Sauce & Dressing R&D Scientist: From Bench to Launch

Hunter the Headhunter; Thornton Township (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Hunter the Headhunter is seeking a Research & Development Scientist to drive the development, commercialization, and optimization of sauces, dressings, condiments, and other liquid or semi-liquid foods in the Greater Chicago Area.

This hands-on role spans bench-top formulation, sensory evaluation, pilot trials, plant scale-up, and production launch, with collaboration across Operations, Quality, and Marketing to ensure flavor, texture, viscosity, stability, and manufacturability.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, or related discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of food product development/R&D experience.
• Experience with sauces, dressings, condiments, marinades, dips, spreads, emulsions, or similar products.

Responsibilities

• Independently formulate and develop new sauces, dressings, condiments, marinades, dips, spreads, and related products.
• Conduct bench-top experimentation, prototype development, sensory evaluations, and formulation optimization.
• Develop and optimize products for flavor, texture, viscosity, stability, appearance, ingredient functionality, and manufacturability.
• Support projects through full product development lifecycle from formulation to plant trials and production launch.
• Translate bench-top formulations into repeatable manufacturing processes.
• Collaborate with Operations and Quality during plant trials and production runs.
• Collect and analyze experimental data to guide decisions.
• Maintain accurate formulations, lab records, specifications, and documentation.
• Identify opportunities for ingredient optimization and cost reduction.

Skills

Food formulation

Bench-top testing

Sensory evaluation

Process optimization

Cross-functional collaboration

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Food Science or related field

Tools

Formulation software

Microsoft Office

Job description

Hunter the Headhunter is seeking a Research & Development Scientist to drive the development, commercialization, and optimization of sauces, dressings, condiments, and other liquid or semi-liquid foods in the Greater Chicago Area.

This hands-on role spans bench-top formulation, sensory evaluation, pilot trials, plant scale-up, and production launch, with collaboration across Operations, Quality, and Marketing to ensure flavor, texture, viscosity, stability, and manufacturability.