Dessert R&D Scientist: Formulate, Test & Scale

Kelly Services; Silverton (OR); On-site; USD 80,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Retirement savings plan

Paid holidays (up to eight per year)

Transit spending account

Job summary

Kelly Science & Clinical, a growing premium dessert manufacturer in the Silverton, Oregon area, is seeking an R&D Food Scientist for a full-time, direct-hire role. The candidate will join a lean R&D team to develop and improve dessert products, including pies and other baked offerings, and will work closely with production and quality teams to troubleshoot issues at the plant.

The role emphasizes hands-on formulation, product evaluation, and collaboration with cross-functional teams to bring

Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in food manufacturing, ideally in product development, R&D, or another role with direct production-floor support.
• Experience in bakery, pastry, dessert, or a related food category preferred.
• Practical baking skills and a good understanding of product quality and sensory evaluation.
• Strong critical-thinking skills, curiosity, and the ability to give detailed, thoughtful answers when solving problems.

Responsibilities

• Develop and refine dessert products through hands-on formulation, bench work, and production trials.
• Build and evaluate products, document formulas and results, and support product development projects.
• Work with production leads to troubleshoot product and process issues, including scaling formulas and recommending adjustments.
• Partner closely with Quality to evaluate new products, production deviations, and product quality.
• Use critical thinking and sound judgment to investigate problems, identify contributing factors, and recommend practical solutions.
• Help maintain accurate production and product information in the company’s ERP system during its transition to a new platform.
• Adapt priorities as needed to support day-to-day production operations.

Skills

Dessert product development

Critical thinking

Problem solving

Production-floor support

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science

Job description

Kelly Science & Clinical, a growing premium dessert manufacturer in the Silverton, Oregon area, is seeking an R&D Food Scientist for a full-time, direct-hire role. The candidate will join a lean R&D team to develop and improve dessert products, including pies and other baked offerings, and will work closely with production and quality teams to troubleshoot issues at the plant.

The role emphasizes hands-on formulation, product evaluation, and collaboration with cross-functional teams to bring