Principal Scientist - Fresh Food Product Development

Principal Scientist
- Fresh Food Product Development

A part of Colgate-Palmolive since 1976, Hill's Pet Nutrition offers the highest-quality pet nutrition available through product lines Prescription Diet® and Science Diet®. Veterinarians worldwide recommend and feed their own pets Hill's products more than any other brand of pet food. Available in approximately 80 countries around the world, our extensive line of products includes more than 60 Prescription Diet brand pet foods and more than 50 Science Diet brand pet foods.

We believe all animals should be loved and cared for during their lifetimes. That is why we are proud our pet foods can make a difference in your pet's life. A career at Hill's Pet Nutrition or Colgate-Palmolive is an excellent opportunity if you seek a global experience, constant challenge, and development opportunities in an environment that respects work/life effectiveness.

Role

Summary:

As the Principal Scientist
- Product Development, you will report into Hill's R&D in Topeka, KS, leading the technical product design strategy for our high-growth fresh pet food innovation category. This role offers the unique opportunity to anchor a brand-new category frontier for the US #1 Veterinarian Recommended pet food brand, pioneering next-generation food forms, textures, and delivery systems. The single most important objective of this position is to serve as the primary technical Subject Matter Expert (SME), masterfully bridging food science and process engineering to deliver robust, scalable, and standard-setting fresh food solutions.

Responsibilities:

• Technical Lead & Category Innovation:
  Serve as the primary technical lead and SME to drive the product design strategy for novel food forms and breakthrough offerings within the fresh pet food category.
• Process Engineering & Line Optimization:
  Direct the design, testing, and validation of production processes to optimize manufacturing lines, improve scale-up success, and ensure commercial viability.
• Cross-Functional Scale-Up & Validation:
  Partner closely with Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, and Ingredient Procurement to deliver robust product designs. Oversee pilot and full-scale plant trials, validating product safety, quality, shelf-life, and palatability performance.
• Documentation & Regulatory Compliance:
  Oversee the commercial formulation documentation, define raw material and finished product specifications, and support intellectual property or patent filings in compliance with regulatory safety standards.

Required Qualifications:

• Education:
  
  Master's degree (MS) in Food Science, Food Engineering, or a closely related scientific field.
• Experience:
  
  8+ years of food industry product development or process engineering experience.
• Commercialization Track Record:
  Demonstrated track record of successfully commercializing complex food products from concept through full-scale industrial manufacturing.
• Technical Mastery:
  Deep technical mastery of both formulation design (food science) and manufacturing technology (process engineering) identifiable from previous project history.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced Degree:
  Ph.D. in Food Science, Food Engineering, or a related scientific field.
• Target Category Expertise:
  Direct technical experience in the human Ready-to-Eat (RTE) food category, fresh-prepared food manufacturing, or chilled/cold-chain food distribution networks.
• Preservation Expertise:
  Strong functional capability in fresh food preservation techniques, moisture management, and microbiological control in high-moisture environments.
• Technical Leadership &
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Proven competency in guiding, mentoring, or functionally leading technical teams of scientists while driving alignment across cross-functional business priorities.
• Functional
  
  Competencies:
  
  Advanced capability in core functional areas including Product Design, Technological Innovation, and Technology Fundamentals.

Compensation and Benefits Salary Range $ - $ USD Pay is determined based on experience, qualifications, and location. Salaried employees may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses, profit-sharing, and long-term incentives for Executive-level roles. Benefits:
Salarie…