Senior Scientist: Cultured Dairy & Fermentation

Dairy Farmers of America; Springfield (MO); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Dairy Farmers of America is seeking a Principal Scientist to lead the development of cultured and fermented dairy products—from concept through commercialization. This role emphasizes cottage cheese, yogurt, drinkable yogurt, and sour cream, serving as a technical expert across bench, pilot, and manufacturing environments.

You will mentor R&D teams and drive ROI, speed-to-market, and successful product launches.

Qualifications

• Advanced expert knowledge of cultured dairy and fermentation formulations.
• Strong ability to coach and share best practices with cross‑functional teams.
• Proven track record of leading product development from bench to commercialization.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of cottage cheese, yogurt, and cultured dairy products.
• Mentor R&D resources and influence capability building.
• Drive commercialization readiness and scale-up from bench to pilot to plant.

Skills

Cultured dairy science

Fermentation science

Dairy microbiology

Process scale-up

Analytical testing

Education

Bachelor's in Food/Dairy Science

Master’s/PhD desirable

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Dairy Farmers of America is seeking a Principal Scientist to lead the development of cultured and fermented dairy products—from concept through commercialization. This role emphasizes cottage cheese, yogurt, drinkable yogurt, and sour cream, serving as a technical expert across bench, pilot, and manufacturing environments.

You will mentor R&D teams and drive ROI, speed-to-market, and successful product launches.