Associate Food Preservation R&D Scientist - Scale-Up

Kerry Group; Beloit (WI); On-site; USD 70,000 - 109,000; Full time

Job summary

Kerry is seeking an Associate R&D Scientist in Food Preservation in Beloit, WI to develop and commercialize preservation and freshness solutions, extending shelf life, improving safety, and maintaining quality. You will lead projects from concept through commercialization with close collaboration across teams.

The role requires a BS or MS in a related field and 1–2+ years of food industry experience in product/process development and commercialization. Travel up to 20% is expected.

Qualifications

• BS or MS degree in Food Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Bioprocess Engineering, Food Science, or a related field.
• 1-2+ years of experience in product development, process development, commercialization, or related role in the food industry.
• Experience with food preservation, shelf-life extension, food processing, and product commercialization.
• Knowledge of food chemistry, food processing, sensory evaluation, packaging systems, and food engineering principles.
• Experience supporting pilot plant trials, scale-up activities, and manufacturing operations.
• Strong troubleshooting, project management, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Self-starter with ownership, curiosity, and continuous improvement mindset.
• Willingness to travel up to 20%.

Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize preservation and freshness systems for food and beverage applications.
• Lead customer-driven innovation projects from concept to commercialization.
• Design experiments, evaluate products, and develop cost-effective solutions.
• Optimize existing products, processes, and manufacturing performance.
• Lead pilot plant trials, scale-ups, and commercialization activities.
• Support technology transfer with manufacturing teams.
• Develop and improve manufacturing processes such as fermentation, spray drying, filtration, centrifugation, homogenization, pasteurization, sterilization, and evaporation.
• Troubleshoot product and process challenges at pilot and commercial scale.
• Identify opportunities for process improvement, yield enhancement, and risk reduction.
• Collaborate with Regulatory, Marketing, Operations, Business Development, and external customers.
• Deliver technical presentations and project updates.

Skills

Troubleshooting

Project management

Communication

Collaboration

Ownership

Curiosity

Education

BS or MS in Food Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Bioprocess Engineering, Food Science, or related field

Job description

Kerry is seeking an Associate R&D Scientist in Food Preservation in Beloit, WI to develop and commercialize preservation and freshness solutions, extending shelf life, improving safety, and maintaining quality. You will lead projects from concept through commercialization with close collaboration across teams.

The role requires a BS or MS in a related field and 1–2+ years of food industry experience in product/process development and commercialization. Travel up to 20% is expected.