Food Scientist II

westrockcoffeeexternaljobs; Concord (NC); On-site; USD 85,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

westrockcoffeeexternaljobs is seeking a Food Scientist II to drive development of new coffee and tea products from concept to commercialization. You will collaborate with sales and customers and guide cross-functional teams, documenting formulas, specs, and nutritional data.

The role requires at least 3 years in product development, strong sensory skills, knowledge of USDA/FDA regulations, and travel as needed to support customers and trade shows.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Food Science/Technology/Engineering or related field
• At least 3 years of Product Development experience
• Strong food science knowledge and sensory evaluation skills
• Analytical thinking with creative problem solving
• Experience with regulatory data (USDA/FDA) and SQF is a plus
• Proficiency with data management and lab records
• Willingness to travel as needed

Responsibilities

• Ideate and develop new product prototypes and optimize existing products.
• Improve product attributes and efficiencies through optimization.
• Maintain formulas, label development, production processes, HACCP, and nutritional data records.
• Participate in cross-functional teams to advocate for product development and cost optimization.
• Execute sensory tests and use analysis to guide customer-driven development.
• Independently complete project requests and provide usage recommendations.
• Oversee scale-up from bench to production trials and document parameters.
• Provide technical support to customers on product usage and specs.
• Travel with Sales for customer demonstrations and on-site support.
• Lead trade show planning and provide technical assistance in booths.
• Evaluate new ingredients and assess risk with cross-functional teams.
• Perform other duties outside core responsibilities.

Education

Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Food Engineering or related field

Minimum of 3 years of Product Development experience

Strong understanding of food science principles

Adept sensory skills and knowledge of sensory evaluation techniques

Analytical thinking and creative problem solving

Excellent PC/computer skills and data management

Willingness to travel

Job description

Working independently, the Food Scientist II is responsible for the development of new products across Coffee and Tea from concept to commercialization. Requires work with multi-disciplinary groups to innovate, optimize and customize food ingredients. Consults directly with sales and customers to meet expectations. This position reports to the Senior Product Development Technical Lead.

Primary Job Functions:

• Product Development
• Project Requests
• Commercialization
• Technical Support
• Raw material assessment
• Additional tasks or projects outside "core" responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

Product Development

• Ideate and Develop new product prototypes and optimization to existing products.
• Improve existing products by optimizing product attributes, efficiencies, etc.
• Develop and maintain accurate records related to the products such as formulas, label development, production process, HACCP, product specification, nutritional data, shelf life, etc.
• Participate on product development teams and cross-functional teams to be the Product Development advocate for internal initiatives, cost-optimization, and ops/qa support.
• Execute sensory tests as-needed, using internal software and statistical analysis to make recommendations for customers or drive development initiatives.

Project Requests

• Independently completes project requests as assigned on-time
• Provide application samples and usage recommendations, as needed
• Tracks project trends and optimizes processes for product development

Commercialization

• Oversee scale-up from bench to production trials, documenting accordingly.
• Develop processing parameters with current equipment for better efficiency and yields
• Troubleshoot trials and provide recommendations for corrective action

Technical Support

• Provide technical support to customers seeking product information and advice as it pertains to product application/usage levels
• Travel independently with Salesperson on customer demonstrations; work with R&D on site.
• Demonstrate knowledge of field protocols and procedures that support products and solutions to Westrock customers
• Provide comprehensive reports on complex data analysis and summaries

Trade Shows

• Serve as Product Development lead on trade show planning teams
• Provide technical assistance to sales in the trade show booth

Raw Material Assessment

• Evaluate, approve, and analyze risk of new or existing ingredients
• Evaluate new raw materials and conduct sensory analysis with a cross-functional group.
• Evaluate technical specification documentation for compliance with S&D requirements

Additional tasks or projects outside "core" responsibility

• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Food Engineering or related field or relevant industry experience.
• Minimum of 3 years of Product Development experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Strong understanding of food science principles
• Adept Sensory skills and knowledge of sensory evaluation techniques.
• Experience and knowledge with nutritional data generation and regulatory requirements from USDA and FDA as well as State and local health and food safety code.
• Knowledge of SQF quality systems and related requirements.
• Combination of strong analytical skills and creative thinking.
• Must have excellent PC computer skills and ability to manage data electronically.
• Self-motivated, outgoing, self-starter
• Must be hard working, reliable and accurate, and able to produce quality lab work at high work load.
• Must be willing to travel when needed.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Vets / Disabled