Senior Food Scientist, Beverage

Position Summary:

Reporting to the Head of Customer Solution Center, the Senior Food Scientist will be responsible for the product development and innovation activities from bench top to scale-up of formulations in the Beverage category. The Senior Food Scientist will work closely with the company and culinary teams to provide solutions for customer projects. This position will support customers as well as the teams on-site or at their facilities within North America.

The ideal candidate for this position will have the ability to work with multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment. They will need to be able to work effectively in a team environment across multiple business units and teams, as well as be a strong individual contributor.

Position Responsibilities:

• Perform product development activities focused on developing carbonated and non-carbonated beverages.
• Manage the scale-up of bench top formulations to pilot plant and plant trials.
• Collaborate with ingredient specialists in the Cocoa, Nuts, Spices and Coffee teams to design best in class product formulations that exceed customer’s expectation.
• Design formulations for customer and trade show demonstrations that showcase current trends and new ingredient technologies.
• Develop formulations and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that meet the specific sensorial, stability, nutritional and regulatory demands of our customers.
• Conduct routine bench top analytical testing activities and interpret results. Communicate findings with the teams.
• Maintain thorough records of product formulations, specifications, and nutritional calculations in a database.
• Work with the ingredient suppliers to determine optimum ingredients for finished product formulations and evaluate different options on bench top formulas.
• Build insights based on development learnings to accelerate product development timelines.
• Ensure all product developments meet all required food and safety, consumer, and industry standards.
• Ensure all projects are completed within the budget and on time.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Position Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science/Technology, Food Engineering or a related field is required, Master’s degree is preferred. 
• Eight (8) years of experience in the beverage industry is required.
• Experience in the development and launch of beverage products beyond simple prototype development is required.
• Must understand the impact of plant processing and be able to design formulations accordingly.
• Expertise in product scale-up and commercialization from bench top formulations is required.
• Strong understanding of general sensory testing, including its application to product development, is required.
• Experience with the manufacturing processes, ingredients, and equipment is required.
• Strong written and oral communication and interpersonal skills to effectively work with external customers and colleagues are required.
• Ability to communicate effectively with Leadership is required.
• The ability to conduct experimental design tests and accurately report results to management is required.
• Strong computer skills are required.  Previous experience in the following systems is desirable: Microsoft office, SAP, CRM, Genesis, etc.
• Ability and willingness to travel 20%- 25% (subject to COVID protocol), is required.