Senior Scientist, Product Development, Pet R&D

Your Opportunity as the Senior Scientist, Product Development, Pet Research & Development

Translate consumer needs and business priorities into technical requirements, product designs, and scalable solutions that enable winning innovation, renovation, and business support initiatives across pet food and snacks. Leverage your deep product-development expertise and scientific-method thinking to lead complex technical work from concept through commercialization. Support in the advancement of technical capabilities, provide expertise to other product developers, and counsel leadership within defined areas of technical focus.

Location: Orrville, OH

Work Arrangements: Hybrid, 60% or more in-office presence as business needs require, with travel up to 30% annually

In this role you will:

• Lead formulation and product development for innovation, renovation, value engineering, and business-support initiatives from concept through commercialization.
• Interpret both CPG industry and Smucker business challenges and recommend best practices to improve products, processes, or services.
• Translate consumer needs, product briefs, and business priorities into technical requirements, design criteria, learning plans, and product models.
• Design, plan, coordinate, and execute robust experiments from benchtop through pilot-plant and manufacturing scale; analyze data, interpret results, and recommend next steps.
• Apply in-depth knowledge of ingredient functionality, nutrition, sensory and palatability, shelf life, processing, operational feasibility, claims, cost, and consumer acceptance to develop product solutions.
• Solve complex technical problems by combining scientific rigor, critical thinking, creativity, and new perspectives on existing solutions.
• Lead technical and cross-functional teams for projects with moderate-to-high complexity, risk, or resource requirements, working with Operations, Quality, Marketing, Finance, Procurement, Regulatory, Packaging, and external partners.
• Work independently within broad guidelines, seeking leadership guidance when decisions may have significant functional or organizational impact.
• Initiate and lead technology or capability advances in an area of technical expertise, and serve as a technical resource and mentor for colleagues with less experience.
• Communicate project status, experimental results, conclusions, risks, and go/no-go recommendations to project teams, R&D leadership, and other internal or external stakeholders.
• Maintain accurate formulas, specifications, claims support, laboratory notebooks, invention records, technical reports, and other product lifecycle documentation.
• Identify and assess relevant external technologies, ingredients, competitive products, scientific literature, patents, intellectual-property opportunities, and legal considerations.

What we are looking for:

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Food Science, Chemistry, Biology, Nutrition, Engineering Technology, Chemical Engineering, Food Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or a related scientific or engineering discipline.
• 8+ years of relevant Research & Development or comparable technical experience.
• Demonstrated product-development experience and the ability to lead work from technical definition through commercialization.
• Experience designing and executing experiments and analyzing technical data to draw conclusions and make recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to solve complex problems, manage multiple priorities, and work independently with guidance in complex situations.
• Ability to build productive relationships and influence shared goals across technical and cross-functional teams.
• Ability and willingness to travel up to 30% and to drive a company or rental vehicle as needed.

Additional skills and experience that would support success in this role:

• Advanced degree, such as a Master’s degree or PhD, in a relevant scientific or engineering discipline.
• Pet food and/or pet snack formulation and product-development experience.
• Experience with food processes such as extrusion, thermal processing, baking, drying, coating, or related unit operations.
• Experience in a food-manufacturing environment and with scale-up at internal or co-manufacturing facilities.
• Experience with formulation software, statistical analysis, and design of experiments (DoE).
• Working knowledge of product lifecycle systems, claims substantiation, intellectual property, patent processes, and competitive product assessment.

Physical and work environment considerations:

• Ability to walk, stand, or sit for extended periods and to perform work that may involve lifting, bending, carrying, and standing.
• Ability to work and move safely around laboratories, pilot plants, manufacturing processes, and equipment.
• Ability to climb stairs or ladders when required for plant or equipment access.

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The Right Place for You 

We are bold, kind, strive to do the right thing, we play to win, and we believe in a strong community that thrives together. Our culture is rooted in our Basic Beliefs, and we believe in supporting every employee by meeting their physical, emotional, and financial needs. 

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We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, age, national origin, disability status or protected veteran status.