Sr. Scientist II, R&D
Califia Farms · Los Angeles, CA · 3 days ago
On-siteResearch$120k–$145k/yrFull-time
Responsibilities
- Serve as a technical expert in food chemistry, ingredient functionality, and formulation science for plant-based beverage applications.
- Develop a deep understanding of ingredient interactions and their impact on product stability, texture, flavor, nutrition, and processing performance.
- Evaluate and implement emerging ingredient technologies to improve product quality, functionality, sustainability, and cost competitiveness.
- Apply scientific principles to investigate complex formulation and processing challenges and develop data-driven technical solutions.
- Interpret analytical, physical, rheological, and sensory data to establish formulation strategies and guide product optimization.
- Translate consumer insights into differentiated products that meet sensory, nutritional, quality, regulatory, and manufacturing requirements.
- Optimize formulations for shelf-life, process robustness, ingredient compatibility, and cost efficiency.
- Drive continuous product improvement through formulation renovation, ingredient optimization, and process innovation.
- Lead pilot plant and manufacturing trials to validate formulations and support successful scale-up.
- Partner with Operations and Engineering to ensure effective technology transfer and manufacturing readiness.
- Troubleshoot manufacturing and formulation challenges using scientific root cause analysis.
- Develop technical documentation including formulations, ingredient specifications, processing parameters, and commercialization reports.
Qualifications
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Food Science, Food Engineering, Chemistry, or a related scientific discipline.
- Bachelor's degree with extensive relevant industry experience may also be considered.
- 7-10+ years of food and beverage product development experience.
- Demonstrated success developing and commercializing food or beverage products.
- Experience in plant-based beverages, dairy alternatives, beverages, or adjacent food categories is preferred.
- Strong understanding of ingredient interactions affecting product stability, texture, flavor delivery, and processing performance.
- Experience applying Design of Experiments (DOE), statistical analysis, and scientific modeling to solve formulation challenges and optimize product stability and shelf-life.
- Experience with pilot plant trials and commercial manufacturing.
- Knowledge of food safety regulations, GMPs, HACCP, and food labeling requirements.