About Relocalize
Relocalize is reimagining the food supply chain. Our mission is to decarbonize and decentralize food production by deploying automated, hyperlocal micro-factories that cut food waste, eliminate trucking, and slash CO₂ emissions. We are a venture-backed clean-tech startup scaling breakthrough automation technology with global impact. By co-locating production and packaging at distribution centers, we aim to make supply chains cleaner, faster, and more resilient.
The Opportunity
We’re looking for a hands-on Technical Product Manager who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment. This is not a typical behind-the-scenes R&D role; you’ll be in the thick of it, from designing thermal experiments in our lab to collaborating with sales on ice pack performance tests. You will be the go-to expert for everything cold chain, driving innovation in how we keep food and pharma products cold and safe for last mile delivery. If you’re excited to build something from scratch (literally setting up labs and new processes) and see your ideas directly reduce waste and emissions, this role is for you. You’ll work across engineering, operations, and sales, ensuring our cold chain solutions go from concept to reality with speed, precision, and impact.
What You’ll Do
- Product Management: Leads the development and commercialization of our custom-size, ready-to-use cold-packs product - bridging engineering, operations, and customer needs in collaboration with our CTO and COO. This role defines product requirements and performance specifications (thermal performance, packaging, automation interfaces, and conditioning standards), coordinates cross-functional teams to design and deliver reliable, food-safe, water-based cold packs, and ensures seamless integration within Relocalize’s micro-factory platform. The TPM translates customer and market insights into scalable technical solutions, drives product validation through testing and data, and supports continuous improvement of cost, sustainability, and manufacturability to advance Relocalize’s mission of decarbonizing the cold chain.
- Cold Pack Science & Design Expert: Develop and deepen our understanding of cold pack science - including coolant chemistry, thermal performance, and packaging design. Lead experimentation on how different materials, film types, fill compositions, and geometries affect cooling behavior and durability. Build data-backed models to optimize cold pack performance across melt duration, temperature stability, and structural integrity. Partner with suppliers to evaluate new packaging systems, materials and formulations that enhance performance while improving sustainability.
- Lab Leadership: Run our in-house labs for thermal testing and packaging durability testing. Design and execute experiments to improve ice production processes and test packaging strength (puncture, drop, and vibration resistance). Analyze results and use data to guide design improvements.
- Thermal Performance Testing: Build and lead a new thermal performance testing lab from the ground up. Select testing equipment, develop protocols in line with industry standards (e.g. ISTA thermal profiles), and conduct thermal chamber tests to verify that our packaging maintains required temperatures (e.g. 4 °C for 36+ hours) under various conditions.
- Sample Program Ownership: Coordinate and lead the process of creating and delivering product samples (e.g. frozen cold pack trials or packaged ice samples) for prospective customers in North America and Europe.
- External Collaboration: Serve as the primary point of contact for third-party labs and testing facilities.
What You Bring
- Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Material Science, or a related field with a strong grasp of thermodynamics.
- Industry Experience: 5+ years in packaging material science, packaging design, cold pack manufacturing ideally within food or pharmaceutical logistics.
- Technical Skills: Hands-on experience setting up labs, running thermal chambers, and using data loggers to drive product decisions.
- Standards Knowledge: Familiarity with industry testing standards like ISTA for packaging and thermal performance.
- The Startup Spirit: A builder mindset. You’re comfortable picking up a wrench, writing protocols from scratch, and adapting quickly when data shifts.
- Communication: Ability to translate complex engineering and technology concepts into clear insights for sales, operations, and leadership teams.
- Problem Solving: A natural ability to anticipate roadblocks and engineer solutions with limited resources and time.
- Leadership: Comfortable leading projects and mentoring junior team members or interns as the department grows.
- Mission Focus: A genuine passion for sustainability and a desire to see your work directly reduce carbon emissions and waste.
- Assets: Experience with CAD software for prototyping, a background in food packaging materials or automation, or a background in coolant chemistry.
Why You’ll Love Working Here
- Autonomy & Ownership: Work in a startup culture where you have real ownership, autonomy, and visibility. You’ll have the freedom to build out your domain and the responsibility to make it happen.
- Tangible Impact: See your work directly reduce food waste and CO₂ emissions. The innovations you lead in cold chain and packaging will tangibly decarbonize supply chains and improve sustainability, which you can feel good about every day.
- Growth & Vision: Grow with a mission-driven company backed by strong partners and investors. You’ll be joining at a mid-senior level in a critical domain, with opportunities to shape the future of cold chain technology at Relocalize. As we scale our network of micro-factories across North America, your work will be central to our success – and you’ll grow your career in the process.
Join us at Relocalize and help build the future of sustainable cold-chain logistics. If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and reinvent how we keep things cold (while saving the planet), we want to hear from you!