PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SCIENTIST: $105,000-$130,000/YEAR + 12.5%
POTENTIAL ANNUAL BONUS **SHIFT/HOURS:** Full-time; schedule not specified
**JOB TYPE:** Full-time **LOCATION:** Ayer, MA
**POSITION SUMMARY:** Ajinomoto Cambrooke is seeking a Product Development Scientist to support the development of new and revised medical nutrition products. This position will contribute to product ideation, formulation, process development, shelf-life evaluation, clinical development support, ingredient research, and commercialization activities. The Product Development Scientist will collaborate with Medical Nutrition, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Quality, Regulatory, and other cross-functional teams to develop nutritional beverages and powder blends that meet nutritional, stability, sensory, quality, and patient-outcome objectives.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- - Co-create and execute medical nutrition product formulations in alignment with ACI?s strategic research and development roadmap.
- - Support the development of nutritional beverages and powder blends from concept through commercialization.
- - Apply food science and ingredient expertise to develop products that meet internal quality expectations and defined product specifications.
- - Support Leadership and Management teams with scientific guidance related to product development, clinical development, product manufacturing, and new ingredient or product initiatives.
- - Research and support the development of clinical evidence for existing and new products and ingredient compounds.
- - Participate in conferences, clinician meetings, and other forums to present ACI?s clinical evidence.
- - Collaborate with Medical Nutrition, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Quality, Regulatory, Supply Chain, and other teams to support successful product development and commercialization.
- - Build relationships with vendors to source ingredients that meet product specifications.
- - Define product requirements, including process needs, product characteristics, organoleptic attributes, and applicable claims.
- - Evaluate ingredient interactions within food and beverage matrices throughout processing and shelf life.
- - Design and monitor regular and accelerated shelf-life studies for nutritional products.
- - Develop shelf-life evaluation matrices that consider product composition, processing conditions, and other critical factors.
- - Apply nutritional modeling software and review primary scientific literature to support product development decisions.
- - Support the protection of intellectual property associated with products, processes, and ingredient compounds.
- - Ensure adherence to standard operating procedures related to product development, process development, and shelf-life determination.
- - Perform other duties as assigned.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- - Bachelor?s degree in Food Science, Nutrition, or a related field.
- - Minimum of five years of product development experience, including taking concepts from the benchtop stage through commercialization.
- - Minimum of five years of basic and applied research and development experience, preferably within a small- or mid-sized nutrition, food, or biotechnology company.
- - Experience with food or beverage formulation and the manufacture of nutritional products that meet stability, sensory, and nutritional requirements.
- - Expert knowledge of food science, including ingredient interactions and the impact of processing techniques on micronutrients.
- - Experience designing and monitoring regular and accelerated shelf-life studies for nutritional products.
- - Strong translational science background, with the ability to convert nutrition-science insights into consumable products.
- - Familiarity with FDA regulations and food safety requirements.
- - Understanding of human nutrition and the ability to review and interpret primary scientific literature.
- - Knowledge of macronut