Food Scientist II – R&D – Conway, AR

The Food Scientist II functions as the R&D Lead on New Product Development, and Technical Services Projects. They will lead the completion of complex projects from concept through commercialization with limited oversite. They will study and implement methods to improve the characteristics of food; such as flavor, color texture, nutritional value, ingredient functionality, and the physical, chemical and microbiological composition of products. The work will focus on one of our product categories; retorted ready to drink, coffee and tea extracts, roast and ground, with the expectation to cross train on all categories. The work requires interaction with multi-disciplinary groups to innovate, optimize and customize food ingredients and consults directly with sales and customers to meet expectations. Must be capable of training and on-boarding R&D personnel.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Applies scientific principles in research, development, production technology, packaging, processing , and ingredient functionality to develop and commercialize new food products, and to improve existing products.
• Understands and interprets concepts sand ideas accurately according to customer requirements and Company manufacturing capabilities; including design of new/improved formulations, testing schedules, prototype development, and scale up to commercialization
• Coordinates trial productions with operations, runs testing protocols, prepares and sends samples to internal and external customers for evaluation.
• Designs and conducts shelf-life studies, including product and package performance under various conditions and makes recommendations for appropriate adjustment in product and/or package development.
• Develops and maintains accurate records related to the products such as formulas, production process, HACCP, product specification, nutritional data, shelf life, etc
• Provide technical support to customers seeking product information and advice as it pertains to product Application/usage levels
• Functions are a Technical Mentor to less experience Team Members
  

Experience and education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science or related field. Master’s Degree Preferred
• 2 – 5 years experience performing product development and technical services in the food industry.
• Thorough knowledge of ingredient functionality
• Adept Sensory skills and knowledge of sensory evaluation techniques
• Experience with nutritional data generation and regulatory requirements
• Knowledge of Food Safety Principles and systems
• Combination of strong analytical skills and creative thinking
• A high degree of discretion is required.