Sr. Director, Science and Technology

TreeHouse Foods; Oak Brook (IL); Hybrid; USD 208,000 - 312,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) match

PTO & holidays

Tuition reimbursement

DevelopU platform

Inclusive culture

Job summary

TreeHouse Foods seeks a Senior Director of Science & Technology to lead the enterprise Center of Excellence, uniting ingredient science, processing, consumer insight, and product optimization. This leader will drive long-term technology strategies and practical solutions to accelerate innovation, improve quality, and enable sustainable growth.

The role is full-time and hybrid, based in Oak Brook, IL, reporting to executive leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science required.
• MS in Food Science, Food Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Material Science or related discipline preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive food industry experience.
• Demonstrated leadership of multidisciplinary scientific organizations.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership across ingredient functionality and processing technologies.
• Lead enterprise technical initiatives across product categories.
• Develop and execute a long-term S&T roadmap aligned with growth priorities.
• Partner with Commercial and Operations to translate science into scalable solutions.
• Foster a culture of learning, collaboration and continuous improvement.

Skills

Leadership

12+ years experience

Multidisciplinary teams

Food science expertise

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science

MS in Food Science or related discipline

Job description

Employee Type: Full time Location: IL Oak Brook Job Type: Research and Development Job Posting Title: Sr. Director, Science and Technology

About Us: TreeHouse Foods is a leading manufacturer of private label packaged foods and beverages, operating a network of over 20 production facilities and several corporate offices across the United States and Canada. At TreeHouse Foods, our commitment to excellence extends beyond our products and revolves around our people. We are investing in talent and creating a performance-based culture where employees can do their best work and develop their careers, directly impacting our mission to make high quality, affordable food for our customers, communities, and families. We hope you will consider joining the team and being part of our future. Named one of America’s Best Large Employers by Forbes Magazine, we are proud to live by a strong set of values and strive to “Engage and Delight – One Customer at a Time.” Guided by our values—Own It, Commit to Excellence, Be Agile, Speak Up, and Better Together. We are a diverse team driven by integrity, accountability, and a commitment to exceptional results. We embrace change, prioritize continuous learning, and foster collaboration, transparency, and healthy debate. Together, we set each other up for success to achieve enterprise-wide goals.

What You Gain

• Competitive compensation and benefits program with no waiting period – you’re eligible from your first day!
• 401(k) program with 5% employer match and 100% vesting as soon as you enroll.
• Comprehensive paid time off opportunities, including immediate access to four weeks of vacation, five sick days, parental leave and 11 company holidays (including two floating holidays).
• Leaders who are invested in supporting your accelerated career growth, plus paid training, tuition reimbursement and a robust educational platform – DevelopU – with more than 10,000 free courses to support you along the way.
• An inclusive working environment where you can build meaningful work relationships with a diverse group of professionals.
• Take advantage of opportunities to build on our team-oriented culture, such as joining one of our Employee Resource Groups.
• Access to our wellness and employee assistance programs.

Job Description

About the Role: We are seeking a Senior Director of Science & Technology to lead the enterprise Center of Excellence (COE), which is responsible for building and advancing TreeHouse Foods' technical capabilities across ingredient science, process technology, consumer understanding, and product optimization. This leader will serve as the company's highest level technical expert, driving long-term technology strategies while providing practical solutions that accelerate innovation, improve product quality, strengthen manufacturing capabilities, and unlock sustainable business growth. The organization will integrate Ingredient Technology, Processing Science, Culinary Innovation, Analytical Sciences, Consumer Research, and Sensory into one highly collaborative technical center supporting all business units. This role partners closely with Product Development, Packaging, Operations, Procurement, Commercial, Growth Unit Leaders, Quality, Regulatory, and external suppliers to translate scientific insights into scalable business solutions.

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership & Subject Matter Expertise: Establish enterprise-leading technical expertise across key product categories, ingredient technologies, and manufacturing platforms. Build recognized subject matter experts in ingredient functionality, processing technologies, analytical sciences, culinary innovation, consumer research, and sensory science. Serve as the organization's trusted technical advisor on complex scientific and technology challenges.
• Speed & Rapid Prototyping: Foster a culture of speed, agility, and experimentation. Develop rapid prototyping capabilities that significantly accelerate concept development, learning cycles, and commercialization. Simplify technical processes to reduce development timelines while maintaining scientific rigor and product quality.
• Emerging & Disruptive Innovation: Identify and evaluate emerging technologies, ingredients, processes, and consumer trends that can create competitive advantage. Build long‑term technology platforms capable of delivering breakthrough innovation beyond today’s business needs. Challenge conventional thinking and promote bold, science‑driven innovation.
• Technology Leadership: Develop and execute a multi‑year Science & Technology roadmap aligned with enterprise growth priorities. Translate scientific discoveries into scalable commercial solutions that improve product quality, manufacturing capability, and business performance. Establish the organization as a recognized leader in food science and technology.
• Customer‑Centric Innovation: Develop compelling customer showcase programs that demonstrate TreeHouse's innovation capabilities. Create repeatable frameworks for customer ideation sessions, rapid concept development, and collaborative innovation. Partner closely with Commercial teams to showcase differentiated technologies, product platforms, and innovation pipelines that strengthen customer relationships.
• Center of Excellence Mindset: Build enterprise capabilities that serve all business units through shared expertise, best practices, and standardized technical platforms. Promote collaboration and knowledge sharing across Product Development, Packaging, Operations, Quality, Regulatory, and Commercial teams. Develop enterprise technical standards that improve consistency, efficiency, and product excellence.
• Scientific Curiosity & Continuous Learning: Cultivate a culture of curiosity, learning, and continuous improvement. Encourage experimentation, external collaboration, and adoption of emerging technologies. Develop future technical leaders through coaching, mentoring, and capability‑building initiatives.

Important Details

• The anticipated compensation for this position ranges from $208,100 - 312,100 USD annually. This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, specific competencies, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue‑based metrics and business or organizational needs. For certain roles, the successful candidate may be eligible for annual discretionary merit compensation award, bonus and equity pay.
• This is a full‑time, hybrid role based in our Oak Brook, IL office.

Location & Contract

• Full time
• Hybrid based in Oak Brook, IL

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science required, M.S. in Food Science, Food Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Material Science or related discipline preferred
• 12+ years of progressive food industry experience
• Demonstrated leadership of multidisciplinary scientific organizations
• Deep expertise in ingredient functionality and food processing technologies
• Experience leading enterprise technical initiatives across multiple product categories

All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Applicants who require an accommodation to participate in the job application or hiring process should contact disability‑[e-mail]. We are committed to building inclusive teams and an equitable workplace for our employees to bring their true selves to work to help us “Engage and Delight – One Customer at a Time”. TreeHouse Foods is an Equal Opportunity Employer that prohibits discrimination or harassment of any type.

Company Background

TreeHouse Foods is a private label food and beverage leader focused on customer brands and custom products. When customers partner with TreeHouse they can expect access to an industry‑leading portfolio, strategic vision, on‑trend innovation and insights, world‑class supply chain, operational excellence and flexibility, collaborative approaches, and dedicated customer service. Our strategy is to be the leading supplier of private label food and beverage products by providing the best balance of quality and cost to our customers. We engage with retail grocery, food away from home, and industrial and export customers, including most of the leading grocery retailers and foodservice operators in the United States and Canada. Our portfolio includes a variety of shelf‑stable, refrigerated, and snack products. Customers can expect comprehensive flavor profiles including natural, organic, and preservative‑free ingredients in many categories and packaging formats. TreeHouse Foods is best known for food and beverages produced by our two largest businesses Bay Valley Foods, LLC (including E.D. Smith and Sturm Foods) and TreeHouse Private Brands. With more than 10,000 employees in over 26 plants across the United States and Canada, TreeHouse Foods is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.