CD&D Beverage Scientist Alcohol - Erlanger, KY

CD&D Beverage Scientist Alcohol - Erlanger, KY
This is an exempt, salaried-level role.

Role Overview
ADM is seeking a Beverage Scientist to join our Customer Development & Delivery (CD&D) team. This is a hands-on role responsible for beverage formulation, scale-up, and innovation of alcoholic products, leveraging ADM’s diverse portfolio of ingredients, including flavors, sweeteners, proteins, and functional systems. You’ll partner with customers and cross-functional teams to develop tailored beverage solutions that align with market trends and ADM’s strategic growth. Ideal candidates bring strong food science expertise, practical experience in product development and processing, and a passion for turning ideas into shelf-ready products. This role is based in Erlanger, KY but travel is required to other ADM North American sites for project and scale-up work.

Role Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize formulations for a wide range of beverage applications, with an emphasis on alcohol products, using ADM’s ingredients (flavors, sweeteners, proteins, colors, etc.).
• Scale up prototypes and lead transition from bench-top development through commercialization.
• Independently design and execute experiments to evaluate ingredient performance and formulation stability.
• Serve as the technical lead on cross-functional project teams, collaborating with R&D, commercial, regulatory, and operations.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with external customers and internal stakeholders to align on product goals and timelines.
• Characterize ingredient functionality and proactively troubleshoot formulation or processing challenges.
• Support ADM’s innovation pipeline by identifying trends, applying food science and processing knowledge, and contributing to ideation sessions.
• Travel to ADM facilities and customer sites as needed to support project execution, pilot trials, and scale-up activities.

Role Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Food Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field. 
• Minimum of 6 years of experience in beverage product development, preferably within CPG companies, flavor houses, or ingredient manufacturers; experience with alcoholic beverage development is strongly preferred.
• Proven track record of beverage formulation, with working knowledge of key ingredient systems and processing methods.
• Strong understanding of food chemistry, including proteins, carbohydrates, and emulsions.
• Experience with beverage manufacturing processes, including pasteurization, homogenization, carbonation, and aseptic techniques.
• Familiarity with FDA food labeling regulations and nutritional claims, as well as TTB regulations related to alcoholic beverages.
• Excellent project management and problem-solving skills; able to prioritize and drive multiple initiatives forward.
• Competency in data analysis, experimental design, and technical reporting.
• Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills; ability to present technical content to internal and external audiences.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint); experience with formulation software is a plus.
• Willingness to travel up to 25% across North American ADM sites.