Principal Scientist, R&D - Consumer ; CX Product Insights

Position: Principal Scientist, R&D - Consumer Experience (CX) Product Insights
Job Description

Job Purpose

The Principal Scientist for CX Product Insights is the technical authority and methodologist for consumer experience research across an assigned portfolio within Product Insights. You architect fit-for-purpose CX learning strategies across the end-to-end product lifecycle, from front-end exploration and ideation through launch readiness, ensuring methodological rigor, evidence quality, and decision-ready synthesis that accelerates innovation and renovation. You translate consumer needs into clear product and packaging experience requirements, influence cross-functional teams toward consumer-centric decisions, and balance speed vs.

rigor based on decision risk. You elevate functional capability through coaching, playbooks/toolkits, and ways of working, and guide internal teams and suppliers to the right level of rigor for the decision 'll partner closely with R&D (Product & Process Development, Packaging, Sensory), Marketing/Brand, Insights, Analytics, Culinary, and external suppliers to ensure consumer learning is converted into practical product, packaging, and technical decisions.

Essential Functions & Responsibilities

• Provide CX technical leadership for the assigned portfolio/platforms, defining key information needs tied to business and technical decisions at each development milestone.

• Architect end-to-end CX learning plans (qualitative + quantitative) from upstream exploration to downstream validation, with clear decision framing, success criteria, and evidence standards.

• Serve as portfolio CX methodologist/SME-selecting, applying, and advising on appropriate methods across learning phases, aligning rigor to risk and timeline.

• Translate consumer learning into clear experience requirements that guide product and packaging development, including managing design tradeoffs and aligning on what success looks like.

• Lead high-stakes stakeholder readouts, synthesizing findings, tailoring storyline and technical depth for executive vs. technical audiences; ensure implications are clear, succinct, and actionable.

• Serve as technical consultant to the CX team on study designs, analysis plans, and interpretation for high-stakes readouts and gate/milestone decisions.

• Evaluate, pilot, and standardize emerging CX methods and analytics (including vendor capabilities), documenting best practices, limitations, and evidence thresholds before scaling.

• Coach and upskill scientists and partners through training, playbooks/toolkits, best practices, and consultative support, including shaping ways of working that embed CX rigor across the function.

• Audit vendor strategy and performance for the portfolio-capability matching, scoping, quality expectations, data integrity checks, performance management, and deliverable acceptance criteria.

• Lead multiple simultaneous work streams with strong prioritization, operating discipline, documentation, and stakeholder communication in a fast-paced environment.

• Provide continuity/backup coverage for the senior team as needed.

• Ensure compliance with data integrity, privacy, and internal research governance requirements.

Expected Experience & Required Skills

• Bachelor's degree minimum (Consumer Behavior/Psychology, Marketing Research, Engineering, Food Science, Human Factors, Industrial Design, or related STEM field).

• Minimum of 6+ years (BS), 5+ years (MS) or 4+ years (PhD) in consumer/product research, consumer experience, or applied insights supporting product development and commercialization-CPG or food & beverage strongly preferred-with demonstrated progression as a technical authority across multiple brands/platforms and vendor ecosystems.

• Recognized expertise across CX research methods (qualitative and quantitative), including end-to-end study design, instrument development, analysis planning, synthesis, and storytelling; ability to select methods based on decision risk and learning objectives.

• Proven ability to influence product and packaging innovation/renovation decisions by translating consumer needs into clear experience requirements and decision criteria.

• Strong technical oversight: expert scoping, critical review of study quality, and ability to QA…