VP, Research & Development

Company Description

As the leading cannabis multi-state operator (MSO), AYR Wellness is on a journey to be a force for good; and it all starts with our belief in the power and potential of the plant.

We believe in creating an environment in which we can all flourish, one where every individual can find their genius and pursue their passion, because it’s this dedication to creating a culture of excellence, one where we’re all empowered to achieve our dreams, that will propel us forward. We’re a company that puts our people first. A place where talent is rewarded, diversity is celebrated, and innovative thinking is championed and we believe that together we can build a better and brighter future for ourselves, our industry, and our world.

Join us as we create wonder together.

Job Summary

As the VP Research & Development, you will be responsible for designing and leading bench/pilot-scale studies to support downstream process development, optimization, characterization and scale-up. You will develop protocols using a wide range of purification & separation methods and leverage your expertise in regulatory affairs, program management, product development, commercialization, to accelerate company efforts to establish and develop a research facility and program.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Identify and evaluate strategic opportunities for company growth, providing guidance on regulatory frameworks and logistics.
• Leverage plant science, construction, and research skills to provide valuable insight on various plant growth strategies and techniques
• Identify and resolve process inefficiencies in cultivation, post-harvest, extractions, manufacturing and packaging pipelines.
• Work with the sales and marketing teams to understand product demand, growth, and trends, and convert this information to a functional manufacturing forecast.
• Review production and scheduling plans to ensure they align with the product forecast and facility capacity.
• Manage key vendor relationships, maintain inventory levels of key manufacturing components, and facilitate the flow of raw material from cultivation to manufacturing.
• Ensure compliance with all manufacturing SOPs, review processing metrics and work to improve efficiency. Ensure quality assurance standards and metrics are maintained.
• Work with the corporate team to facilitate commercialization of new products in the local and national markets.
• Maintain a strong presence in the field to effectively coach and support manufacturing teams.
• Ensure manufacturing environments are brand appropriate (i.e., positive, reassuring, energetic, encouraging, educational and welcoming).
• Ensure operational priorities, processes and procedures are communicated and understood.
• Assure the cost-effective manufacturing of quality pharma-grade products.
• Responsible for and working closely with the Director of Cultivation, Regional District Sales Manager, and the corporate manufacturing team, in the planning of all CAPEX projects.
• Responsible for the successful coordination and execution of all capital improvement projects.
• Communicate often and effectively with Retail and Wholesale Sales Teams to continually educate manufacturing crew regarding product knowledge and brand initiatives.
• Partner with Compliance Team to monitor and maintain proper manufacturing compliance controls with all federal/state regulations.
• Develop protocols with bill of materials and standard costing for ERP implementation.
• Lead production and operational management teams ensuring collaboration and cross-departmental efficiencies. Foster collaboration among site leaders and operatives across individual sites where beneficial.
• Plan and monitor the day-to-day operations to ensure no interruptions in production.
• Maintain a strong presence to effectively coach and support our cultivation and processing teams.
• Ensure manufacturing environments are brand appropriate (i.e., positive, reassuring, energetic, encouraging, educational and welcoming).
• Ensure operational priorities, processes and procedures are communicated and understood.
• Assure the cost-effective manufacturing of quality pharma-grade products.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree (PhD preferred) in the Biological, Food Science, or Chemical Science/Engineering field
• 7+ years of relevant industrial experience in downstream process development and/or purification of small molecules from complex matrices
• Hands-on experience with wide-range of separation and purification technologies (centrifugation, filtration [both dead-end and crossflow], liquid-liquid extraction, precipitation, crystallization) desired
• 5+ years of leadership experience in a research and development role with a minimum of six years of experience in leading team with at least 6 team members
• 3+ years of experience and proficiency in consumer testing methodologies and research techniques such as human centered design thinking

We recognize it’s unrealistic for candidates to fulfill 100% of the criteria in a job ad. We encourage you to apply if you meet the majority of the requirements because we know that skills evolve over time. If you’re willing to learn and evolve alongside us, we want to hear from you!

AYR Wellness is committed to the policy that all persons have equal access to employment. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and the LGBTQ+ community, regardless of age, gender, religion, marital or veterans status.