Senior Food Scientist

Senior Food Scientist – Product Development

Location: Addison, IL

Compensation: $110,000–$130,000 base salary plus 10% bonus potential

Why This Role Stands Out

• Take ownership of a broad product portfolio spanning sauces, bakery, and snack categories
• Join a well-established food manufacturer with a strong and growing product line sold across major retail and foodservice channels
• Fast-paced environment where projects move quickly without the long lead times of large corporations
• Work closely with operations, quality, commercialization, and sales teams rather than being siloed in a lab
• Direct involvement in customer-facing activities including sales presentations, facility tours, and production floor prototyping
• Clear reporting structure with strong R&D leadership support
• Primarily onsite with flexibility for occasional work from home
• Competitive compensation with 10% bonus potential
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your family
• 401K with generous matching and immediate vesting
• Paid vacation, holidays, and a strong employee assistance program

About the Role

This is a senior-level product development role with broad ownership across multiple food categories including sauces, baked goods, and snack products. You will serve as a technical leader within the R&D team, taking projects from early concept all the way through commercialization while working cross-functionally with operations, quality, purchasing, and marketing.

This is not a research role. You will be on the production floor, in customer meetings, and actively driving projects forward on tight timelines. The environment moves fast and the expectation is that you bring enough experience to lead independently, mentor others, and make sound technical decisions without needing significant direction. If you have spent time at a large company where decisions take months and projects stall in committee, this environment will feel like a significant and welcome change. Your work here will be visible, impactful, and directly tied to what ends up on shelves and menus.

Responsibilities

• Lead product development projects across sauces, bakery, and snack categories from concept through full commercialization
• Develop new formulas, processing procedures, and product specifications for new items, line extensions, and reformulations
• Conduct shelf-life studies, sensory evaluations, and competitive product assessments across all assigned categories
• Identify process and formulation improvements using scientific experimentation and data-driven analysis
• Partner cross-functionally with operations, quality, maintenance, and purchasing to align on equipment, materials, and production feasibility
• Evaluate ingredients, suppliers, and co-packers in support of project objectives and company quality standards
• Provide raw material and formula data to support nutritional labeling and regulatory compliance
• Participate in customer-facing activities including sales presentations, product tours, and prototype demonstrations on the production floor
• Support cost reduction initiatives and product enhancement projects across the full portfolio
• Mentor junior R&D team members and provide technical guidance across projects
• Monitor competitive landscape and marketplace trends to identify new product opportunities
• Collaborate with commercialization and marketing teams to align product development with business priorities

Requirements

• BS or MS in Food Science or a related field required
• Minimum 5 years of product development experience in a food manufacturing environment
• Hands-on experience across multiple food categories; sauce, bakery, or snack experience strongly preferred
• Strong shelf life, formulation, and sensory evaluation knowledge
• Proven ability to lead projects independently from bench through commercialization
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, production-floor environment with shifting priorities
• Confident communicator who can engage effectively with sales teams, customers, and senior leadership
• Experience with Esha Genesis or equivalent nutritional software is a plus
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite
• Must be based onsite; this is not a hybrid role though occasional flexibility exists

Ready to Join?

If you are a senior food scientist who wants broad category ownership, fast-moving projects, and a seat at the table where your technical expertise actually shapes what the company brings to market, this is the role for you. Apply now and let's start the conversation.