Food Scientist, RTD Beverage Development

RYZE•Santa Ana, CA

6d•Remote

About The Position

RYZE Superfoods is a rapidly growing functional beverage brand focused on mushroom-based products. The company has achieved significant success in the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) market and is expanding into major retail chains. RYZE is launching a ready-to-drink (RTD) mushroom coffee in cans in 2027 and is seeking a Food Scientist with extensive RTD beverage formulation experience to lead this initiative. This role is critical to the company's ambitious growth plans. The Food Scientist will be responsible for RTD formulation from concept to commercial production, including formula development, co-manufacturing qualification, sensory validation, and ensuring regulatory compliance. They will also provide technical expertise for the powdered instant product line. This position reports to the Senior Manager of New Product Development and collaborates with Regulatory, Quality, Operations, and the Lab Team.

Requirements

Minimum 3–7 years of experience in beverage formulation.
Proven track record of personally developing and launching a canned or liquid beverage product through a co-manufacturer to retail shelf.
Deep technical knowledge of liquid beverage chemistry.
Hands-on co-manufacturing experience, including on-site production runs, fill-line troubleshooting, and building QC alignment with external partners.
Experience developing sensory specifications and validation protocols that are effective at commercial production volume.
Bachelor's degree or higher in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry, or a related field.

Nice To Haves

Experience with functional ingredients such as adaptogens, mushroom extracts, nootropics, and botanical ingredients, and their formulation challenges in liquid matrices.
Background at a better-for-you, functional, or natural beverage brand that has successfully scaled through Target, Whole Foods, Kroger, or Costco.
Familiarity with structure/function claim requirements and regulatory considerations for active ingredient dosage levels in functional beverages.
Experience working in a cross-functional environment with defined decision rights for NPD, Quality, and Regulatory.
Experience with powdered instant beverage formats.

Responsibilities

Lead formula development for RYZE's 2027 RTD mushroom coffee launch, from concept through co-manufacturing qualification and commercial production.
Own formulation science for liquid beverage formats, including emulsification, pH buffering, pasteurization kill steps, headspace management, and stability (ambient vs. cold chain).
Assist with the RTD co-manufacturing qualification process, including technical evaluation, formula alignment, fill-line troubleshooting, and QC standards.
Support ingredient sourcing for RTD-specific inputs in partnership with Supply Chain.
Design and implement formal ingredient validation protocols for both RTD and powdered formats, including backup supplier qualification checklists that meet retail audit standards.
Partner with Quality and Sensory to build written sensory specifications for all retail-bound SKUs, creating objective pass/fail gates.
Support third-party lab testing programs by defining testing parameters, interpreting results, and working with Regulatory and Quality on action thresholds.
Contribute to formula change review triggers, defining when formula adjustments require regulatory review.
Work with Regulatory to ensure active ingredient dosage levels align with claim substantiation requirements.
Partner with Marketing and founders during brief development to ensure ingredient levels and format decisions are commercially viable and scientifically sound.
Contribute to RYZE's stage-gate process by building technical documentation for project advancement.
Support backup ingredient reformulation decisions with science-backed validation data, collaborating with Quality and Regulatory.