Scientist - Pet Nutrition - Harvard, IL

Scientist – Pet Nutrition – Harvard, IL

Department/Function: Commodity Trading

Individual will be responsible for formulation and processing of pet food, treats and supplement solutions highlighting the company portfolio. Position involves a high level of collaboration with customers and ADM colleagues. A working aptitude in pet food, treat & supplement manufacturing processes is also a requirement for this position. The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate experience in formulation methods and ingredient functionality along with an ability to create quality products for customer evaluation.

The successful candidate will have strong presentation skills, be self‑motivated, agile and team oriented. Prior experience with product development in the pet industry is required. Knowledge of pet food & supplement regulations, labeling, and processing is strongly preferred. This position will be based in ADM’s Harvard, IL location. Individual will be required to travel to other ADM North American sites for project and scale‑up work.

The work environment is a combination of formulation, customer interactions, laboratory benchtop sampling, and supporting full scale production, while collaborating on continuous improvement projects for the business and the CD&D department.

Our team of product developers are responsible and accountable for bringing new products to life from ideation to commercialization. This includes innovative R&D, adapting customer preferences, optimizing formulation and processing, and managing products through the new product development process.

• Accountable for developing formulas for pet treats and pet supplements while fully utilizing ADM portfolio.
• Accountable for scale‑up of product prototypes through commercialization phase utilizing benchtop laboratory equipment and full‑scale production trials and first production runs.
• Accountable for independent design and performance of experiments including data analysis.
• Accountable for new product development launches including coordinating with all relevant interdepartmental and cross‑functional stakeholders, and for following established best practices of new product development.
• Responsible for leading complex projects involving coordination within the ADM function matrix.
• Collaborating with cross‑functional groups to ensure successful product launch and optimize internal processes, and support continuous improvement projects for the business and the CD&D department.
• Advise from a technical perspective on ingredient and formulation requirements, product performance, palatability, stability, and product analysis.
• Maintain up to date product specifications and processing instructions.
• Training and guidance of laboratory technicians.
• Responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with customers.
• Responsible for supporting ADM growth strategy initiatives.
• Be self‑motivated to challenge and drive R&D efforts by staying up to date on industry trends and proactively innovating pet solutions.

• Sense of urgency, acceptance of change, communication, technical knowledge, quality minded, collaboration, flexibility, teamwork, problem solving, dependability, curiosity, integrity and a commitment to safety.
• Bachelor’s of Science with 3 years experience in a pet industry role or Master’s degree with pet food research experience.
• Formulation Experience – Aptitude on formulation software such as Concept 5 or Brill. Understanding of pet food dietary requirements.
• Processing Knowledge – Understanding of pet food manufacturing processes, with a preference in bakery and extrusion technologies.
• Scientific Skills – Comfortable with basic scientific terminology, chemistry, biology, vertebrate physiology and intermediate chemistry and biology knowledge.
• Food Science Skills – Comfortable with basic food science principles, food chemistry, lipids, carbohydrates, proteins and processing principles.
• Project Management Skills – Capable of planning, organizing and managing the efforts to accomplish a successful project.
• Industry Knowledge – Basic knowledge of target industry including key companies, technologies,…