Senior Food Scientist - Formulation

Senior Food Scientist

Location: Fort Mill, SC
Employment Type: Direct Hire / Full-Time
Salary: Up to $95,000 annually, based on experience
Bonus: Potential 7–10% annual bonus
Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, PTO, 401(k)
Schedule: Full-Time, Day Shift
Travel: Occasional travel, including customer visits, industry conferences, and potentially company sites

We are seeking an experienced Senior Food Scientist to join the R&D team of an established food ingredients and product development organization in Fort Mill, SC.

This is a highly hands‑on opportunity for a food scientist with strong experience in spices, seasonings, dry blending, and formulation
. The successful candidate will play a key role in developing and refining customer-driven food formulations, performing bench work, and helping bring concepts from the laboratory into commercial production.

This position is opening due to the planned retirement of a long‑standing team member who will remain with the organization in a limited consulting capacity, providing an excellent opportunity for knowledge transfer.

• Lead hands‑on bench‑top formulation and product development for customer‑driven projects.

• Develop and optimize seasonings, spice blends, dry blends, and related food formulations
  .

• Translate customer concepts and requirements into practical, manufacturable formulations.

• Conduct ingredient evaluation, formulation trials, testing, and product optimization.

• Work with internal teams to troubleshoot formulation and product performance issues.

• Support the development and commercialization of new and reformulated products.

• Evaluate products for flavor, texture, functionality, consistency, and cost.

• Document formulations, testing results, technical findings, and product specifications.

• Collaborate with R&D, Quality, Operations, Sales, and other cross‑functional teams.

• Provide technical input and recommendations to customers and internal stakeholders.

• Manage multiple customer‑driven projects while meeting timelines and priorities.

• Stay current on ingredients, food industry trends, and formulation opportunities.

• Support occasional customer visits, industry conferences, and other technical activities.

The ideal candidate is a hands‑on food formulator who can step into the lab and begin developing products with minimal ramp‑up.

Required:

• Approximately 7+ years of food product development/formulation experience
  ; candidates with ~5 years of exceptional, directly relevant formulation experience may be considered.

• Strong hands‑on experience with spices, seasonings, and dry blending
  .

• Experience performing bench‑scale formulation and product development.

• Experience working with customer‑driven product development projects.

• Strong understanding of food ingredients and their functionality.

• Ability to taste and evaluate food products and flavor profiles.

• Ability to independently manage multiple projects and priorities.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to work effectively with cross‑functional teams.

Preferred:

• Experience with
  batters, breaders, bakery products, sauces, meat systems, or other food ingredient systems
  .

• Experience taking formulations from bench development through pilot or commercial production.

• Experience with commercialization, scale‑up, or manufacturing troubleshooting.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, or a related discipline.

This is an opportunity for a scientist who genuinely enjoys formulation and hands‑on product development
. The majority of the work is customer‑driven, so you’ll have the opportunity to solve real formulation challenges and develop products based on specific customer needs.

You’ll join a small, collaborative R&D team where your technical expertise will have a visible impact. The team is also growing, providing opportunities to take on additional responsibility and contribute to the development of the R&D organization.

The company is particularly interested in someone who can hit the ground running with bench formulation and dry blending
, while providing some flexibility to expand into additional product categories over time.