Senior Food Scientist

Job Title:

Food Scientist (Dry Blend/Seasonings/Breaders/Batters Experience Required) Job Description

The Food Scientist leads the development, optimization, and commercialization of food products and ingredient systems, with a primary focus on dry blends, seasonings, sauces, breaders, batters, and related value-added food solutions. This role combines hands-on bench-top formulation with plant-scale commercialization to deliver innovative, high-quality products that meet customer requirements, regulatory standards, and operational objectives. The Food Scientist acts as a technical expert and project leader, partnering closely with Sales, Marketing, Quality, Operations, Procurement, and customers to drive product innovation and continuous improvement across the product portfolio.

• Lead the development of new products and the reformulation of existing products within dry blend, seasoning, sauce, batter, and breading categories.
• Perform hands-on bench-top formulation, ingredient evaluation, prototype development, and product optimization to achieve desired performance and quality.
• Design and execute experimental trials to improve flavor, texture, functionality, shelf life, and cost efficiency of products.
• Develop products that align with customer specifications, processing capabilities, regulatory requirements, and margin objectives.
• Conduct competitive product evaluations, benchmarking, and ingredient assessments to inform product development strategies.
• Maintain accurate formulation records, project documentation, and technical reports to ensure traceability and knowledge sharing.
• Lead scale-up activities from laboratory prototypes through pilot and commercial production, ensuring smooth transitions to manufacturing.
• Collaborate with Operations and Quality teams to ensure successful implementation of new products and processes in the plant environment.
• Support first production runs, process validations, and manufacturing troubleshooting efforts to ensure consistent product performance.
• Evaluate processing parameters and identify opportunities to improve product consistency, yield, efficiency, and quality.
• Develop clear manufacturing instructions, process specifications, and product standards to support ongoing production.
• Serve as the technical lead for assigned customer and innovation projects, providing direction and technical expertise.
• Provide scientific and technical guidance to junior scientists, technicians, and cross-functional teams to build technical capability.
• Communicate technical findings, recommendations, and project updates to leadership and customers in a clear and concise manner.
• Participate in customer meetings and support technical presentations and product demonstrations to showcase capabilities and solutions.
• Ensure all formulations meet food safety, regulatory, labeling, and specific customer requirements.
• Work closely with Quality and Regulatory teams to support product documentation, ingredient approvals, and compliance activities.
• Assist with shelf-life studies, stability testing, and sensory evaluations to validate product performance over time.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives related to quality systems, product performance, and process efficiency.
• Manage multiple development projects simultaneously while meeting timelines and business objectives.
• Develop project plans, milestones, and resource requirements to ensure effective project execution.
• Coordinate activities across departments to ensure timely product launches and responsive support for customer needs.

• 7+ years of food product development experience, ideally 7-10 years; candidates with 5+ years may be considered with highly relevant formulation experience.
• Hands-on formulation experience with dry blends, seasonings, breaders, batters, sauces, or related ingredient systems.
• Proven experience taking products from concept through commercialization, including plant trials, scale-up, and manufacturing support.
• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, or a closely related field.
• Strong food science knowledge with the ability to apply scientific principles to product development and…