Food Scientist

Job Description This Food Scientist role focuses on driving product innovation, customer collaboration, and commercialization within a food manufacturing environment. You will combine hands-on formulation work with direct customer interaction to develop solutions that align with market trends, customer requirements, and business objectives. This position is ideal for someone who enjoys both the technical aspects of product development and the relationship-building involved in working with customers, suppliers, and cross-functional teams. Responsibilities Develop and optimize food formulations for new and existing products, ensuring they meet performance, quality, and cost targets.Partner directly with customers to understand product goals, ingredient requirements, nutritional targets, and labeling needs, and translate these into practical formulation solutions.Support customer presentations and technical discussions by providing clear, science-based explanations of formulations, processes, and product performance.Collaborate closely with Sales to provide technical expertise, recommendations, and timely project updates that support business development efforts.Evaluate ingredients, suppliers, and emerging technologies to support innovation and continuous improvement in product offerings.Conduct bench-top development and product testing to refine formulations and validate product performance.Lead or support scale-up activities from lab to plant, ensuring formulations and processes translate effectively to full production.Coordinate and execute plant trials, collect and analyze data, and support commercialization efforts to ensure successful product launches.Troubleshoot formulation, processing, and quality challenges, recommending and implementing corrective actions.Support nutrition, labeling, and regulatory compliance activities to ensure products meet internal standards and external requirements.Monitor market trends, consumer preferences, and competitive activity to identify opportunities for new products and business growth.Manage multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment, balancing technical rigor with timelines and business priorities.Build and maintain strong relationships with internal teams, customers, and suppliers to foster collaboration and trust. Additional Skills & Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Food Science or a related scientific discipline.1–5 years of experience in product development, research and development (R&D), applications, or food manufacturing.Strong understanding of food formulation, ingredient functionality, and commercialization processes.Experience with gummy or soft chew candy formulation or similar confectionery products.Hands-on experience in new product development and R&D within a food manufacturing environment.Ability to lead and manage multiple projects in a fast-paced setting while maintaining attention to detail.Comfort interacting with customers and supporting business development activities through technical expertise.Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly to diverse audiences.Proven relationship-building skills with customers, suppliers, and internal cross-functional teams.Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot formulation, processing, and quality issues using a structured, data-driven approach. Work Environment This role is based on-site at a food manufacturing plant in Perham and follows a Monday through Friday, first-shift schedule. You will work as part of a close-knit R&D team of approximately ten people, including three food scientists and additional R&D and application specialists. The environment combines lab-based bench-top development with plant-floor activities such as trials, scale-up, and commercialization. You can expect regular collaboration with Sales, operations, and other cross-functional partners, as well as direct interaction with customers and suppliers. The setting is a professional food manufacturing facility where standard food safety, quality, and hygiene practices apply, and you will work with typical food science tools, equipment, and processes to support formulation, testing, and production Job Type & Location This is a Permanent position based out of Perham, MN. Pay And Benefits The pay range for this position is $55000.00 - $85000.00/yr. Health, dental, vision, 401K Company bonus potential and profit sharing opportunity Workplace Type This is a fully onsite position in Perham,MN. Application Deadline This position is anticipated to close on Aug 14, 2026. About Actalent Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service. The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options. San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.