Principal Scientist, Co-Drying & Dry Blending

Dairy Farmers of America

$121K — $181K *

clock More than 8w ago

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8 - 10 years of experience

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Job Description

Description

General Purpose:

Responsible for the development of co-dried and dry blended dairy/dairy flavors for for food and dairy industries from concept/opportunity through commercialization (at the customer). This person will be relied upon as an expert related to co-drying and dry blending including dairy science research, innovation, development, applications; relating to new product/solution development; but also, for formulation cost-out opportunities, process improvements, new technology scouting. Key driver of organic growth through monetization of the opportunity and innovation pipeline.

Job Duties and Responsibilities:

Specific to Strategy:

  • Research dairy science, food science and equipment for the purpose of innovating new technologies and the development of intellectual property (IP) for DFA
  • Develop new wet and dry dairy systems, dairy flavors, dairy emulsions and solutions using DFA's plethora of ingredient options and manufacturing capabilities
  • Utilizing DFA's expansive drying (and dry blending) network and capabilities to enhance the value of DFA's dried dairy products using a "what can we do with what we have?" mentality.
  • Work with engineering and process technology to continuously expand DFA's drying, dry blending, and agglomeration capabilities through discovery of new tech, equipment/process modification, and formulation
  • Reformulate products as appropriate to reduce cost including building least cost/flexible formulation models encompassing of the fluctuation commodity markets and raw material availability
  • Perform applications testing simulating the customer's end-use to ensure the products developed exceed the customer's expectations for taste, functionality, and nutrition
  • Utilize sensory science tools, available in the Innovation Center, to give data points to the customer demonstrating expectations are met/exceeded
  • Perform pilot plant testing to ensure a successful scale-up for DFA manufacturing and ultimately the end customer
  • Drive the commercialization of new products by partnering with the process technology team in the plants
  • Support the customer in scale up and commercialization to ensure DFA people and products are part of the scale up and launch
  • Effectively operate all pilot plant equipment required to properly scale-up and test in application
  • Develop effective concepts for benchtop sessions, in partnership with sales and marketing, to generate wins with customers
  • Support sales in determining customer needs, problems, insights, and strategy that would ultimately require a DFA solution
  • Proactively initiate action plans to develop the solutions and capabilities
  • Inspire and excite customers through demonstration of unique new products and applications that are relevant to their consumers
  • Partner with sales to understand customer's future needs, their brands, and strategies to anticipate new areas of capability development and innovative ideas for end use categories
  • Provide technical and applications expertise to support the customer
  • Drive opportunities to commercialization internally and close with the customer
  • Co-create and effectively utilize the product lifecycle management (PLM) process and adhere to the Scientific Development Standards Process, including version control, development notes and documented learnings
  • Effectively utilize CRM (Salesforce.com) as a tool to manage status of the opportunities, project milestones in the pipeline and track KPIs related to the opportunity pipeline continually improving our R D service to customers, ultimately leading to faster speed-to-market driving increased customer connectivity.
  • Collaborate with and influence technical sales, customer support and other stakeholders to "solve for yes"
  • Contribute to technical content and review presentations for sales and marketing
  • Provide effective, timely and relevant reporting to leadership
  • Apply strong knowledge of the DFA's capabilities - including understanding the functional and technical aspects of the products and how DFA's capabilities differentiate us from others in the industry
  • Demonstrate a "never stop learning" mindset and influence others to adopt this mindset
  • The requirements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employee, but is not a complete list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required.Other duties may be assigned as required


Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

Education and Experience

  • B.S. Degree in food, dairy or biological science related discipline
  • Masters or PHD desirable
  • 8+ years of industry experience in R D
  • Proven career advancement in dairy flavors, natural, process and cheese sauces and products
  • Demonstrated staff leadership attributes or staff management experience
  • Proven successful track record in new product development with multiple examples of commercialized products/solutions directly or under your leadership
  • Desired areas of expertise:

  • Co-drying and dry blending combinations of dairy, dairy flavors, seasonings, flavors, colors, and other ingredients

    • Seasoning and flavor development
    • Agglomeration and instantization of powders


Dairy science Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

  • Food safety programs and food safety by design
  • Food regulatory labeling laws including both: USDA FDA
  • Strong leadership and team building abilities
  • Exceptional communication skills
  • Ability to solve complex customer demands and problems
  • Self-driven and committed to hands on work habits
  • Ability to initiate, drive and adapt to change
  • Ability to balance heavy workload and manage multiple tasks
  • Must have the ability and capability to interact and communicate with the most senior levels of the organization
  • Able to read, write, and speak English


Travel:

☒15%-25% (1-2 times per quarter)

An Equal Opportunity Employer

About Dairy Farmers of America

Learn More About Dairy Farmers of America
Dairy Farmers of America Inc. is a national milk marketing cooperative in the United States. DFA markets members' raw milk and sells milk and derivative products to wholesale buyers both domestically and abroad. Net sales in 2016 were $13.5 billion, representing about 22 percent of raw milk production in the United States.
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