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Bartesian Overview

Bartesian is transforming the way people enjoy premium cocktails at home. With the touch of a button, we deliver bar-quality drinks without the complexity of mixers or recipes. As we continue to scale our ecosystem across hardware, consumables, subscriptions, and digital experiences, we’re focused on building deeper, more valuable relationships with our customers.

We’re seeking a R&D Manager to lead the development of new beverage products and drive continuous improvement of our existing portfolio. This role owns end-to-end product development—from benchtop formulation through commercialization while identifying and evaluating emerging technologies that can advance our product capabilities.

The R&D Manager will serve as a technical leader within R&D, partnering cross-functionally with Marketing, Supply Chain, and Finance to deliver innovative, high-quality products that scale. This is a highly hands-on role, requiring both strategic thinking and day-to-day bench formulation work. This role is on-site in our Chicago office.

Position Responsibilities:

• Develops new products through experimental designs and conducting research on bench, lab, and commercial production facilities.
• Design and execute experimental plans to develop new beverage products and optimize existing formulations.
• Lead direct engagement with co-manufacturing partners regarding new product development, trials, and startup.
• Identify, evaluate, and lead investigation into emerging ingredients, processing technologies, and packaging solutions that can enhance product quality, functionality, and scalability.
• Develop and document formulas, specifications, processing procedures, and technical reports.
• Own stability testing programs and shelf-life validation for new and existing products.
• Evaluate raw materials for quality, stability, and regulatory compliance.
• Support formula costing and collaborate with Finance and Supply Chain on commercialization planning.
• Serve as the primary technical resource for cross-functional teams.
• Lead internal tastings and provide technical insight into sensory performance.
• Maintain organization and compliance within the R&D lab and storage areas.
• Support and uphold food safety, regulatory, and quality standards across the product portfolio.
• Travel as needed to co-manufacturing sites to support scale-up and production.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor of Science in Food Science/Technology, or comparable degree

Experience

• 3–5 years product development experience
• Demonstrated experience leading projects from concept through commercialization
• Experience working with co-manufacturers and managing scale-up processes
• Beverage, juice concentrates and hot-fill/pasteurization experience a plus

Competencies & Abilities

• Strong background in food science and product development process
• Knowledge of industrial food processing technologies
• Experience evaluating and implementing new processing technologies
• Strong experimental design and statistical analysis skills
• Experience building strong vendor relationships
• Experience navigating regulatory frameworks and working with nutritional software (preferred)
• Ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Strong organizational, project management and multitasking skills
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Ability to prioritize effectively and handle shifting priorities professionally
• Strong work ethic and desire to solve problems
• Detail-oriented

Must be at least 21 years of age.

Must be willing to taste alcoholic beverages.

Must be able to lift 30–50lbs on a regular basis.