Industrial AI Decision Scientist

Develop and apply data-driven decision models, optimization techniques, and machine learning to improve manufacturing, supply chain, planning, inventory, and operational performance.

IFF is seeking an Industrial AI Decision Scientist to improve complex decisions across

manufacturing, supply chain, planning, logistics, inventory, R&D, and industrial operations through

mathematical optimization, simulation, machine learning, and advanced analytics.

The role will partner with scientists, engineers, planners, operational teams, and digital specialists

to translate complex industrial challenges into practical decision models. This includes

recommending actions, evaluating scenarios, quantifying trade-offs, and optimizing performance

under real operational constraints and uncertainty.

The position may be filled at a junior or senior level, depending on the candidate’s experience,

technical depth, and demonstrated impact.

Where You Will Make a Difference

Develop industrial decision models

· Translate scientific, engineering, supply chain, and operational challenges into clearly defined

decision problems, including objectives, constraints, risks, uncertainties, and trade-offs.

· Apply mathematical optimization, operations research, simulation, forecasting, statistics, and

machine learning to recommend practical actions.

· Develop models that help teams compare scenarios and understand the operational and

financial consequences of different decisions.

Optimize manufacturing and batch processes

· Develop decision-support approaches for yield, throughput, quality, resource utilization,

capacity, process scale-up, and production performance.

· Apply optimization and analytical methods across fermentation, biomanufacturing, batch

chemical processes, blending, drying, separation, reaction, and other industrial processes.

· Support experimental prioritization, recipe and operating-condition optimization, production

sequencing, and reduction of process variability.

Improve supply chain and operational decisions

· Develop optimization solutions for demand and supply planning, production scheduling,

inventory, safety stock, logistics, material allocation, and supply networks.

· Model uncertainty in demand, lead times, raw material availability, production capacity, process

performance, and customer requirements.

· Help operational teams balance service, cost, working capital, capacity, and risk across

complex supply chains.

Embed decision science into operational workflows

· Work with AI engineers, data engineers, domain experts, planners, scientists, and operational

teams to integrate decision models into applications, agents, dashboards, and enterprise

workflows.

· Combine predictive models, optimization logic, business rules, domain knowledge, and human

judgment into explainable decision-support solutions.

· Contribute to model validation, documentation, monitoring, governance, and continuous

improvement so that solutions remain useful, trusted, and maintainabl.

What Makes You the Right Fit

· Master’s or PhD degree in Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Applied Mathematics,

Chemical Engineering, Process Systems Engineering, Supply Chain, Computer Science, Data

Science, Statistics, or a related quantitative field.

· Experience applying mathematical modeling, optimization, simulation, forecasting, statistics,

machine learning, or operations research to practical problems.

· Ability to translate ambiguous scientific, engineering, or business questions into decision

variables, objectives, constraints, assumptions, and performance measures.

· Hands-on programming experience in Python or another language used for optimization,

simulation, analytics, or scientific computing.

· Knowledge of methods such as linear or mixed-integer programming, nonlinear optimization,

stochastic or robust optimization, Bayesian optimization, Monte Carlo simulation, discrete-event

simulation, forecasting, or predictive analytics.

· Experience working with manufacturing, planning, inventory, supply chain, laboratory, quality,

transactional, or time-series data.

· Ability to validate models and communicate assumptions, uncertainty, sensitivity, trade-offs,

limitations, and practical implications.

· A collaborative and delivery-oriented mindset with a strong focus on measurable value,

explainability, trust, and adoption.

· Candidates may demonstrate these capabilities through academic research, internships,

industrial projects, or professional experience. Senior candidates should also demonstrate

independent project leadership and operational impact.

How You Would Stand Out

· Experience applying decision science in biomanufacturing, industrial operations, supply chain,

planning, logistics, inventory, fermentation, or batch chemical processes.

· Experience with optimization tools such as Gurobi, IBM ILOG CPLEX, FICO Xpress, Google ORTools,

Pyomo, JuMP, PuLP, or CVXPY.

· Experience with production scheduling, inventory policy design, network optimization,

simulation, digital twins, design of experiments, or optimization under uncertainty.

· Experience integrating analytical models with SAP, MES, LIMS, manufacturing historians,

planning systems, or cloud data platforms.

· Experience developing reusable decision products rather than only one-time analyses or

exploratory models.

· Experience combining optimization and simulation models with AI agents, large language

models, natural-language interfaces, or knowledge systems.

· Demonstrated ability to translate sophisticated analytical models into recommendations that

operational teams understand, trust, and use.

We are a global leader in taste, scent, and nutrition, offering our customers a broader range of natural solutions and accelerating our growth strategy. At IFF, we believe that your uniqueness unleashes our potential. We value the diverse mosaic of the ethnicity, national origin, race, age, sex, or veteran status. We strive for an inclusive workplace that allows each of our colleagues to bring their authentic self to work regardless of their religion, gender identity & expression, sexual orientation, or disability.

Visit IFF.com/careers/workplace-diversity-and-inclusion to learn more