-party manufacturing partners, provide dogs and their people with the best experience possible.   

WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR 

If palatability is in your vocabulary and you are obsessed about creating the best food and eating experiences for dogs, then we want to talk to you!  The BARK team is looking for a highly driven self-starter as Product Development Scientist.   Reporting to the Director of  Product Development,  this role will work closely with our Concierge, Marketing, Sourcing, Operations, and external scientific partners to create food and treat products for dogs.   We are just getting started, so if you enjoy building things from the ground up and have pet food experience, this is a great opportunity! 

KEY DUTIES 

• Develop new products from concept through commercialization, ensuring all technical deliverables are met.
• Partner with sourcing to collaborate with suppliers on new product development.
• Create and ensure adherence to product specifications.
• Lead supplier improvement on process & delivery of key product attributes.
• Lead formulation optimization on cost, performance or testing plans (analytical, kennel, consumer).
• Partner with data analytics to identify internal customer insights and combine with external trends, data, etc. to generate technical insights for new products.
• Help coordinate and participate in the development of effective and accurate nutritional claims, labeling, advertising and promotional materials.

EXPERIENCE 

• 2+ years of experience in product development or R&D in the pet food industry.
• Experience in product formulation to meet pet nutrition needs.  
• Experience in leading projects throughout the whole product development process from R&D, prototyping, production, QA to logistics, and fulfillment. 
• Experience in a high volume manufacturing environment, preferably in the Consumer Packaged Goods Industry.
• Experience working directly with contract manufacturers, material vendors, and new technologies.
• Solid understanding of food industry standards for quality and regulatory.

SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS 

• B.S. degree in Food Science/Food Chemistry & Animal Nutrition, advanced degree a plus.
• Strong technical knowledge to solve complex problems and review related information to develop and evaluate options and implement suitable solutions. 
• Confident and independent worker with great communication skills. 
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a collaborative team environment through excellent interpersonal, influencing and communication skills.
• Ability to excel in a dynamic fast paced business environment, demonstrated ability to self-motivate and manage multiple priorities.
• MUST Love Dogs!

This position is a full-time, salaried position.  This role is remote based or can be located at our NY headquarters or Columbus, OH fulfillment facility.  We offer health insurance for both you and your pup, 401k, and a dog to pet anytime you wish. 

ABOUT BARK 

Here at BARK, we love dogs and their people. We’re looking to make all dogs happy throughout the entire world (we’re not kidding). Think Disney for dogs -- we make magic for dogs and their people through our products, events, and experiences.

Our ambition level is high, the opportunity is huge, and our love for dogs is through the roof! We launched in 2011 with BarkBox, a monthly-themed subscription of all-natural treats and clever toys. Since then, we've shipped more than 70 million toys and treats to the dogs across the world and use all of that direct customer feedback to inform new initiatives and ways to make magic between dogs and their people. We’ve since expanded into other offerings as well, as we aim to become THE Dog Company for every family with a four-legged, belly-scratch-loving, interspecies family member.