R&D Scientist, USA

Nature's Path Foods; Oak Brook (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Nature’s Path Foods is seeking an R&D Scientist to lead new product development from early-stage idea through commercialization across our portfolio of organic and better-for-you foods, including a new state-of-the-art R&D lab in Oak Brook, IL. You’ll be one of the first scientists to help bring it to life and shape how we innovate in a brand-new facility.

Reporting to the AVP, Research & Development, you will drive hands-on formulation, scale-up, and cross-functional partnerships with

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Culinary Science or related discipline; or equivalent experience.
• 4+ years of new product development experience from idea to commercialization.
• Experience formulating better-for-you products, including USDA Organic products.
• Hands-on experience with food manufacturing and scale-up.
• Experience with cereal extrusion, baking and/or snack manufacturing is preferred.
• Experience with a stage-gate product-development process is an asset.
• Experience with a nutritional database is required.
• Familiarity with PLM systems, supply chain software, Microsoft Office and/or Asana is helpful.

Responsibilities

• Lead product development projects from concept and formulation through commercialization.
• Develop prototypes across multiple product categories and present concepts to Marketing, leadership and other stakeholders.
• Design and execute product development experiments, interpret results and recommend next steps.
• Stay current on emerging food technologies, ingredients, processing methods and industry trends.
• Improve existing products through ingredient, nutritional, cost and product-quality optimization.
• Translate bench-top concepts into commercially viable products and manufacturing processes.
• Lead plant trials, scale-ups and new product start-ups with company manufacturing sites and co-manufacturing partners.
• Establish processing parameters and work with Plant Operations to optimize production runs.
• Lead pre- and post-production reviews for new product launches.
• Travel to Nature’s Path manufacturing facilities and external partners for trials, scale-up and product support, up to 25%.

Skills

Food product development

Scale-up / manufacturing

Nutritional database

PLM familiarity

MS Office / Asana

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science or related discipline

Tools

PLM systems

MS Office

Asana

Job description

We’re looking for an R&D Scientist to lead new product development from early-stage idea through commercialization across our portfolio of organic and better-for-you foods. And the timing is pretty exciting: we’re just a few months away from completing our custom-built, state-of-the-art R&D lab in Oak Brook. You’ll be one of the first scientists to work in the new space and help bring it to life! Reporting to the AVP, Research & Development, this role combines hands-on product development with manufacturing scale-up, commercialization and cross-functional partnership.

What you’ll do

Lead product innovation

• Lead new product development projects from concept and formulation through commercialization.
• Develop prototypes across multiple product categories and present concepts to Marketing, leadership and other stakeholders.
• Design and execute product development experiments, interpret results and recommend next steps.
• Stay current on emerging food technologies, ingredients, processing methods and industry trends.
• Improve existing products through ingredient, nutritional, cost and product-quality optimization.

Take products from bench to production

• Translate bench-top concepts into commercially viable products and manufacturing processes.
• Lead plant trials, scale-ups and new product start-ups with company manufacturing sites and co-manufacturing partners.
• Establish processing parameters and work with Plant Operations to optimize production runs.
• Lead pre- and post-production reviews for new product launches.
• Travel to Nature’s Path manufacturing facilities and external partners for trials, scale-up and product support, up to 25%.

Build the technical foundation

• Develop formulations, product specifications, ingredient specifications, processing parameters and label declarations.
• Manage nutritional information and nutritional database entries for new and revised products.
• Coordinate third-party laboratory testing and partner with Quality on shelf-life testing and deviations.
• Maintain accurate product-development documentation and company systems.
• Apply working knowledge of food regulations, including USDA Organic requirements and California Proposition 65, while building knowledge of requirements in other global markets.

Partner across the business

• Serve as an R&D subject matter expert throughout the product-development process.
• Partner with Finance and Supply Chain to develop product P&Ls and assess commercial feasibility.
• Work with Supply Chain to evaluate alternative ingredients and suppliers while protecting quality and product performance.
• Create product samples for Sales, Marketing and leadership as required.
• Balance multiple development projects and commercialization timelines.

What you bring

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Culinary Science or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant food-industry experience.
• 4+ years of new product development experience, including taking products from idea through commercialization.
• Experience formulating better-for-you products, including USDA Organic products.
• Hands-on experience with food manufacturing and scale-up.
• Experience with cereal extrusion, baking and/or snack manufacturing is preferred.
• Experience working within a stage-gate product-development process is an asset.
• Experience with a nutritional database is required.
• Familiarity with PLM systems, supply chain software, Microsoft Office and/or Asana is helpful.
• Experience within a large CPG organization, high-growth food company or start-up environment is an asset.

Why this role

You’ll have the opportunity to influence products from the earliest idea through the moment they reach full-scale production, while helping shape how we innovate in a brand-new R&D environment built for what comes next.

$90,000–$100,000 base salary + 10% annual bonus