Principal R&D Engineer - Powder & Emulsion Systems

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.; Frisco (TX); On-site; USD 97,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental coverage

Vision insurance

Disability insurance

Paid time off

401k with company match

Tuition reimbursement

Mileage reimbursement

Annual bonus

Job summary

Keurig Dr Pepper is seeking a Principal Engineer to lead scale-up for powdered beverages, emulsions, and complex ingredient systems, ensuring robust manufacturing solutions from bench to pilot to plant production.

You will apply DOE, statistics, and data analytics to guide decision-making, mentor teams, and collaborate across Product Development, Quality, Packaging, Engineering, and Operations to accelerate commercialization while maintaining flavor, texture, and safety.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering (or related technical discipline).
• Advanced degree preferred for higher responsibilities.
• 10+ years of experience in R&D process engineering, process technology, or related CPG roles.
• Experience with powdered beverages, dry mix systems, emulsions, or complex ingredient platforms.

Responsibilities

• Lead process development and scale-up for powders, dry mixes, emulsions, and complex ingredient systems from bench to commercialization.
• Define material and processing requirements for powder flow, drying, dispersion, dissolution, hydration, and handling.
• Apply particle science, rheology, and first-principles engineering to guide decisions.
• Develop processing solutions for emulsification, stabilization, viscosity control, and shelf-life stability.
• Collaborate with Product Development to translate formulation intent into scalable process designs protecting flavor, color, and sensory quality.
• Define process-critical parameters, operating windows, design spaces, and readiness criteria.
• Lead risk assessments, pilot/plant trials, validation, and readiness reviews.
• Support plants and co-packers with capability assessments, startup support, root cause analysis, and corrective actions.
• Utilize data analytics and AI tools to improve trial design and decisions.

Skills

DOE experiments

Statistical analysis

Data visualization

Predictive modeling

Mentoring

Scale-up experience

Process development

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

DOE software

Statistical software

Job description

Keurig Dr Pepper is seeking a Principal Engineer to lead scale-up for powdered beverages, emulsions, and complex ingredient systems, ensuring robust manufacturing solutions from bench to pilot to plant production.

You will apply DOE, statistics, and data analytics to guide decision-making, mentor teams, and collaborate across Product Development, Quality, Packaging, Engineering, and Operations to accelerate commercialization while maintaining flavor, texture, and safety.