Product Development & Quality Coordinator

***This is NOT a Role with ForceBrands***Product Development & Quality CoordinatorLocation: Chicago, IL: Full-time, in-officeA growing food and snack company is seeking a hands-on Product Development & Quality Coordinator to support R&D execution and ongoing product quality. This is an ideal opportunity for someone with 3–5 years of food CPG experience who enjoys working directly with products, creating benchtop samples and keeping detailed projects moving forward.This role will spend approximately two-thirds of its time supporting R&D and product development, with the remainder focused on quality processes and third-party certifications. It is an execution-focused position and will not be responsible for leading innovation strategy or independently developing new product concepts.ResponsibilitiesProduce benchtop samples in the company’s Chicago R&D kitchen, including preparing, seasoning and organizing products for internal and customer tastingsMaintain R&D materials and inventory to support fast, consistent sample turnaroundSupport the preparation and execution of full-scale production trials at third-party manufacturing facilitiesReview quality data and product retains from production runs, identifying and escalating discrepancies or potential concernsMonitor customer complaint data, communicate issues to manufacturing partners and follow corrective actions through completionReview complaint trends by product, production batch and issue type, flagging patterns to the internal operations teamMaintain third-party certifications, including Non-GMO Project, Organic/CCOF and KosherGather documentation and coordinate annual certification renewalsPartner closely with internal operations leadership and quality teams at external production facilitiesKeep R&D, quality and certification projects organized and moving against established timelinesTravel periodically to co-manufacturing facilities for product trials, averaging approximately two trips per quarterQualifications3–5 years of experience in food or beverage product development, R&D or qualityHands-on experience producing benchtop samples is requiredExperience within snacks is strongly preferred; broader food CPG experience will also be consideredFamiliarity with quality processes and production data in a manufacturing or co-manufacturing environmentExperience supporting third-party certifications such as Non-GMO Project, Organic/CCOF or KosherComfortable communicating with external production and quality teams and following open issues through resolutionHighly detail-oriented, organized and deadline-drivenAble to balance recurring quality responsibilities with fast-moving R&D projectsWilling and able to travel periodically to production facilitiesAvailable to work full-time from the company’s Chicago officeThis is a strong opportunity for someone who wants broad exposure to both product development and quality within a growing, entrepreneurial food company.