Food Scientist

Senior Food Scientist – This R&D and food safety technical leader is responsible for driving product research and development while ensuring the highest standards of quality and microbiological integrity. This role provides scientific oversight across formulation, process development, validation, and risk assessment, serving as the subject matter expert for regulatory compliance and quality systems. The position collaborates cross-functionally with Quality, Operations, Sales, Regulatory Affairs, and Supply Chain to support commercialization, continuous improvement, and risk mitigation.

Mid-States Specialty Eggs is seeking an innovative leader with R&D expertise, hands-on expertise in egg products and processing, and applicable knowledge of USDA egg products regulations, FSMA, HACCP, GFSI standards, and export compliance requirements. This role will focus on developing new products, reformulating existing SKUs, and collaborating with Sales to drive product innovation. The ideal candidate will have experience in food product development and a deep understanding of egg-based products, formulations, and requirements.

Position is onsite at our Sedalia, MO and Smithton, MO processing facilities.

Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a permanent basis. The Company does not provide visa sponsorship for this role.

Key Responsibilities:

Research & Development (R & D)

• Develop and refine egg-based products to meet market demands and customer needs.
• Lead formulation, process development, and optimization of liquid, frozen, and dried egg products and egg-based ingredients.
• Apply expertise in egg functionality (foaming, emulsification, coagulation, color, flavor) to meet customer and application-specific requirements.
• Provide technical expertise in egg processing technologies, including pasteurization, thermal processing, drying (spray, pan, or other), freezing, and stabilization systems.
• Evaluate ingredient interactions, processing parameters, and storage conditions affecting functionality, safety, and shelf life.
• Support development and validation of further-processed egg products, including blended, stabilized, enzymatically treated, or value-added formulations.
• Design and execute pilot trials, plant trials, and scale-up activities; evaluate processing impacts on functionality, microbiology, and shelf life.
• Reformulate existing SKUs to improve quality, cost-efficiency, or compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Work closely with Sales on product innovation projects.
• Conduct research on industry trends, ingredient functionality, and competitive products.
• Collaborate with production and quality teams to ensure successful product scale-up.
• Maintain accurate records of formulations, trials, and test results.

Food Safety

• Serve as technical authority on food safety and microbiology for egg processing, with emphasis on control, lethality validation, and post-lethality contamination prevention.
• Lead microbiological risk assessments for liquid, frozen, and dried egg products, including challenge studies and shelf-life evaluations.
• Review and trend microbiological data (product, environmental, and process monitoring) and provide technical guidance on corrective actions.
• Support development, review, and maintenance of HACCP, HARPC, and FSMA preventive control programs specific to egg products.

Quality & Regulatory Compliance

• Provide scientific review and approval of product specifications, process validations, and quality standards for egg ingredients and finished goods.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulations and standards, including USDA/FSIS Egg Products regulations, FDA/FSMA requirements, GFSI schemes, SQF, and/or exporting requirements.
• Support internal, customer, and regulatory audits; address technical findings related to microbiology, processing, and product quality.
• Collaborate with Quality and Operations on root cause analysis, deviation management, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Leadership

• Author and review technical reports, validation protocols, SOPs, risk assessments, and regulatory documentation.
• Communicate complex scientific findings to internal stakeholders and customers in a clear, actionable manner.
• Mentor team members and provide technical leadership across cross-functional teams with 4-6 direct reports.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Culinary Science, or a related field preferred.
• 8 years of experience in food R&D, with direct experience in further-processed eggs and/or value-added egg products preferred.
• Strong hands-on experience in creating and testing food formulations. Expertise in shelf-life modeling, challenge studies, and statistical analysis of microbiological data.
• Professional certifications (PCQI, HACCP, SQF Practitioner).
• Knowledge of food regulations, ingredient interactions, processing methods, and food safety systems.
• Demonstrated experience leading technical teams or complex cross-functional projects.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. It is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, or skills required. Employees may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities as needed.

Mid-States Specialty Eggs

Mid-States Specialty Eggs, founded in 2008, is a 100% employee-owned company. We work with more than 1,000 family farmers across the Heartland of America to provide more than two billion eggs annually. Mid-States Specialty Eggs prohibits the use of cages and goes beyond cage-free with outdoor access as a certified producer of Free Range, Pasture Raised, Organic, & non-GMO eggs. We offer more than a 100 different egg types and products in branded, co-pack, and white label options through 6 processing plants.

Mid-State Specialty Eggs offers cartons of in-shell eggs for retail shelves to bulk ingredient eggs for food service and custom specifications for manufacturing. We work with retailers, distributors, food service, commissary, restaurants, and food manufacturers to deliver quality eggs with the highest animal welfare standards of care. With leading product innovations and further processed eggs, we provide in-shell, liquid, dried, and/or frozen from pails and pallets to totes and tankers.