Job Description

Sr Scientist / Project Leader, Protein Beverage Commercialization - Indianapolis, IN

This is an exciting entrepreneurial leadership opportunity within an ultra-innovative category-defining food & beverage, functional foods and nutritional products company with new research labs and expansive growth plans. You will be charged with overseeing Product Development, Innovation and Commercialization of innovative protein-focused beverage platforms including ready-to-drink (RTD), aseptic and powdered protein beverages, coffee creamers and nutritional dairy-alternative products from product launch through to commercialization. Your overall roles and responsibilities will include:

• Overseeing Product Development, Innovation and Commercialization of protein-forward food & beverage products including RTD and aseptic protein beverages, powdered protein products, nutritional beverages and coffee creamers, and category-defining dairy and dairy-alternative beverage platforms.
• Partnering with marketing, scientific and technical core team members to define project scope, success criteria, and critical paths while maintaining Stage Gate methodologies from innovation, R&D, beverage formulation, process scale up, aseptic processing, sensory testing, product launch through to successful completion of post-launch reviews.
• Leading formulation, flavor development and optimization efforts for protein beverages, including taste, texture, stability, shelf life and nutritional targets.
• Understanding and leveraging the nutritional impact value of products, interpreting results and working with Marketing to further formulation-driven product development and renovation efforts.
• Effectively communicating scientific, formulation and processing concepts to technical and non-technical audiences at multiple levels to enable sound business decisions.
• Supporting manufacturing and operations through pilot-scale trials, scale-up activities and first commercial production runs, including troubleshooting and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Driving the success of Business Operations through project planning, cost awareness, cross-functional execution and contribution to KPI development.
• Serving as a key technical contributor within the product development organization, collaborating closely with R&D, Quality, Operations and Supply Chain teams.

Desired Skills & Experience

• 4–8 years of product development experience within protein beverages, nutritional beverages, RTD drinks, powdered protein products, dairy or dairy-alternative beverages, nutritional products or related food & beverage industries.
• BS or MS in Food Science, Food Engineering, Nutrition or related scientific field.
• Hands-on experience formulating and commercializing RTD, aseptic and shelf-stable protein beverages, including liquid and powdered formats.
• Demonstrated expertise in beverage formulation, including protein systems, emulsions, stabilizers, hydrocolloids, sweeteners and flavor systems.
• Experience supporting aseptic, UHT or ESL beverage processing, pilot plant trials and manufacturing scale-up.
• Project Management experience supporting beverage products from R&D and formulation through scale-up, launch and post-commercialization optimization.
• Scientific lab experience working with functional ingredients, nutritional components, flavor chemistry, sensory evaluation, emulsions and beverage stability a plus.
• Experience working within FDA, GMP, HACCP and CFR compliance environments.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to translate technical formulation and processing concepts into clear business-relevant insights.
• Self-motivated, collaborative and adaptable, with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, growth-oriented product development environment.

Job Tags

Similar Jobs