Senior Research and Development Food Scientist

Status: Direct Hire

Job Title: Senior R&D Food Scientist

Location: On-site in McMinnville, Oregon

Salary: $120,000

About the company:

We are a company dedicated to creating high-quality, nutrient-rich bars designed to fuel your body and empower your lifestyle. Our bars are crafted with carefully selected ingredients to provide convenient, delicious, and sustainable nutrition for those who are always on the go. Whether you're looking for a healthy snack between meetings, a pre-workout boost, or a satisfying post-workout recovery, our bars are designed to meet the needs of active individuals. We focus on blending wholesome, clean ingredients that nourish your body and provide lasting energy throughout the day.

Our products co-build their reputation of having best-in-class protein bars in terms of taste, texture, and quality throughout the shelf life, resulting in consumer desire and high sales.

With our full-service solution, we bring your ideas to the shelves. Constantly pushing ourselves, our clients, and our creativity, we instinctively aim for better, healthier, and tastier.

Senior R&D Food Scientist:

Our client is seeking a highly innovative and results-driven Senior R&D Food Scientist who thrives at the intersection of science, creativity, and execution. This individual will bring strong product development expertise, a collaborative mindset, and the ability to translate consumer insights into commercially successful food products. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable in the lab and in cross-functional discussions, driving projects from concept through commercialization in a fast-paced environment.

This role is on-site in McMinnville, Oregon.

Senior R&D Food Scientist Responsibilities:

• Lead end-to-end development of new food products from concept through commercialization.
• Enhance existing products to improve taste, texture, nutrition, shelf life, and cost efficiency.
• Manage multiple R&D projects simultaneously, ensuring timelines, quality standards, and business objectives are met.
• Partner cross-functionally with teams across Marketing, Operations, Quality, and Supply Chain to support product launches and ongoing improvements.
• Conduct formulation trials, ingredient research, and technical problem-solving to optimize product performance.
• Collaborate directly with customers to translate needs into scalable product solutions.
• Support production and operations teams with troubleshooting and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Stay current on industry trends, emerging technologies, and consumer preferences to drive innovation.
• Ensure compliance with food safety regulations, labeling requirements, and internal quality standards.
• Contribute to cost optimization efforts through formulation and process improvements.

Senior R&D Food Scientist Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Science, Food Technology, or a related field.
• 3–5 years of experience in food product development within an R&D environment.
• Proven experience bringing new products from concept through commercialization.
• Strong understanding of ingredient functionality, food processing methods, and formulation techniques.
• Experience managing multiple projects in a fast-paced, cross-functional setting.
• Knowledge of food safety regulations, labeling requirements, and quality standards.
• Demonstrated ability to solve technical challenges and optimize product performance.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to collaborate across teams and with external partners.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• Experience with snack foods, protein bars, or confectionery products is a plus, along with familiarity in sensory or consumer testing methods.