Senior Food Scientist

Everyday Dose

Austin (TX)

On-site

USD 70,000 - 90,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Wellness stipend

Unlimited Everyday Dose products

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Lunch provided Monday-Friday

Job summary

Everyday Dose in Austin, Texas is seeking an R&D Scientist to develop innovative functional beverage formulations. The ideal candidate will have 2-5 years of experience in product development, particularly in coffee formulation and functional ingredients. Responsibilities include hands-on prototype development, conducting stability studies, and running sensory evaluations. A Bachelor’s or Master’s in a relevant field is preferred. Competitive salary and benefits including wellness stipend and medical coverage are offered.

Qualifications

2–5 years of hands-on formulation and product development experience in functional food, beverage, or dietary supplement R&D.
Experience in coffee formulation and knowledge of functional ingredients.
Strong analytical and sensory evaluation skills.

Responsibilities

Develop new functional beverage formulations from prototype to production-ready.
Conduct analytical testing and stability assessments on products.
Design and run sensory evaluations to inform formulation decisions.

Skills

Hands-on formulation experience

Sensory evaluation skills

Analytical mindset

Knowledge of functional ingredients

Education

B.S. or M.S. in Food Science, Food Engineering, Nutrition, Chemistry

Job description

About Everyday Dose

Everyday Dose is redefining the daily coffee ritual. Our mushroom + collagen coffee blend helps people feel focused, calm, and energized without the jitters, crashes, or gut issues of traditional coffee. We're a fast-growing functional wellness brand with a loyal DTC customer base, an expanding retail footprint, and an innovation pipeline that's rewriting the rules of what a coffee company can make.

THE ROLE

We're hiring an R&D Scientist to work directly with the Director of Product & Innovation on developing new functional beverage formulations from benchtop through commercialization. This is a science‑forward role—analytical rigor, sensory methodology, and ingredient functionality are the core of the job.

Coffee formulation, sweetener systems, and flavor systems experience is a meaningful differentiator. We work extensively with complex functional stacks layered into coffee systems. We need someone who understands the sensory, solubility, and stability challenges that come with that. A food science degree is preferred but not required. Demonstrated bench experience and functional beverage knowledge are what we're actually evaluating.

What You’ll Do

Benchtop Formulation & Product Development

Hands‑on development of new functional beverage formulations from first prototype through stability‑validated, production‑ready formula
Develop and iterate on coffee bases across multiple SKUs: evaluate flavor profile, solubility, mouthfeel, and ingredient compatibility
Formulate around functional ingredient constraints with a rigorous understanding of how each interacts with a particular carrier system
Determine functional performance and sensory properties of ingredients in finished products using established analytical and sensory evaluation tools
Identify and execute cost optimization opportunities across formulations without compromising sensory or functional integrity
Build and maintain version‑controlled formulation records: batch sheets, trial reports, experimental write‑ups, taste evaluation records, and handover documents

Analytical Testing & Stability

Design and execute shelf‑life, stability, and oxidation studies across formats and storage conditions, flagging sensory, appearance, or functional changes over time and making data‑driven reformulation recommendations
Partner with Quality Manager and external analytical lab partners to collect data on nutritional content, microbial testing, and packaging compatibility
Prepare finished good formulas for costing, nutritional analysis, sensory review, and regulatory review ensuring accuracy of nutrition facts panels and ingredient declarations
Organize benchtop trials, pilot plant sessions, and shelf‑life testing timelines with cross‑functional teams

Sensory Evaluation

Design and run internal sensory panels—blind tastings, triangle tests, and paired comparisons, synthesizing feedback into actionable formulation changes
Evaluate competitive and benchmark products systematically: identifying taste, texture, and functional gaps our formulas need to close or beat
Support consumer lab testing (CLT) programs by preparing samples, documenting protocols, and interpreting sensory results for go/no‑go formulation decisions

Ingredient Research & Innovation

Stay ahead of the functional ingredient landscape, emerging adaptogens, novel delivery formats, clinically‑studied actives, and bring validated, evidence‑backed ideas to the innovation pipeline
Source and evaluate new ingredients: pulling COAs, reviewing third‑party clinical data, confirming certifications, and assessing sensory impact in finished product
Conduct competitive product benchmarking and ingredient research to identify formulation white space and emerging category trends
Assist with new product ideation and concept development, contributing both scientific rigor and sensory instinct to early‑stage innovation

Cross‑Functional Science Support

Work collaboratively with QA, operations, and regulatory teams to ensure commercial‑ready formulas are consistent from a sensory, food safety, and claims perspective
Communicate project status, formulation decisions, and technical findings clearly to the Director of Innovation and cross‑functional stakeholders
Travel as needed to partners for innovation sessions and prototype trials
Maintain GMP in laboratory and pilot settings, performing all activities safely and in compliance with food safety standards

Requirements

What You Bring

2–5 years of hands‑on formulation and product development experience in functional food, beverage, or dietary supplement R&D. Or a combination of formal training and bench experience that clearly substitutes for a degree
Coffee formulation experience: you understand sensory profile differences between arabica and robusta, spray‑dried vs. freeze‑dried instant, and you know how to build functional stacks around a coffee base without wrecking the flavor
Working knowledge of functional ingredients in wellness beverages: mushroom extracts, adaptogens, collagen peptides, L‑theanine, amino acids, and solubility‑enhancing systems (lecithins, cyclodextrins, emulsifiers)
Flavor and sweetening systems experience to compete with the best of them to bring delicious, functional products to market
Strong analytical mindset: you know how to design a shelf‑life study, interpret lab data, and turn sensory panel results into a clear formulation decision
Exceptional sensory evaluation skills. You can taste something and articulate precisely what's off and why, beyond “it doesn’t taste good.”
Organized and documentation‑disciplined: formulation records, trial reports, experimental write‑ups, and version tracking are non‑negotiable parts of how you work, not afterthoughts
Comfortable in a fast‑paced startup environment: fast timelines, shifting priorities, high bar for both taste and function, and genuine ownership of your work

Who Thrives In This Role

You get genuinely annoyed when a functional product doesn’t taste good. You believe taste and function are not a tradeoff. They’re a design challenge. You can hold a sensory opinion and an ingredient science perspective in the same conversation without losing either one.

You have opinions about coffee. You know the difference between a formula that’s technically correct and one that’s actually great. You’re the person who brings samples to team meetings without being asked, because you want real feedback from real people, not just data from a lab report.

You’re data‑driven but not data‑dependent. You can design a study to answer a question rigorously, and you can also make a good call based on sensory instinct when the situation calls for it. You document both, own both, and follow up on both.

Preferred, Not Required

B.S. or M.S. in Food Science, Food Engineering, Nutrition, Chemistry, or a related field. Equivalent experience is genuinely accepted. This is not a box‑checking requirement
Hands‑on experience with sensory panel methodology: panel design, triangle tests, ballot construction, and data analysis
Experience writing or reviewing regulatory‑facing documentation: nutrition facts panels, ingredient declarations, and functional claim substantiation
Experience with stability and oxidation studies, and working knowledge of accelerated shelf‑life testing methodologies

Benefits