Bakery R&D Scientist — Formulation & Innovation

Kemin Industries; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k match

Paid vacation and holidays

Tuition reimbursement

On-site fitness center

Health and wellness support

Job summary

Kemin Food Technologies is seeking an experienced R&D Bakery Scientist to develop, optimize, and validate bakery formulations. The role emphasizes enzyme usage, dough conditioners, mold inhibitors, and other functional ingredients to deliver commercially viable customer solutions.

The scientist will lead formulation development, ingredient evaluation, experimental design, and bakery application research while collaborating with Commercial, Regulatory, Quality, and Technical Service teams.

Qualifications

• PhD in Food Science or related preferred; master's accepted.
• 5+ years in bakery formulation or bakery R&D with bakery ingredients or CPG.
• Experience with breads, tortillas, cakes, snacks.
• Ability to design experiments and analyze results.
• Strong verbal and written communication; able to work in cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead bakery R&D projects focused on ingredient functionality.
• Develop, optimize, and validate bakery formulations using enzymes, dough conditioners, mold inhibitors, and other ingredients.
• Design and execute lab experiments, pilot trials, and production-scale validations.
• Evaluate ingredient interactions and impact on shelf life, texture, volume, machinability, and quality.
• Analyze data and translate findings into actionable recommendations.
• Manage bakery lab equipment, materials inventory, and documentation for a safe, organized lab.

Skills

Bakery formulation

Ingredient development

Experiment design

Cross-functional teamwork

Communication skills

Education

PhD in Food Science

Master's in Food Science/related

Job description

Kemin Food Technologies is seeking an experienced R&D Bakery Scientist to develop, optimize, and validate bakery formulations. The role emphasizes enzyme usage, dough conditioners, mold inhibitors, and other functional ingredients to deliver commercially viable customer solutions.

The scientist will lead formulation development, ingredient evaluation, experimental design, and bakery application research while collaborating with Commercial, Regulatory, Quality, and Technical Service teams.