Sr. Food Scientist - R&D

Working independently, the R&D Sr Food Scientist is responsible for the development of new products across Coffee and Tea from concept to commercialization. Requires work with multi-disciplinary groups to innovate, optimize and customize food ingredients. Consults directly with sales and customers to meet expectations.

Primary Job Functions:

• Product Development
• Innovation
• Commercialization from the bench to production
• Cross Functional Technical Support
• Raw material assessment

Key Responsibilities:

Product Development

• Ideate and Develop new product prototypes and optimization to existing products.
• Improve existing products by optimizing product attributes, efficiencies, etc.
• Develop and maintain accurate records related to the products such as formulas, label development, production process, HACCP, product specification, nutritional data, shelf life, etc.
• Participate on product development teams and cross-functional teams to be the Product Development advocate for internal initiatives, cost-optimization, and ops/qa support.
• Execute sensory tests as-needed, using internal software and statistical analysis to make recommendations for customers or drive development initiatives.

Cross Functional Technical Support

• Provide technical support to customers seeking product information and advice as it pertains to product application/usage levels
• Travel independently with Salesperson on customer demonstrations; work with R&D on site.
• Demonstrate knowledge of field protocols and procedures that support products and solutions to Westrock customers
• Provide comprehensive reports on complex data analysis and summaries

Trade Shows

• Serve as Product Development lead on trade show planning teams
• Provide technical assistance to sales in the trade show booth

Raw Material Assessment

• Evaluate, approve, and analyze risk of new or existing ingredients
• Evaluate new raw materials and conduct sensory analysis with a cross-functional group.
• Evaluate technical specification documentation for compliance with S&D requirements

Additional tasks or projects outside "core" responsibility

• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Food Engineering or related field or relevant industry experience.
• Minimum of 3-5 years of Product Development experience, preferred in beverage and coffee
• Strong understanding of food science principles
• Adept Sensory skills and knowledge of sensory evaluation techniques.
• Experience and knowledge with nutritional data generation and regulatory requirements from USDA and FDA as well as State and local health and food safety code.
• Knowledge of SQF quality systems and related requirements.
• Combination of strong analytical skills and creative thinking.
• Must have excellent PC computer skills and ability to manage data electronically.
• Self-motivated, outgoing, self-starter
• Must be hard working, reliable and accurate, and able to produce quality lab work at high work load.
• Must be willing to travel when needed.