Scientist, Product, GDI

Our NA Innovation Center sits at the heart of The Coca-Cola Company’s next chapter of growth. We are committed to transforming and evolving our organization and ambitions — bringing our people closer to the consumer, continuously raising the bar, and embracing digitalization to enable sustainable growth.

About the role

We are looking for a highly driven individual contributor who thrives on ownership and impact, and who fuels the innovation pipeline with bold ideas that translate into real-world results. This role is not about maintaining the status quo; it is about challenging assumptions, unlocking opportunity, and personally driving valuable breakthrough innovation.

As a Scientist on the Product Development team, this role will support both product development and strategic research initiatives to protect bottom and top-line growth. The candidate will be responsible for the implementation of new products and/or technologies or the improvement of existing products and/or technologies, and will prepare and coordinate projects according to established schedules and costs. The candidate will have horticultural expertise to support internal and external research initiatives, and will help drive business continuity efforts in support of our North America business in close partnership with cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Apply knowledge of food and beverage ingredients, formulations, and processing to develop safe, high-quality beverages while ensuring compliance with technical, quality, and regulatory requirements.
• Conduct laboratory, research, and process experiments to support new product development, business continuity, productivity improvements, and cost avoidance initiatives by evaluating ingredients, materials, products, and processes.
• Perform wet chemistry and instrumental analytical techniques to determine the composition of ingredients and finished products, and to measure and monitor their performance over time.
• Support the execution of product development and research projects by collaborating closely with Product Development, Analytical Science, Consumer Insights, and other key functional disciplines.
• Support and co-lead citrus research experiments requiring horticultural knowledge, understanding of best practices in orange groves, fruit harvesting, extraction, and processing expertise.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Procurement, Marketing, Supply Chain, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs, and Quality teams to successfully deliver product launches and business continuity initiatives.
• Partner with citrus industry organizations, suppliers, and internal subject matter experts to help develop and execute short-, mid-, and long-term strategies that support a sustainable domestic orange juice supply.
• Gather, analyze, and organize technical information under tight timelines to support decision-making by senior leadership and industry partners.
• Manage analytical work requests from multiple scientists by prioritizing and scheduling work for maximum efficiency while providing clear, proactive communication on project timing and progress.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Chemistry or related field is required; Master’s degree is preferred.
• 2-4 years of successful experience in product development in the beverage industry.
• Strong understanding of horticulture and biotechnology.
• Strong knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Strong skills in data collection, analysis, interpretation, and communication of results.
• Ability to apply technical know-how to deliver high-quality work.
• Adapt and learn new processes, tools, and procedures.
• Help solve complex problems while anticipating downstream impacts.
• Make timely decisions within scope, balancing speed and quality, and in consideration of interdependence of other priorities.
• Fluent in English; regional languages a plus.
• Regional travel up to 10%.

Location: Apopka, FL. The Coca-Cola Company will not offer sponsorship for employment status for this position. All applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

Pay

Base pay range: 91,700 USD - 110,000 USD. Pay offered may vary depending on geography, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits is offered. Annual incentive reference value is 7.5% of base pay, representing a market-based competitive value for performance at target.