Sr. Food Scientist

About the role

At Utz, we’re not just making snacks—we’re creating moments of joy for millions of consumers every day. With over a century of heritage and a powerhouse portfolio that includes Utz, Zapp’s, Boulder Canyon, and On The Border, we’re on a bold journey to become the fastest-growing pure-play U.S. snacking company of scale. This is your opportunity to shape the future of snacking at a growing, iconic company. You won’t just support innovation—you’ll lead it, working on products that hit shelves and land in the hands of consumers nationwide. You’ll gain exposure across the business, build deep technical expertise, and grow your career in an environment that values curiosity, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, conduct and/or review experiments (e.g., laboratory or process experiments) to deliver new products, support value creation driven projects and ongoing brand maintenance.
• Evaluate ingredient and product efficacy, claims, and safety.
• Evaluate new ingredients, materials, products and/or processes.
• Apply scientific, engineering and consumer insights principles in research, formulation, processing, and commercialization of snacks.
• Identify, evaluate, and select new ingredients, developments, trends and technologies in the food and beverage industry to guide product development initiatives.
• Run pilot scale equipment with knowledge of various plant unit operations and processes.
• Perform plant trials from initial planning through execution and scale-up.
• Analyze ingredients, finished products or other substances using laboratory instruments, including preparation of analytical standards and standard curves.
• Use and apply knowledge of Good Laboratory Practices (e.g., handling of chemicals and glassware, preparation of standards and reagents, proper measuring techniques, data management, housekeeping).
• Develop, maintain and/or validate laboratory test methods or equipment (sampling, monitoring, analytical procedures) to ensure reliability and accuracy of analytical results.
• Write detailed and accurate reports for analyses, experiments, and projects.
• Responsible for quality and food safety tasks for their position.
• Scout new technologies, processes and partners to help drive the business, meeting new consumer and business needs.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in food science, chemistry, chemical engineering preferred, or equivalent combination of education.
• Experience: 3–5 years of experience in food product development in snacks; would consider internship or laboratory experience in food science, chemistry, or a related field, demonstrating hands-on skills in product development or research.
• Exposure: Cross-functional teamwork, such as collaborating with manufacturing, procurement, or marketing teams on academic or extracurricular projects.
• Skills: Familiarity with laboratory techniques, Good Laboratory Practices, and basic data analysis, gained through coursework or practical training.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated leadership and team building competencies.
• Project management and complex problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal skills, and people management skills.
• Self-directed, forward-thinking, and able to make complex decisions that drive business innovation and performance.
• Strong design of experiments, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills; comfort presenting findings/data to senior leadership.
• Excellent time and project management skills with proven ability to manage and prioritize multiple, concurrent projects.