---
title: 'R&D Manager at Kevin''s Natural Foods'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/r-d-manager-kevin-s-natural-foods-imperial-manufacturing-facility-hq-3cjxmgvrvnbt'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-15'
---

# R&D Manager at Kevin's Natural Foods

- **Company:** Kevin's Natural Foods
- **Location:** Imperial Manufacturing Facility & HQ
- **Compensation:** $130k–$155k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-07-28
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-15
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/kevins-natural-foods/327c46e1-e811-4c90-bbd3-916c5cfb3f06

## Job description

The R&D Manager at Kevin’s Natural Foods plays a critical role in driving the innovation and development of our clean-label product portfolio. This role is responsible for leading the Product Development team, overseeing the commercialization process from concept to production, and ensuring new and optimized products meet our high-quality, nutritious, and flavorful standards. This position combines technical expertise in food science with strategic leadership, project management, and cross-functional collaboration to support Kevin’s mission: empowering even the busiest people to eat clean without sacrificing flavor.

What You’ll Do:

- Lead, mentor, and develop an R&D product development team, fostering a culture of innovation, curiosity, and accountability.
- Oversee all aspects of new product development from ideation, recipe creation, pilot production, scale-up, and commercialization.
- Drive project prioritization, resource allocation, and timelines to ensure efficient and successful product launches.
- Lead recipe formulation, costing, ingredient sourcing, and process optimization while maintaining compliance with SQF, USDA, and other certifications.
- Collaborate with nutritionists, QA/QC, and culinary teams to ensure products meet nutritional, sensory, and safety standards.
- Evaluate and implement emerging food trends, new ingredients, and innovative processing techniques.
- Work cross-functionally to set the strategic vision for product innovation, aligning new concepts with company goals, consumer trends, and competitive insights.
- Partner with Marketing, Sales, and Brand teams to support product launches, packaging, development, and marketing campaigns.
- Assist with taste panels, consumer testing, and sensory evaluations to ensure products exceed expectations.
- Serve as the primary R&D liaison for label approvals (GFCO/Paleo/NGPV/USDA) and regulatory compliance.
- Establish and maintain robust R&D processes, documentation standards, and best practices.
- Troubleshoot production issues, monitor consistency and quality, and optimize manufacturing processes.
- Maintain detailed records in recipe/formula systems, ensuring accuracy and reproducibility.
- Other duties as assigned to support the growth and evolution of Kevin’s Natural Foods.
- All other duties as assigned or necessary.

What You’ll Need:

- Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Nutrition, or Culinary School certification; advanced degree a plus.
- Minimum 5 years of experience in food product development in a manufacturing environment, with at least 2 years in a leadership role.
- Deep knowledge of ingredient functionality, flavor development, sensory evaluation, and clean-label product development.
- Strong understanding of food science principles, GMP, HACCP, food safety, and regulatory compliance.
- Proven experience managing teams, projects, and cross-functional initiatives in a fast paced environment.
- Strong analytical, organizational, and project management skills.
- Experience with paleo/keto or specialized dietary products is a strong plus.
- Proficiency with nutritional software, quality systems, spreadsheets, and lab documentation.

Healthy, Diverse Teams Breed Innovation: Kevin’s Natural Foods is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We deeply believe that diverse backgrounds and experiences make better teams, and we seek to attract talent from all walks of life. The team at Kevin’s is smart, humble, and passionate and we value a work environment that fosters personal development and opportunities to move within our small, but quickly growing organization.

More About Kevin’s Natural Foods: Kevin’s Natural Foods is a line of healthy entrées, sides, and sauces, on a mission to make clean eating delicious and accessible. Kevin’s guilt-free, sous-vide entrées and sides, and signature certified paleo, keto, and gluten-free sauces allow health-conscious home cooks to whip up delicious meals in five minutes or less. With restaurant-quality ingredients and recipes, Kevin’s products are readily available on the shelves at leading grocery retailers nationwide including Costco, Whole Foods, Albertsons, HEB and Publix. All Kevin’s products contain no refined sugar, artificial ingredients, grains, or soy, and are made with antibiotic- and hormone-free meat. A true market disruptor, Kevin’s Natural Foods is the first clean refrigerated entrée brand

Salary Range: $130,000.00- $155,000.00 annually + benefits + bonus Compensation within this salary range is dependent upon the candidate's experience, education, and relevant qualifications

Kevin's Natural Foods uses E-verify to confirm employment eligibility. For more information, please see the links below: https://www.everify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/IER_RightToWorkPoster%20Eng_Es.pdf https://www.everify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/EVerifyParticipationPoster.pdf

## About Kevin's Natural Foods

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Kevin's Natural Foods produces refrigerated and frozen meals, sides, soups, and sauces made with clean ingredients, designed to make healthy eating convenient for busy people.
- **Entity Type**: Private (acquired by Mars, Incorporated in 2023)
- **Headquarters**: Stockton, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2014
- **Founders**: Kevin McCray

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Food and Beverage Manufacturing (Consumer Packaged Goods)
- **Target customers**: B2C – health-conscious consumers seeking convenient, clean-label meals; also sold through major retailers (in-store and online)
- **Mission or purpose**: “Empower even the busiest people to eat clean without sacrificing flavor.” [kevinsnaturalfoods.com](https://www.kevinsnaturalfoods.com/)

## Products & Services
- **Refrigerated Entrées**: Ready-in-minutes, chef-inspired meals that are gluten-free, soy-free, and free from refined sugar.
- **Frozen Meals**: Same clean ingredient philosophy in a frozen format for longer shelf life.
- **Sides, Pastas, Soups & Sauces**: Complementary products that extend the brand’s clean-eating promise across multiple meal occasions.

All products are keto and paleo certified. [kevinsnaturalfoods.com](https://www.kevinsnaturalfoods.com/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed as a private company. Acquired by Mars in July 2023 for **$800 million** (reported). [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/kevinsnaturalfoods)
- **Key Metric**: Annual revenue estimated at **$140 million** (LinkedIn data). [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/kevinsnaturalfoods)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Mars, Incorporated (parent company since 2023); prior private equity round in 2021 with 2 undisclosed investors.
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew **53.4% year-over-year** (to 72 employees). LinkedIn followers increased **62.4% annually** (26,567 followers). Products available nationally in major retailers. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/kevinsnaturalfoods)

## Competitive Advantages
- **First-mover in clean refrigerated entrées**: Kevin’s was the first brand to offer a full line of refrigerated meals that are free from gluten, soy, dairy, and refined sugar while being certified keto and paleo.
- **Mars backing**: Access to Mars’ global supply chain, R&D, and distribution network accelerates innovation and shelf placement.
- **Founder story-driven brand**: Kevin McCray’s personal health journey creates authentic consumer trust and a strong brand narrative.

## Strategic Focus
- **Expansion under Mars**: Leveraging Mars Food & Nutrition resources to scale production, enter new retail channels, and accelerate product innovation while maintaining clean-label integrity.
- **Category leadership**: Continuing to disrupt the refrigerated/frozen meal aisle with better-for-you options that don’t compromise on taste.
- **Talent growth**: Actively hiring across operations, supply chain, finance, sales, and quality assurance to support rapid growth. [jobs.ashbyhq.com](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/kevins-natural-foods)

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as “humble, hungry” with a focus on personal development and internal mobility. The team is “smart, humble, and passionate.” [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/kevin-s-natural-foods)
- **Work model**: Hybrid and remote options available for many roles; some positions (e.g., manufacturing) are on-site. Offices in Stockton, CA, with a hybrid workspace policy. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/kevin-s-natural-foods)
- **Diversity & inclusion**: Proud equal opportunity employer that believes diverse backgrounds make better teams. [kevinsnaturalfoods.com](https://www.kevinsnaturalfoods.com/pages/careers)
- **Growth trajectory**: High headcount growth (+53% YoY) and acquisition by Mars signal stability and opportunity for career advancement.
- **Perks**: Competitive pay (e.g., Sales Operations Intern $20–$25/hr, Senior Finance Analyst $28–$32/hr), benefits, and a mission-driven work environment.

## Sources
1. [kevinsnaturalfoods.com](https://www.kevinsnaturalfoods.com/)
2. [jobs.ashbyhq.com](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/kevins-natural-foods)
3. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/kevin-s-natural-foods)
4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/kevinsnaturalfoods)

## Other roles at Kevin's Natural Foods

- [Executive Assistant to the CEO](https://feeny.ai/job/executive-assistant-to-the-ceo-kevin-s-natural-foods-imperial-manufacturing-m54vmxwp7qpz) — Imperial Manufacturing Facility & HQ
- [Refrigeration Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/refrigeration-technician-kevin-s-natural-foods-imperial-manufacturing-facility-w6z1x7dpyj0w) — Imperial Manufacturing Facility & HQ
- [Warehouse Supervisor](https://feeny.ai/job/warehouse-supervisor-kevin-s-natural-foods-petersen-manufacturing-facility-hemt7s1231yx) — Petersen Manufacturing Facility & Office
- [Junior Buyer](https://feeny.ai/job/junior-buyer-kevin-s-natural-foods-imperial-manufacturing-facility-hq-t7wyeg4xj80j) — Imperial Manufacturing Facility & HQ
- [Senior Packaging Engineer & Sustainability Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-packaging-engineer-sustainability-lead-kevin-s-natural-foods-imperial-gzhd707fj4kz) — Imperial Manufacturing Facility & HQ
- [PMO Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/pmo-manager-kevin-s-natural-foods-imperial-manufacturing-facility-hq-h3jt3a9w046g) — Imperial Manufacturing Facility & HQ
- [Plant Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/plant-manager-kevin-s-natural-foods-imperial-manufacturing-facility-hq-az68mzwf0q6g) — Imperial Manufacturing Facility & HQ
- [Journeyman Electrician](https://feeny.ai/job/journeyman-electrician-kevin-s-natural-foods-imperial-manufacturing-facility-hq-z9jwryks2qkv) — Imperial Manufacturing Facility & HQ
- [Food Safety Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/food-safety-specialist-kevin-s-natural-foods-mariposa-manufacturing-facility-0px8q1cgq3dj) — Mariposa Manufacturing Facility & Office
- [Senior Accountant - Cost/Manufacturing](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-accountant-cost-manufacturing-kevin-s-natural-foods-petersen-75mm253pp0qf) — Petersen Manufacturing Facility & Office