Senior Food Scientist – Formulation

Kelly Services; Charlotte (NC); Sur place; USD 57 000 - 95 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Medical, Dental, Vision

401(k)

PTO

Bonus potential

Résumé du poste

Kelly Services is seeking a hands-on Senior Food Scientist to join our Fort Mill, SC team on a direct-hire, full-time basis. The role focuses on bench-top formulation, spice blends, dry blending, and translating customer needs into manufacturable products.

You will lead development, evaluate ingredients, document results, and collaborate with R&D, Quality, Operations, and Sales to drive new and reformulated offerings. Travel is occasional.

Qualifications

• Approximately 7+ years of food product development/formulation experience.
• Strong hands-on experience with spices, seasonings, and dry blending.
• Experience performing bench-scale formulation and product development.
• Experience working with customer-driven product development projects.
• Strong understanding of food ingredients and their functionality.
• Ability to taste and evaluate food products and flavor profiles.
• Ability to independently manage multiple projects and priorities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams.

Responsabilités

• Lead hands-on bench-top formulation and product development for customer-driven projects.
• Develop and optimize seasonings, spice blends, dry blends, and related food formulations.
• Translate customer concepts and requirements into practical, manufacturable formulations.
• Conduct ingredient evaluation, formulation trials, testing, and product optimization.
• Work with internal teams to troubleshoot formulation and product performance issues.
• Support the development and commercialization of new and reformulated products.
• Evaluate products for flavor, texture, functionality, consistency, and cost.
• Document formulations, testing results, technical findings, and product specifications.
• Collaborate with R&D, Quality, Operations, Sales, and other cross-functional teams.
• Provide technical input and recommendations to customers and internal stakeholders.
• Manage multiple customer-driven projects while meeting timelines and priorities.
• Stay current on ingredients, food industry trends, and formulation opportunities.
• Support occasional customer visits, industry conferences, and other technical activities.

Connaissances

Food product development

Formulation

Bench-scale formulation

Spice blends

Dry blending

Ingredient functionality

Project management

Cross-functional teamwork

Taste testing

Customer-driven projects

Communication skills

Formation

Bachelor’s/Master’s in Food Science

Description du poste

Senior Food Scientist

Location: Fort Mill, SC

Employment Type: Direct Hire / Full-Time

Salary: Up to $95,000 annually, based on experience

Bonus: Potential 7–10% annual bonus

Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, PTO, 401(k)

Schedule: Full-Time, Day Shift

Travel: Occasional travel, including customer visits, industry conferences, and potentially company sites

About the Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced Senior Food Scientist to join the R&D team of an established food ingredients and product development organization in Fort Mill, SC.

This is a highly hands-on opportunity for a food scientist with strong experience in spices, seasonings, dry blending, and formulation. The successful candidate will play a key role in developing and refining customer-driven food formulations, performing bench work, and helping bring concepts from the laboratory into commercial production.

This position is opening due to the planned retirement of a long-standing team member who will remain with the organization in a limited consulting capacity, providing an excellent opportunity for knowledge transfer.

What You'll Do

• Lead hands-on bench-top formulation and product development for customer-driven projects.

• Develop and optimize seasonings, spice blends, dry blends, and related food formulations.

• Translate customer concepts and requirements into practical, manufacturable formulations.

• Conduct ingredient evaluation, formulation trials, testing, and product optimization.

• Work with internal teams to troubleshoot formulation and product performance issues.

• Support the development and commercialization of new and reformulated products.

• Evaluate products for flavor, texture, functionality, consistency, and cost.

• Document formulations, testing results, technical findings, and product specifications.

• Collaborate with R&D, Quality, Operations, Sales, and other cross-functional teams.

• Provide technical input and recommendations to customers and internal stakeholders.

• Manage multiple customer-driven projects while meeting timelines and priorities.

• Stay current on ingredients, food industry trends, and formulation opportunities.

• Support occasional customer visits, industry conferences, and other technical activities.

What We're Looking For

The ideal candidate is a hands-on food formulator who can step into the lab and begin developing products with minimal ramp-up.

Required

• Approximately 7+ years of food product development/formulation experience

• Strong hands-on experience with spices, seasonings, and dry blending.

• Experience performing bench-scale formulation and product development.

• Experience working with customer-driven product development projects.

• Strong understanding of food ingredients and their functionality.

• Ability to taste and evaluate food products and flavor profiles.

• Ability to independently manage multiple projects and priorities.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams.

Preferred

• Experience with batters, breaders, bakery products, sauces, meat systems, or other food ingredient systems.

• Experience taking formulations from bench development through pilot or commercial production.

• Experience with commercialization, scale-up, or manufacturing troubleshooting.

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, or a related discipline.

What Makes This Opportunity Different

This is an opportunity for a scientist who genuinely enjoys formulation and hands-on product development. The majority of the work is customer-driven, so you'll have the opportunity to solve real formulation challenges and develop products based on specific customer needs.

You’ll join a small, collaborative R&D team where your technical expertise will have a visible impact. The team is also growing, providing opportunities to take on additional responsibility and contribute to the development of the R&D organization.

The company is particularly interested in someone who can hit the ground running with bench formulation and dry blending, while providing some flexibility to expand into additional product categories over time.

Benefits & Perks

Medical, Dental, Vision, telemedicine, term life, whole life, accident insurance, critical illness, a legal plan, and short-term disability. As a Kelly employee, you will have access to a retirement savings plan, service bonus and holiday pay plans (earn up to eight paid holidays per benefit year), and a transit spending account. In addition, employees are entitled to earn paid sick leave under the applicable state or local plan.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Kelly is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants regardless of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and we take affirmative action to recruit, employ, and advance qualified individuals with disabilities and protected veterans in the workforce. Requests for accommodation related to our application process can be directed to the Kelly Human Resource Knowledge Center. Kelly complies with the requirements of California’s state and local Fair Chance laws. A conviction does not automatically bar individuals from employment. Kelly participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S.

Kelly may use AI-powered tools during the recruitment and hiring process. For full details, including how Kelly uses AI, your rights, and how to request a reasonable accommodation, visit the Recruitment Artificial Intelligence Notice.

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