Senior Food Scientist

We are seeking a highly experienced and innovative Senior Food Scientist to lead technical support and product development initiatives within a dynamic food manufacturing environment. This role serves as a critical liaison between cross-functional teams and customers, driving the development, commercialization, and continuous improvement of food products—particularly those involving yeast and chemically leavened formulations.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as a technical liaison for product development requests, ensuring clear communication with customers and internal teams.

• Lead product development projects by defining customer requirements, timelines, specifications, and prototypes, from bench formulation through plant scale-up and commercialization.

• Troubleshoot technical issues and provide customer-facing product presentations and demonstrations.

• Maintain accurate documentation, including lab notebooks, analytical measurements, project updates, and corporate communications.

• Research and develop new product concepts by staying current with industry literature, trends, and innovations.

• Supervise and mentor laboratory staff by assigning work, providing training, and coordinating development activities.

• Support trade shows and customer events through product demonstrations and technical expertise.

Minimum Requirements

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Cereal Science, Grain Science, or related technical field (advanced degree preferred).

• Valid Driver’s License.

Experience

• Minimum 10 years of food research/product development experience.

• Demonstrated expertise with yeast-based formulations in food manufacturing.

• Proven experience in chemically leavened product formulation.

• Grain science and cereal chemistry experience strongly preferred.

• Prior work in both retail and foodservice product commercialization.

• Hands-on experience with food manufacturing facilities, ideally including high-speed yeast risen production.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Proficiency in principles of food product development and commercialization.

• Strong project management skills and experience with Stage-Gate Innovation processes (preferred).

• Knowledge of GMPs and AIB standards.

• Strong verbal, written, and presentation skills; ability to collaborate across all organizational levels.

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects with competing deadlines.

• Self-starter capable of working independently with limited supervision.

• Proficient with Microsoft Office; experience with PLM systems a plus.

• Ability to travel up to 35%.

• Experience leveraging consumer insights to support marketing initiatives such as line extensions, renovations, and competitive gap analysis.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor laboratory staff by assigning work, training, and coordinating schedules.

• Act as a technical leader and resource for team members while contributing to hands-on project work.