Senior Formulation Scientist at Balchem Corporation in Bridgeton, MO

Job description

• The Senior Formulation Scientist position, within Flavors R&D team, will leverage scientific training and industrial experience to develop and scale-up new flavor products and systems for the food and beverage market. This position is expected to tackle projects with significant technical challenges, ensuring diligence in the development, scale-up, and commercialization of innovative products that deliver on business goals.
• The position requires a strong ability to work cross-functionally to set goals and timetables, drive innovation, and support commercialization efforts. Additionally, this individual will support both local and global strategies and business initiatives while providing technical expertise to internal and external customers.

Responsibilities

• Lead and champion a culture of safety across all activities.
• Drive product development, innovation, and novel applications in beverages, frozen desserts, bakery fillings, confections, and other food matrices.
• Lead the conceptualization, development, and commercialization of new beverage, frozen, confection, and other products and technologies.
• Optimize and validate the functional performance and sensory properties of various food products.
• Support the commercial team by translating unmet consumer needs into actionable science and technology strategies.
• Lead and support cross functional internal initiatives including, but not limited to, cost reduction initiatives, production efficiencies, and quality improvements.
• Provide technical leadership to address complex challenges, simplifying issues by focusing on critical priorities.
• Serve as a technical expert, solving broader business issues through science and technology strategies.
• Develop and execute experiments to create technical data supporting the business's commercial strategy.
• Design and conduct product testing, including sensory analysis and analytical testing, as well as review and analyze resulting data.
• Stay updated on emerging technologies and developments in the frozen dessert space, fostering strong relationships with customers, research institutions, and industry organizations.
• Represent the organization in customer meetings, presenting technologies and solutions effectively.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Sales, Operations, Quality, Regulatory, and Senior Management to achieve cross-functional business objectives.
• Provide high-level technical support to customers, sales teams, and internal departments on beverage issues.
• Deliver written and oral reports on project status, experimental results, and technical recommendations.
• Ensure the integrity of the R&D laboratory through accurate record-keeping, test design, and adherence to sanitary practices.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science or a related scientific field with 10+ years of relevant work experience or a Master’s degree with 5+ years of experience.
• Hands-on experience in the formulation, scale-up, and processing of beverages (juices, dairy beverages, energy drinks, etc), frozen dessert products (bases, variegates, coatings, etc), bakery fillings and/or confectionary products is preferred.
• Experience in UHT/HTST processing is preferred.
• Proven track record in product formulation, specification creation, commercialization, and new technology development.
• Expertise in formulation, including the use of flavors, stabilizers, acidifiers, sweeteners, and functional ingredients in beverages, frozen dessert, confectionary, and other products.
• Basic understanding of functional and sensory evaluation methods
• Proficiency with computer software, including MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook) and product formulation tools.
• Solid problem solving, data analysis, and evaluation skills.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across teams and departments, including Marketing, Sales, Quality, R&D and Senior Leadership
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects while delivering high-quality results.
• Commitment to continuous learning and staying current with industry trends and innovations.
• Demonstrated ability to work in and lead cross-functional teams to deliver innovative solutions and achieve commercialization milestones.
• Demonstrated history of delivering winning results.

Skills

Required

• Product formulation
• Specification creation
• Commercialization
• New technology development
• Product formulation tools
• Problem solving
• Data analysis
• Evaluation skills
• Written and verbal communication
• Project management and prioritization
• Continuous learning
• Cross-functional team leadership

Preferred

• UHT/HTST processing