Sr. Scientist – R&D Life Cycle

Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.; Springfield (MO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Dairy Farmers of America is seeking a Sr. Scientist - R&D Life Cycle to lead complex lifecycle workstreams from concept through launch.

You will govern opportunity intake, brief quality, documentation standards, and stage‑gate readiness while coordinating cross‑functional teams across formulation, process design, validation, and commercialization. You will drive KPI tracking, data‑driven improvements, and continuous capability development, ensuring robust formulas, scalable processes, and timely

Qualifications

• B.S. degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, Biological Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Business, Operations, Project Management, or related discipline required; M.S. and/or Ph.D. desirable.
• 6+ years of industry experience in R&D, product development, formulation, commercialization, or lifecycle management.
• Demonstrated progression in technical responsibilities and ability to lead complex projects or cross-functional workstreams with limited supervision.
• Experience developing or optimizing food and/or dairy formulations and leading or improving stage-gate, lifecycle, project management, resource planning, documentation, data analytics, or commercialization processes preferred.
• Food, dairy, ingredient, beverage, cultured, frozen, powder, filtration, aseptic/ESL/retort, or related manufacturing experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead medium-to-large lifecycle workstreams and/or multiple concurrent projects with ownership of lifecycle plans, timing, risks, governance checkpoints, and deliverables.
• Serve as a senior gatekeeper for assigned opportunities, confirming briefs, approvals, documentation, sensory reviews, technical validation, and commercialization readiness before projects advance.
• Review opportunity briefs to clarify customer needs, business value, technical feasibility, scope, success criteria, and timing expectations.
• Remove barriers by aligning R&D, sales, marketing, innovation, operations, QA/food safety, regulatory, procurement, finance, and business leadership.
• Set expectations and coach project teams on lifecycle discipline, standard work, documentation rigor, clean handoffs, and readiness requirements.
• Lead lifecycle‑critical systems, schedules, templates, dashboards, and project tracking routines to manage opportunity flow and resource allocation.
• Develop, maintain, analyze, and communicate lifecycle KPIs such as turnaround time, first‑round acceptance rate, scale‑up success, and ROI impact.
• Lead readiness reviews and post‑project learning to improve future speed and robustness.

Skills

R&D lifecycle management

Cross-functional leadership

Project management

Data analytics

Documentation discipline

Communication skills

English proficiency

Education

B.S. in Food Science or related field

M.S. and/or Ph.D. desirable

Tools

PLM

CRM/Salesforce.com

Job description

Leads complex R&D life cycle and formulation workstreams that require strong technical judgment, hands‑on product development capability, cross-functional influence, data discipline, process ownership, and commercialization readiness leadership from concept through launch. This role serves as a senior technical and process leader within R&D Lifecycle, helping govern opportunity intake, brief quality, project prioritization, formulation development, bench and pilot work, resource scheduling, documentation standards, sensory and sampling readiness, stage‑gate discipline, KPI tracking, and continuous improvement. The Sr. Scientist - R&D Life Cycle partners closely with formulation, process design and validation, pilot plant, sensory, innovation center, commercial, operations, quality/food safety, regulatory, procurement, supply planning, finance, and business leaders to develop technically sound formulas, remove barriers, improve first‑round sample acceptance, increase scale‑up and commercialization success, and strengthen the R&D operating system.

Job Duties and Responsibilities:

Lifecycle Leadership and Governance:

• Lead medium-to-large or complex lifecycle workstreams and/or multiple concurrent projects, owning lifecycle plans, timing, risks, governance checkpoints, and deliverables.
• Serve as a senior gatekeeper for assigned opportunities, confirming briefs, approvals, documentation, sensory reviews, technical validation, and commercialization readiness requirements are complete before projects advance.
• Review opportunity briefs in depth to clarify customer needs, business value, technical feasibility, project scope, success criteria, decision rights, resource needs, and timing expectations.
• Remove barriers for stuck or high‑priority opportunities by aligning R&D, sales, marketing, innovation, operations, process technology, QA/food safety, regulatory, procurement, finance, supply planning, and business leadership.
• Set expectations and coach project teams on lifecycle discipline, standard work, documentation rigor, clean handoffs, and readiness requirements.

Process, Systems, Scheduling, and Analytics:

• Lead and improve lifecycle‑critical systems, schedules, templates, dashboards, and project tracking routines used to manage opportunity flow, resource allocation, and commercialization readiness.
• Partner with the AVP - R&D Lifecycle and R&D leadership to prioritize work, balance workloads, maximize resources, and ensure the team is focused on the right opportunities and highest‑value work.
• Develop, maintain, analyze, and communicate lifecycle KPIs including sample turnaround time, first‑round acceptance rate, scale‑up success, commercialization success, documentation efficiency, project cycle time, resource utilization, and ROI impact.
• Use data and process observations to identify bottlenecks, resource constraints, recurring failure points, data quality issues, process gaps, and improvement opportunities across the R&D pipeline.
• Lead implementation and optimization of lifecycle‑enabling tools such as stage‑gate processes, pipeline approvals, development updates, formula/cost modeling inputs, ingredient databases, specifications, labeling workflows, and commercialization tracking.

R&D Formulation and Product Development:

• Lead and execute R&D formulation work for assigned lifecycle, renovation, productivity, customer, and innovation projects, including formula development, ingredient selection, benchtop work, pilot preparation, sample execution, and technical troubleshooting.
• Translate customer, business, regulatory, cost, nutrition, labeling, sensory, processing, and operational requirements into practical product formulas that can be scaled, manufactured, and commercialized successfully.
• Develop, maintain, and improve formulations, ingredient declarations, nutritional targets, cost assumptions, processing assumptions, and technical documentation in partnership with regulatory, quality, procurement, operations, finance, and commercialization teams.
• Support formula optimization, matching, reformulation, productivity, value engineering, raw material substitution, shelf‑life improvement, sensory improvement, and troubleshooting initiatives across assigned product categories.
• Partner with process design and validation resources to confirm that formulas, processing parameters, equipment assumptions, plant capabilities, and scale‑up requirements are aligned before trials and commercialization activities proceed.

Sensory, Sampling, and Commercialization Readiness:

• Provide senior lifecycle oversight for sensory science, sampling, customer‑ready development output, and stage‑gate readiness to help ensure samples meet product brief requirements before customer submission when applicable.
• Ensure matching projects and appropriate development work include sensory review before development begins and before matched samples are released externally.
• Confirm plant trial, scale‑up, and commercialization readiness across formulas, process assumptions, quality requirements, nutritionals, claims, raw materials, packaging considerations, shelf‑life needs, labeling inputs, food safety considerations, regulatory requirements, and customer deliverables.
• Lead readiness reviews and post‑project learning to improve future project speed, robustness, documentation quality, and commercialization success.

Cross‑Functional Partnership, Communication, and Culture:

• Act as a senior cross‑functional connector for lifecycle execution, aligning R&D priorities with customer needs, business strategy, operational feasibility, and commercial value.
• Facilitate project reviews, escalation discussions, action item closure, risk mitigation, and leadership updates for high‑priority or complex lifecycle work.
• Provide clear, timely, and relevant reporting to leadership on pipeline health, project status, capacity, risks, bottlenecks, wins, and continuous improvement opportunities.
• Coach Scientists, Associate Scientists, technical resources, and project participants on lifecycle process expectations, documentation quality, data integrity, and commercialization readiness.
• Promote a one‑team R&D mindset that balances speed, discipline, quality, food safety, regulatory compliance, cost, customer experience, monetization, ROI, and farmer‑owner value.

Continuous Improvement and Business Impact:

• Lead continuous improvement efforts that reduce non‑value‑added documentation work, simplify handoffs, improve project transparency, and standardize how work is initiated, developed, validated, and commercialized.
• Translate R&D priorities into operating routines, lifecycle standards, resource plans, training needs, and measurable performance outcomes.
• Contribute to mid‑and long‑term R&D capability development by identifying where process, systems, data, documentation, technical discipline, and commercialization readiness should be strengthened.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

The requirements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employee, but is not a complete list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required. Other duties may be assigned as required.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education and Experience

• B.S. degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, Biological Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Business, Operations, Project Management, or related discipline required; M.S. and/or Ph.D. desirable.
• 6+ years of industry experience in R&D, product development, formulation, commercialization, food manufacturing, lifecycle management, technical program management, process improvement, operations, or related food industry function.
• Demonstrated progression in technical responsibilities and ability to lead complex projects or cross‑functional workstreams with limited supervision.
• Experience developing or optimizing food and/or dairy formulations and leading or improving stage‑gate, lifecycle, project management, resource planning, documentation, data analytics, or commercialization processes preferred.
• Food, dairy, ingredient, beverage, cultured, frozen, powder, filtration, aseptic/ESL/retort, or related manufacturing experience preferred.

Necessary Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Must be willing to travel 15-25% (1-2 times per quarter)
• Strong knowledge of R&D lifecycle management, stage‑gate governance, commercialization readiness, project prioritization, technical documentation, and cross‑functional execution.
• Strong formulation and product development capability, including ingredient functionality, formula design, cost and nutrition targets, labeling inputs, benchtop development, pilot preparation, sensory evaluation, troubleshooting, and scale‑up support.
• Ability to translate strategy and business priorities into operating routines, process standards, schedules, metrics, and continuous improvement actions.
• Strong organizational, systems, data, analytics, project leadership, and process improvement skills.
• Ability to lead through influence across R&D, sales, marketing, innovation, operations, process technology, QA/food safety, regulatory, procurement, supply planning, finance, and business teams.
• Strong understanding of ingredient functionality, food safety by design, product specifications, labeling, nutritionals, claims, raw material qualification, sensory evaluation, shelf‑life, scale‑up, and commercialization requirements.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to simplify complex technical, commercial, and operational issues for leadership and cross‑functional decision‑making.
• Ability to balance a heavy workload, manage multiple priorities, identify bottlenecks, remove barriers, and drive action with urgency and discipline.
• Strong documentation discipline and proficiency with PLM, CRM/Salesforce.com, lifecycle tools, dashboards, spreadsheets, templates, and standard productivity tools.
• Collaborative, hands‑on work style with a "solve for yes" mindset; ability to coach others and influence without direct authority.
• Able to read, write, and speak English.

An Equal Opportunity Employer including Disabled/Veterans