Dairy Technical Applications Lead

Saputo Inc.; White Bear Lake (MN); On-site; USD 89,695 - 117,725; Full time

Job summary

Saputo Cheese USA Inc. in Minnesota seeks a senior technical sales professional to act as the primary technical liaison among Customers, Sales, R&D, Operations, and Technical Services, driving customer satisfaction, business growth, and value creation.

You will lead customer-facing technical initiatives, translate product requirements into business solutions, and collaborate with Operations and R&D on product development, commercialization, and process improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, Chemistry, Engineering or related technical discipline required; advanced degree preferred.
• 7+ years of experience in technical sales, technical service, product development, R&D, applications, or related customer-facing technical role within food, dairy, ingredients, or CPG industries.
• Strong knowledge of dairy products, dairy ingredients, food manufacturing, and customer application requirements.
• Ability to translate complex technical information into business solutions for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Proven experience leading customer projects from concept through commercialization.
• Strong business acumen with ability to balance technical and commercial objectives.
• Experience collaborating across Sales, R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Quality functions.
• Excellent communication, presentation, influencing, and relationship-building skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary technical liaison between Customers, Sales, R&D, Operations, and Technical Services to drive customer satisfaction, business growth, and value creation.
• Lead customer-facing technical initiatives by partnering with customers to understand product requirements, application needs, emerging opportunities, and quality concerns.
• Partner with Operations and R&D to support product development, commercialization, process improvements, and product performance evaluations.
• Develop and maintain key customer application, performance, and market intelligence data to support business development and informed decision-making.
• Evaluate customer quality issues and opportunities, coordinating cross-functional teams for timely resolution.
• Support strategic customer accounts by providing technical expertise during visits, product evaluations, and new business development activities.
• Travel 30–40% to support customer visits, trials, and industry events.

Skills

Technical sales

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Presentation skills

Problem-solving

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, Chemistry, Engineering

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

Saputo Cheese USA Inc. in Minnesota seeks a senior technical sales professional to act as the primary technical liaison among Customers, Sales, R&D, Operations, and Technical Services, driving customer satisfaction, business growth, and value creation.

You will lead customer-facing technical initiatives, translate product requirements into business solutions, and collaborate with Operations and R&D on product development, commercialization, and process improvements.