Principle Scientist

Kerry Group; Naas; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Kerry Group in Ireland seeks a Principal Scientist (Bakery Enzymes) to lead development of bakery enzyme technologies and optimize current portfolio. You will design, evaluate and scale enzyme solutions with cross-functional teams to deliver customer-ready innovations.

The role emphasizes enzyme characterization, data-driven decision making, and collaboration across Product, R&D, IP, Regulatory, Quality and Commercial teams to drive commercial growth in a fast-paced enzyme business.

Qualifications

• Experience in R&D within Biotechnology or Food Science industry.
• Deep expertise in Bakery enzymes and mode of action, and understanding customer use cases.

Responsibilities

• Identify and prioritize opportunities to develop new technologies for multiple EUMs that capitalize on the strengths of our Bakery enzyme portfolio.
• Lead cross-functional partnership with global application teams to embed strong ways of working, ensure alignment, and enable effective regional collaboration supporting business growth.
• Generate and oversee analytical data packages that substantiate the technical value proposition of current and future technologies, including development of new analytical techniques where relevant.
• Lead the design, screening, and optimization of enzyme systems through hands-on characterization, activity and stability assessment, formulation development, functionality evaluation in application, and determination of mode of action and kinetic properties.
• Lead analysis of complex datasets, interpret experimental results, and deliver clear, evidence-based technical reports and presentations to internal and external stakeholders.
• Translate scientific insights into practical, scalable solutions for customers and industry partners, ensuring alignment with broader portfolio strategy.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional experts in Product Line Management, R&D, IP, Regulatory, Quality, and Commercial teams to deliver science-backed, customer-focused enzyme solutions.

Skills

R&D experience

Bakery enzymes

Biotech passion

Enzyme characterization

Bakery enzyme analytics

Cross-functional teamwork

Data analysis

Multitasking

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Biotechnology/Food Science

Job description

Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

About the role

Are you excited by biotechnology and enzyme science, and driven to create next ‑ generation nutritional and functional solutions? Do you have significant experience in enzymology and in applying enzymes within the food and beverage industry?

We’re seeking a Principal Scientist (Bakery Enzymes) to join our high ‑ performance Enzymes Application Team in Naas.

This role is centred on maximizing value generation from our current Bakery enzyme portfolio, while leading the ideation and development of next ‑ generation Bakery enzyme technologies that will fuel future business growth. You’ll design and optimize enzyme solutions that elevate our performance and value creation in Bakery, leading experimental design, analytical assessments, and formulation improvements that translate into robust, customer ‑ ready solutions. Working closely with cross ‑ functional teams, you will ensure the generation of credible, customer ‑ relevant data that underpins compelling technical value propositions for both the current portfolio and emerging technologies.

Sitting at the intersection of biotechnology & the food and beverage industry this role is ideal for someone who wants to shape next ‑ generation enzyme technologies for global markets and thrives in a dynamic, fast ‑ paced environment driving significant commercial impact in a fast growing enzyme business.

Key responsibilities

• Identify and prioritize opportunities to develop new technologies for multiple EUMs that capitalize on the strengths of our Bakery enzyme portfolio.
• This role will be responsible for leading cross ‑ functional partnership with global application teams to embed strong ways of working, ensure alignment, and enable effective regional collaboration supporting business growth.
• Generate and oversee analytical data packages that substantiate the technical value proposition of current and future technologies, including development of new analytical techniques where relevant.
• Lead the design, screening, and optimization of enzyme systems through hands ‑ on characterization, activity and stability assessment, formulation development, functionality evaluation in application, and determination of mode of action and kinetic properties.
• Lead analysis of complex datasets, interpret experimental results, and deliver clear, evidence ‑ based technical reports and presentations to internal and external stakeholders.
• Translate scientific insights into practical, scalable solutions for customers and industry partners, ensuring alignment with broader portfolio strategy.
• Collaborate closely with cross ‑ functional experts in Product Line Management, R&D, IP, Regulatory, Quality, and Commercial teams to deliver science ‑ backed, customer ‑ focused enzyme solutions.

Qualifications and skills

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Biotechnology, Food Science, or related field. PhD preferable but not essential.
• Experience in R&D within the Biotechnology or Food Science industry highly preferable.
• This role requires deep expertise in Bakery enzymes — including a strong understanding of existing market technologies, how they work, and their mode of action — as well as clear insight into why customers use Bakery Enzymes and the production challenges they face.
• A genuine curiosity and passion for biotechnology, with a drive to shape the future of innovation in the food and beverage industry.
• Experience in enzyme characterisation, including development, optimization, and interpretation of enzyme assays and analytical methodologies. Experience with Bakery enzymes and bakery ‑ related enzyme performance analytics & applications is highly desirable.
• A strong ability to work cross functionally in a proactive manner with global applications teams to ensure alignment and impactful ways of working.
• Ability to analyse complex datasets, extract meaningful insights, and translate them into clear, actionable recommendations for stakeholders.
• Comfortable working at speed across multiple projects, coordinating stakeholders, and ensuring timely, high ‑ quality delivery of results