Sr Scientist, R&D - Product Development

Job Description

Sr Scientist, R&D Product Development:

Are you passionate about Food innovation and ready to make a significant impact on iconic brands? Join the dynamic and cross‑functional team at Kraft Heinz Research & Development as a Sr Scientist! We are seeking an exceptional individual to lead product development projects across both our Cream Cheese category and Kraft Heinz Not Co Joint Venture. The candidate will be leading and driving technical projects to meet business initiatives focused on growth, productivity, ESG, and brand maintenance.

As a Sr Scientist, you will have the opportunity to drive innovation, renovation, and maintenance of the brand, enabling growth, ensuring quality objectives and business continuity for Kraft Heinz. This technical leadership role will play a crucial role in shaping the future of our food solutions.

The candidate should have experience leading and executing business initiatives across dairy platforms while exhibiting a collaborative approach and applying innovative solutions. Strong communication and collaboration skills are essential in this role, which operates in a dynamic and cross‑functional environment.

• The candidate will independently lead product development projects from formulation through scale up and start up
• Responsible for commercialization of new and reformulated products and successful transition from development to production
• Conduct lab tests, pilot plant and large‑scale tests within manufacturing facilities to optimize formulation and/or process
• Manage technical timelines, provide clear and timely communication, raise issues and risks, and develop contingency plans leveraging strong project management skills
• Conduct appropriate testing and develop recommendations/contingency plans based on findings
• Work with cross‑functional teams acting as the lead product developer to drive execution across multiple projects
• Write specifications that deliver consistent, high‑quality products
• Act as a R&D point person for the manufacturing plant and assist plant operations with trouble shooting, design and/or product quality related issues. Support general brand maintenance to ensure business continuity across multiple categories as needed
• Interact with Operations, Center R&D, US Business Units, equipment vendors, Quality, Regulatory, Finance and Marketing to drive effective results
• Interface with all related technical experts and category scientists to understand technologies and applications
• Monitor emerging trends and competitive activities in their categories of responsibility
• Assist in scoping “fuzzy” front innovation ideas and participate/influence ideation sessions
• Mentor, coach and collaborate with other colleagues within and outside of your immediate team

• Bachelor’s Degree (Master’s is a Plus) – Dairy Science, Food Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Life Sciences or related fields
• Experience with cheese and dairy ingredients or products, formulations and manufacturing processes or dairy science education
• Agile mindset and knowledge of Agile commercialization practices
• Project management experience, technical expertise, and food science/processing knowledge
• Deep knowledge of commercialization processes and the ability to troubleshoot challenges
• Minimum 5+ years Product Development Experience with in a CPG or equivalent
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment
• Knowledge of consumer goods, food chemistry, analytical testing, formulations and processing used in food manufacturing
• Understanding of ingredient interactions/functionality
• Executional excellence and personal leadership
• Self‑motivated problem solver and the drive to deliver objectives in a complex environment
• Experience developing and executing work plans and driving for results in a variety of challenging and complex settings
• Excellent verbal and written communication
• Executional excellence, personal leadership and customer focus
• Ability to learn new products and processes quickly
• Willingness to travel up to 30%. Travel could include (but not limited to):
  United States and Canada internal plants, co‑manufacturers, and…