Sr Research Scientist Sweets

Why Hershey

At The Hershey Company, our culture is rooted in purpose and inspired by Milton Hershey's enduring vision that business should create opportunity for others. Through our commitment to corporate philanthropy, we create positive impact by supporting communities, helping children thrive, and operating as a business for good. This includes our deep and long standing partnership with Milton Hershey School, where we invest in education, workforce readiness, and hands on engagement to help students succeed beyond the classroom. Supported by strategic grantmaking, product donations, cross brand collaboration, and strong employee volunteerism, Hershey offers a place to work where making a difference—locally and globally—is part of how we do business every day.

Location

Hershey, PA

About The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company is an industry-leading snacks company known for making more moments of goodness through its iconic brands. With a strong portfolio across chocolate, confectionery, and salty snacks, Hershey delights consumers every day. Our beloved brands include Hershey's, Reese's, KitKat®, Dots Pretzels, Lesser Evil, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, and more. At Hershey, we are committed to making a meaningful difference in the communities where we live, work, and do business. This commitment originated with our founder, Milton Hershey, and continues to shape who we are today. Guided by our employee value proposition, Lead Today. Create Tomorrow, we empower our people to drive impact now while shaping what comes next. Our One Hershey mindset brings teams together across functions, geographies, and businesses, enabling us to operate with speed, collaboration, and shared purpose. The Hershey Company is proud to be recognized as a top employer in the United States, reflecting our commitment to our people, culture, and purpose.

How will you fit in the big picture?

Design innovative products for beloved brands including Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Sour Strips, Ice Breakers, and Bubble Yum! Reporting to the Senior Manager, Sweets & Refreshment, this role is part of The Hershey Company's Product Development R&D team at the Technical Center in Hershey, PA. The Senior Research Scientist will lead product and process development across hard candy, gummies, licorice, gum, and mints. This role translates consumer insights and business needs into scalable products through formulation, prototyping, pilot plant trials, manufacturing scale-up, and commercialization. The successful candidate will bring strong technical expertise, project leadership, and cross-functional collaboration to drive innovation, product improvement, supply continuity, and future technical capabilities across the Sweets & Refreshment portfolio.

What will you do?

• Lead product development projects across hard candy, gummies, licorice, gum, mints, chewy confections, and sugar-free/polyol systems.
• Develop formulations and prototypes from bench through pilot plant and full-scale manufacturing.
• Partner with Marketing, Consumer Insights, Sensory, Quality, Regulatory, Engineering, Manufacturing, Procurement, Supply Chain, Project Management, Commercialization, Technology Development, and external suppliers/co-manufacturers.
• Support innovation, renovation, capacity expansion, cost savings, supply continuity, and transformation initiatives.
• Design and execute experiments, manufacturing trials, and technical evaluations; analyze results and provide recommendations.
• Build expertise in confectionery and refreshment technologies while mentoring peers and sharing knowledge.
• Foster a collaborative, fast-paced R&D culture focused on technical rigor, problem solving, and consumer-first innovation.

Experience

Working knowledge of food, beverage, confectionery, ingredient, consumer packaged goods, or related product development environments is preferred.

Education

Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Biology, or a related technical field with 4–6 years of relevant experience; Master's degree with 2–4 years of relevant experience; or PhD with 0–2 years of relevant experience.

Benefits And Perks

• Health & Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus wellness programs that support your physical and mental health
• Financial Security: Competitive pay, annual incentive opportunities, and a 401(k) with company match
• Time Off & Flexibility: Paid time off, company holidays, and flexible ways of working where applicable
• Growth & Development: Career development programs, learning opportunities, and internal mobility

Benefits may vary based on role, location, and eligibility.