Lead Sensory Panelist - Data-Driven Flavor Insights

IFF Inc.; South Brunswick (NJ); On-site; USD 69,000 - 99,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, vision and dental insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Parental leave

Paid time off and holidays

Professional development opportunities

Inclusive, collaborative workplace

Job summary

IFFE is seeking a Sensory Panel Leader, Product Experience Researcher I, in South Brunswick, NJ. This onsite role focuses on building and leading high-performing sensory panels to generate reliable descriptive data that informs product design and development.

You will recruit, train, and coach panelists, select appropriate methodologies with researchers and ensure data quality and traceability across projects. Strong communication and organizational skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Sensory Science, Food Science, Psychology, Consumer Science, Statistics or a related scientific discipline, or equivalent sensory experience.
• Hands-on experience with trained descriptive sensory panels.
• Understanding of sensory evaluation principles, descriptive methods and scale usage.
• Experience training, coaching or facilitating individuals or groups.
• Ability to identify panel-performance gaps and develop training or calibration.
• Strong analytical skills to evaluate data quality and reliability.
• Strong planning and project-management skills with attention to detail.
• Clear written and verbal communication, including constructive feedback.

Responsibilities

• Recruit, screen, train and onboard sensory panelists using established criteria.
• Develop panelists’ ability to describe, discriminate and quantify sensory characteristics.
• Lead ongoing panel training, calibration and consensus-building activities.
• Work with Product Experience Researchers to select methodologies and plan testing.
• Facilitate product familiarization and panel discussions with cross-functional teams.
• Coordinate testing schedules, panel availability and sample requirements.
• Monitor panel performance and data quality; trigger recalibration if needed.
• Support sensory data analysis, data maintenance and specimen traceability.

Skills

Sensory science

Panel leadership

Training

Data quality

Project coordination

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Sensory Science / related field

Tools

Statistical software

Visualization software

Sensory database software

Job description

IFFE is seeking a Sensory Panel Leader, Product Experience Researcher I, in South Brunswick, NJ. This onsite role focuses on building and leading high-performing sensory panels to generate reliable descriptive data that informs product design and development.

You will recruit, train, and coach panelists, select appropriate methodologies with researchers and ensure data quality and traceability across projects. Strong communication and organizational skills are essential.