Scientist, Product Development-Sweet Baked Snacks Research & Development Team
Hostess Brands, LLC

Job Info

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*Due to the acquisition of Hostess Brands, we have several opportunities for new team members in our Sweet Baked Snacks team which will be permanently located in Orrville, Ohio! *

Your Opportunity as the Scientist, Product Development-Sweet Baked Snacks Research & Development Team

In this role you will use your understanding of food science/product development to perform more advanced and critical experimental work of applied research and/or development including planning experiments, generating, and analyzing data, and sharing recommendations to a cross-functional team. As a Scientist of Product Development and Formulation, you will plan and execute a broad range of technical tasks and must be able to work effectively independently or within a team. On a cross functional team, you will be the lead expert in formulation and your technical input and the output of your trials, experiments, and research will impact the direction of your projects. Your work is typically "hands on" in a lab, in a plant or pilot plant, at a critical site, on a computer, or with consumers for all Sweet Baked Snacks.

Location: Corporate Offices in Orrville, Ohio

Work Arrangements: Ability to travel up to 30% on an ongoing basis (travel frequency dependent on projects and product launch pipeline). Due to the transition of the team from Lenexa, Kansas to Orrville, OH travel may be higher in the first 6 months (Up to 50% at times).

In this role you will:

• Be a leader and "voice of the product" for assigned projects
• Collaborate with cross functional partners including: Brand Management, Insights, Product Research, Packaging Development, Sales, Engineering, and Operations in early-stage new product design. Lead discussion on brief design for product
• Design products based on a business need, as defined by consumer insights, a product brief and learning plan, with a great deal of independence
• Formulate products based on ingredient functionality, nutritional targets, consumer need, claim substantiation, operational feasibility, and financial targets independently.
• Conduct experiments from rapid, iterative prototyping to development and scale-up (benchtop, pilot plant, plant). Be able to think creatively about how to design and test products
• Review and interpret data, from process trials, measurements from chemical/physical analysis, feeding studies, storage studies, statistical analysis, providing conclusions and recommendations to technical team and able to communicate to management
• Partner with other disciplines and resources, both internal and external to R&D and JMS, sharing information, building upon an integration of ideas,
• Compose new and update existing documents such as specs (ingredients, finished product), reports, project updates, data analyses, laboratory notebooks, etc.
• Provide expertise to commercialization team to bring new products to market
• Assess legal and environmental aspects, and patent opportunities for new products. Be aware of patent landscape in technical areas of expertise. Significantly contribute to patents that might be written on new technologies.
• Assist as needed in providing innovative ideas leading to the creation of new products, cost savings/efficiency, and solving product related challenges

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.

What we are looking for:

Minimum Requirements:

• B.S. Degree in Food Science or Bakery Science preferred. Will consider other science, technology or engineering majors.
• 5+ years in product development CPG food or beverage.
• Passion for sweet baked snacks and baked goods.
• Experience in product development, quality, or operations technical support within CPG (food/beverage preferred)
• Advanced knowledge of food formulation and areas related to food formulation such as food safety, nutrition and regulatory, shelf life management, and interaction with process and packaging. Able to adapt testing to meet project needs.
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written
• Strong organizational, critical thinking, and creativity skills
• Project management experience is highly valued, as individual will collaborate cross functionally to manage costs, schedules, and resources for the work.
• Effective presentation, verbal, and written communication skills. Able to distill complex technical issues and communicate to non-technical cross functional team members
• Comfortable in ambiguous situations and able to create direction as needed
• Lead by example and be proactive to constant learning
• Can work with personal and food safety in mind
• Ability to lift up to 30 lbs.
• Ability to travel up to 30% on an ongoing basis (travel frequency dependent on projects and product launch pipeline). Due to the transition of the team from Lenexa, Kansas to Orrville, OH travel may be higher in the first 6 months (Up to 50% at times)

Additional skills and experience that we think would make someone successful in this role:

• Culinary experience or culinary degrees in combination with a science, engineering, or technology degree
• Advanced degree (Masters and/or PhD)
• Baking Experience

Learn more about working at Smucker:

• Our Total Rewards Benefits Program
• Our Thriving Together Philosophy Supporting All Impacted by Our Business
• Our Continued Progress on Inclusion, Diversity and Equity

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