Looking to beef up its executive team before scaling, FoodEssentials has hired John Leighton as its new vice president of engineering. The St. Louis startup made the announcement Monday. “We have done really well with the team we have now,” said FoodEssentials founder and CEO Anton Xavier. “But it’s now time to level up and get some senior leaders in place as we begin to scale.” Xavier said the company expects to build a team of executives, advisors and board members before the end of…