R&D Senior Formulator

Location: Santa Fe Springs, CA Salary: $95,000.00 USD Annually - $ USD Annually Description:
Senior R&D Formulator - Nutritional Bars
Position Summary

This senior-level R&D position serves as the lead formulation expert and technical champion for nutritional bar product lines. Based onsite, this role drives the entire product lifecycle from initial bench-scale concept through pilot trials to full-scale commercial production. This individual acts as a key technical resource for cross-functional partners and external customers, balancing product innovation, ingredient functionality, and cost optimization with large-scale manufacturing realities.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• End-to-End Product Development: Lead the formulation, development, and commercialization of innovative nutritional bar products from initial concept to commercial production.
• Process Scale-Up & Commercialization: Direct pilot plant trials, manufacturing scale-up, and technical transfer activities, ensuring seamless transition of formulations to high-speed production lines.
• Formulation & Cost Optimization: Design and optimize product formulas to enhance stability, sensory profiles, shelf-life, and manufacturability while managing cost-reduction and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Technical Leadership & Mentorship: Serve as the primary technical subject matter expert within the R&D division, providing hands-on mentorship, guidance, and training to junior formulators.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Operations, Quality Assurance, Regulatory, Procurement, and Sales teams to align R&D timelines with business goals and supply chain capabilities.
• Customer-Facing Technical Support: Act as the primary technical point of contact for customers during product development, addressing technical inquiries, scoping product requirements, and leading collaborative formulation discussions.
• Compliance & Regulatory Standards: Ensure all raw materials, active ingredients, and finished formulations strictly adhere to cGMP, HACCP, SQF, and FDA guidelines (including 21 CFR Parts 101 and 111).
• Advanced R&D Documentation: Maintain meticulous R&D records, manage product specifications within ERP/MRP systems, and leverage modern digital/AI-enabled tools to accelerate formulation workflows.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related scientific discipline. (Master's degree preferred).
• Formulation Depth: Minimum of 8+ years of hands-on formulation experience within the dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, functional foods, or OTC manufacturing industries.
• Nutritional Bar Expertise: Proven track record of developing and commercializing nutritional bars. (Direct experience with high-volume extrusion manufacturing processes is strictly required).
• Technical Scale-Up Mastery: Strong command of food/supplement material science, technical transfer protocols, stability testing, and shelf-life validation.
• Regulatory Compliance: Solid working knowledge of industry safety and compliance frameworks, specifically cGMP, HACCP, SQF, and FDA labeling/manufacturing regulations.
• Project Management: Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex product development timelines simultaneously under tight commercialization deadlines.
• Travel: Ability to travel approximately 10-15% (primarily for trade shows and industry events).

Preferred Skills & Attributes

• Master's degree in a relevant food science or scientific field.
• Active SQF or HACCP certifications.
• Experience utilizing AI-enabled R&D tools to drive data analysis, ingredient screening, or workflow efficiency.
• Strong professional communication skills with comfortable, executive-level customer-facing presence.

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