Senior Beverage R&D Lead - Prototyping & Flavor Innovation

AXZEL Search Limited.; New Jersey; On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

AXZEL Search Limited partners with a U.S. ingredients and flavor business to recruit a senior beverage R&D leader.

This role heads the technical applications team, overseeing formulation and product development to deliver commercially relevant beverage solutions. The Senior Beverage R&D Lead will guide prototype development from brief to launch, mentor scientists, and collaborate with customers and internal stakeholders to meet business objectives across carbonated, juice-based, RTD coffee/tea,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, or related field.
• 15+ years beverage R&D experience.
• Experience managing technical personnel and projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead beverage application scientists and lab technicians.
• Coordinate priorities, resources, timelines, and deliverables across the applications group.
• Develop prototypes and concepts aligned with customer needs and commercial objectives.
• Design and refine formulations across beverage categories.
• Conduct lab trials, sensory testing, and technical validation.
• Collaborate with commercial, flavor, marketing, operations, and regulatory teams.

Skills

Team leadership

Project coordination

Beverage formulation

Sensory evaluation

GMP knowledge

Cross-functional collaboration

Technical mentoring

Regulatory understanding

Education

B.S. or M.S. in Food Science/related field

Tools

Pilot-scale processing equipment

MicroThermics systems

Job description

AXZEL Search Limited partners with a U.S. ingredients and flavor business to recruit a senior beverage R&D leader.

This role heads the technical applications team, overseeing formulation and product development to deliver commercially relevant beverage solutions. The Senior Beverage R&D Lead will guide prototype development from brief to launch, mentor scientists, and collaborate with customers and internal stakeholders to meet business objectives across carbonated, juice-based, RTD coffee/tea,