Director of Formulation & Innovation

Dairy Farmers of America; Springfield (MO); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Dairy Farmers of America is seeking a senior leader to drive formulation-driven R&D across priority dairy platforms, including beverages, cultured systems, sauces, cheese, and dry blends. You will translate customer briefs into optimized formulations, lead development from concept to pilot plant readiness, and guide cost-out and IP strategies to monetize the pipeline.

Collaborating with cross-functional teams, you will ensure speed-to-market, first-round sample acceptance, and scalable

Qualifications

• B.S. degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, Biological Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related discipline required.
• Master's degree is desirable.
• 12+ years of progressive food/Dairy R&D experience with leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead formulation development from concept through pilot plant readiness across dairy beverages, cultured systems, sauces, cheese, and other platforms.
• Translate briefs and objectives into executable formulation plans with clear success criteria and timelines.
• Own ingredient selection, benchtop development, iterative prototyping, and formula optimization.
• Use sensory data, analytical results, and end-use testing to meet taste, function, nutrition, processing, and shelf-life targets.
• Drive documentation and traceability for formulas, specs, and commercialization readiness.
• Define processing conditions and translate bench formulations into repeatable manufacturing processes.
• Monetize pipeline by prioritizing work for growth, margin, and customer needs.
• Lead or support cross-functional projects with Processing Design, Operations, Quality, Regulatory, Procurement, and Finance.

Skills

Formulation science

Ingredient functionality

Dairy chemistry

Sensory optimization

Applications testing

Commercial product development

Team leadership

CRM/Salesforce usage

Education

Bachelor's degree in Food Science or related

Master's degree desirable

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Dairy Farmers of America is seeking a senior leader to drive formulation-driven R&D across priority dairy platforms, including beverages, cultured systems, sauces, cheese, and dry blends. You will translate customer briefs into optimized formulations, lead development from concept to pilot plant readiness, and guide cost-out and IP strategies to monetize the pipeline.

Collaborating with cross-functional teams, you will ensure speed-to-market, first-round sample acceptance, and scalable