Product Development Scientist

About the role

The Product Development Team supports the medical nutrition business by developing new and revising existing product formulations to meet target characteristics that deliver positive patient outcomes through therapeutic nutrition. Strong collaboration with the Directors of Medical Nutrition, Marketing, and Sales is required to ensure desired nutritional levels are achieved throughout the product shelf-life and patient insights on flavor, texture, and palatability are incorporated. In this role, you will contribute to the ideation and exploration for uses of new ingredients and new business ventures in additional disease-states reliant on specialized medical nutrition. This position is located in our Corporate Office in Ayer, MA.

Responsibilities

• Utilize food science and ingredient expertise to co-create and execute medical formula products aligned with ACI’s strategic R&D roadmap, supporting corporate strategy while meeting internal quality expectations.
• Provide scientific support to Leadership and Management teams in product development, clinical development, product manufacturing, and new ingredient compound or product initiatives.
• Research and develop clinical evidence supporting existing and new products and ingredient compounds for commercial activities.
• Participate in conferences, clinician meetings, and other forums to present ACI’s clinical evidence.
• Ensure existing and new products, processes, or ingredient compounds have strong Intellectual Property protection to provide a sustained competitive advantage.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Minimum bachelor’s degree in food science, nutrition, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred. PhD or PharmD is a plus.
• 5+ years of experience in product development, with the ability to take concepts from bench top to commercialization for nutritional beverages and/or nutritional powder blends.
• 5+ years in basic and applied research and development, preferably in a small/mid-sized nutrition, food, and/or biotech company.
• Experience with food/beverage formulation and manufacture of nutritional products that meet stability, sensory, and nutritional requirements.
• Direct experience with aseptic processing/Tetra Pak® is a plus.
• Expert scientific knowledge in food science, with emphasis on product development involving ingredient interactions and the impact of process techniques on micro-nutrients.
• Experience with nutritional modeling software and familiarity with FDA regulations; exposure to EU regulations is a plus.
• Ability to design and monitor product shelf-life procedures, both regular and accelerated, for nutritional products.
• Strong translational science background, with experience converting basic nutrition-science insights into consumable products.

Skills

• Build relationships with vendors to source ingredients meeting product specifications.
• Understanding of how business units interact to facilitate successful product development and commercialization.
• Ability to define new product needs in terms of process requirements and product characteristics, including organoleptic needs and claims.
• Demonstrated leadership with a focus on innovation to drive product development proactively.
• Understanding of standard operating procedures related to product development, process development, and product shelf-life determination.
• Knowledge of food safety requirements and regulations.
• Understanding of human nutrition and ability to review primary scientific literature.
• Strong ability to communicate basic science and technical challenges to non-technical audiences.
• Strong understanding of ingredient interactions in a food/beverage matrix throughout processing and shelf life.
• Ability to design shelf-life evaluation matrices considering product composition, process impact, and other critical factors.
• Understanding of macro and micro-nutrient analytical procedures and their principles.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, cross-functional team environment.
• Excellent analytical skills, strong attention to detail, and good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to balance multiple projects, set priorities, and drive results.

Working Conditions

• Works in a food manufacturing environment; must adhere to all GMP, Food Safety, workplace safety, and security policies, including wearing required personal protective equipment (e.g., hair net, beard net).
• Ability to occasionally lift up to 50 pounds, stand, walk, bend, reach, push, and pull.
• Ability to use a computer, keyboard, telephone, and other office equipment.
• Ability to wear all required PPE.

Pay

$105,000 - $130,000 annual with potential 12.5% bonus.