Senior Food Scientist

Job Description

Schwan’s Company, a affiliate of the global lifestyle company, CJ Cheil Jedang Corporation, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of quality foods offered through retail-grocery and food-service channels. Our many popular brands include Red Baron, Tony’s, Big Daddy’s, Villa Prima and Freschetta pizza;
Mrs. Smith’s and Edwards desserts; and Pagoda and Bibigo Asian‑style snacks. Schwan’s is a place for people with an appetite for more.

We are seeking a Senior Food Scientist to join our Product Development team in Columbus, OH. This R&D role is responsible for developing and supporting our frozen processed meat portfolio including fried chicken and patty. You will have the opportunity to grow your technical leadership working with a cross functional team including Marketing, Sales, Operations and External Customers. You’ll be tasked with development of new, innovative products, renovating current products and improving operational efficiencies.

Technical curiosity and creative problem‑solving skills are a must for this dynamic and influential role.

• Opportunities for career growth with one of THE fastest growing food companies in the US.
• A culture focused on building trust, challenging assumptions, and continuous transformation.
• Great mentors and colleagues who will help you grow in technical leadership, project management and processes of Product Development.
• Bench‑top and ability to lead test runs at the plant to support project work and creative exploration; supportive and flexible environment.

• Uses chemistry, microbiology, engineering, and other sciences to study the principles underlying the processing and deterioration of foods; analyzes food content; discovers new food sources; researches ways to make processed foods safe, palatable, and healthful; and applies food science knowledge to determine the best ways to process, package, preserve, store, and distribute food.
• Provides advanced technical solutions to production issues as it relates to ingredient, formulas, processing procedures, and specifications to ensure continuous production of existing products and maintain product quality and safety.
• Develops experimental formulas, processing procedures, and specifications for raw ingredients, subassemblies, and finished products for product innovation and renovation that meet project parameters of established pricing, Marketing goals, food regulations, and operational feasibility.
• Organizes and manages complex test runs to validate or modify experimental formulas and processing procedures to develop final specifications and ensure reproducibility for the production of finished products and subassemblies.
• Establishes team and works with team members to ensure successful start‑ups of product innovation and renovation as well as ingredient, formula, specification, or process changes.
• Evaluates ingredients and processing techniques to identify and commercialize product improvement and cost reduction opportunities.
• Evaluates, confirms acceptability, creates/updates specifications and implements proposed ingredients or process for supplier optimization.
• Documents all work according to established procedures and guidelines, provides timely and effective oral and written communication and prepares various project reports to team and project leader to ensure complete communication of project status, progress, issues, solutions, timeline, and accountability.
• Supports innovation in the development of new ideas, new products or new product platforms through ideation sessions and bench top experimentation, along with the ability to effectively communicate the concept.

• Bachelor of Science or Master’s degree (. or foreign) or equivalent in Food Science, Meat Science, Cereal Science, Dairy Science, Food & Nutrition Studies, Biological Sciences, or related field, or equivalent combination of education and/or product development experience.
• Ideally 5+ years product development experience
• Solid knowledge and understanding of food ingredients, food chemistry, food processing, and food functionality
• Previous experience developing and manufacturing frozen…