Sr. Scientist, Research - R&D

At Ferrara, Ferrero, Fox’s Burton’s, and The Fine Biscuits Company, we’re loved by people of all generations for the joy we bring—and that joy is crafted by our people. Join us and explore a whole world to discover, where your passion will find its place.

Today, Ferrara is the #1 sugar confectioner in the U.S, with global sales in more than 40 countries. Ferrara boasts a passionate team of over 9,000 employees around the world who deliver and create hundreds of iconic and beloved products.

In the U.S., more than 67 million households annually enjoy our popular brands like NERDS®, Brach’s®, Jelly Belly®, SweeTARTS®, Laffy Taffy®, and Trolli®. In Brazil, Dori has become a household name with snacking products that include brands such as Dori, Gomets, Pettiz, and Yogurte 100. And, in France, Carambar & Co have earned generations of loyal customers through the timeless appeal of iconic candy and chocolate brands such as Carambar, Lutti, Krema, Poulain, Vichy and Terry’s.

A privately held company, Ferrara Group is headquartered in Chicago. Ferrara boasts a network of over 30 locations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia Pacific that includes manufacturing, distribution, sales, and R&D facilities.

Due to the highly interactive and team-based nature of this role, in-person attendance for most of the workweek (i.e., 3 days or more) is essential for: effective communication including during in-person meetings, strong supervision, real-time problem-solving, and participation in cross-functional initiatives.

The Senior Scientist, Product Development, will make a direct impact on Ferrara’s innovation and growth agenda by leading the development and commercialization of new and improved candy products across beloved brands such as Nerds, Trolli, and Jelly Belly. This role is ideal for a technically curious, highly motivated product developer who thrives on turning ideas into market-ready products and delivering excellence across every stage of the product development lifecycle.

With responsibility for high-impact projects of meaningful complexity and scope, this individual will lead product development from concept through scale-up and commercialization, ensuring solutions are technically robust, consumer-relevant, and operationally feasible. Through strong cross-functional collaboration and disciplined technical execution, the Senior Scientist will help bring breakthrough innovation to life, optimize existing products, and support Ferrara’s continued expansion across the network.

Join us at a defining moment

This is an opportunity to play a critical role in shaping the products that will power Ferrara’s future at our new production site. We’re building the largest food manufacturing facility in our network in Orangeburg, SC. This is a bold investment that will set new standards for scale, technology, and efficiency.

• Independently leads innovation, renovation or brand maintenance projects with moderate to high complexity, owning the technical development plan and communication with relevant stakeholders, from initial concept development to scale-up to commercialization.
• Manages multiple priorities at a given time by engaging with Manager to effectively communicate risks and tradeoffs. Leads the creation of technical risk assessments for product development.
• Possesses a strong understanding of the innovation process and is able to apply effectively to drive projects forward in the commercialization process with executional excellence and on-time delivery of milestones.
• Applies technical problem solving for challenges of medium to high complexity to effectively manage risks and provide contingency plans to achieve success
• Develops new product formulas of a moderate to high complexity on a bench scale and effectively scales up to pilot plant and industrial plant scale to provide technical validation.
• Collaborates with Operations, Quality, Industrial Design, and Process Engineering staff to problem solve and suggest innovative solutions.
• Consistently utilizes technically sound methodology and problem-solving tools to design experiments and test new…