Food Scientist

Legacy Foods MFG LLC • Elk Grove Village, IL

just now

About The Position

We are a leading food manufacturer/ingredient supplier in the Chicago area, specializing in sauces, dressings, condiments, emulsions, and liquid food products. Join our innovative R&D team to drive new product development, reformulation, and commercialization in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

The Food Scientist will play a key role in developing and optimizing sauce, dressing, and liquid-based products (including emulsions, vinaigrettes, dips, and condiments). With 3-5 years of hands-on experience in these categories, you will formulate products from concept to commercialization, ensure stability and functionality, conduct trials, and collaborate cross-functionally to deliver high-quality, consumer-preferred innovations while meeting food safety, regulatory, and cost targets.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry.
• 3-5 years of direct experience in food product development, with strong focus on sauces, dressings, emulsions, condiments, or related liquid products (e.g., pasta sauces, dipping sauces, creamy dressings, or similar complex formulations).
• Hands-on expertise in emulsion science, ingredient interactions (e.g., stabilizers, emulsifiers), and processing techniques for liquids.
• Proficiency in lab work, including formulation, sensory analysis, and basic analytical testing.
• Strong understanding of food safety regulations, quality systems, and commercialization processes.
• Excellent problem-solving, project management, and communication skills.
• Ability to work in a lab, pilot plant, and occasional production environment (including exposure to varying temperatures, odors, and standing for extended periods).

Nice To Haves

• Experience with tomato-based systems, oil-in-water emulsions, or plant-based/vegan dressings/sauces.
• Familiarity with tools like Compusense (sensory software) or statistical analysis.
• Knowledge of cost optimization, clean-label trends, or nutritional enhancement in sauces/dressings.
• Experience in a CPG, co-manufacturing, or ingredient supplier environment in the Chicago area.

Responsibilities

• Formulate and develop new sauces, dressings, emulsions, and liquid products (e.g., tomato-based sauces, salad dressings, creamy dips, vinaigrettes, and shelf-stable condiments).
• Conduct lab-scale prototyping, pilot plant trials, and scale-up support to manufacturing.
• Optimize ingredient functionality, texture, stability (e.g., emulsion stability, viscosity, separation prevention), flavor, and nutritional profiles.
• Perform sensory evaluations, shelf-life testing, and analytical assessments (pH, viscosity, Brix, microbial, etc.).
• Reverse-engineer or match competitive products in sauces/dressings categories.
• Collaborate with marketing, quality assurance, regulatory, procurement, and manufacturing teams to support commercialization.
• Manage multiple projects with varying timelines; maintain accurate documentation, including formulas, specifications, and technical reports.
• Ensure compliance with FDA, USDA, SQF, and other food safety standards; contribute to HACCP plans and risk assessments.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities and ingredient alternatives without compromising quality.
• Participate in sensory panels, consumer testing, and cross-functional reviews.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and benefits package (health, dental, 401(k), paid time off).
• Opportunity to work on innovative, market-leading products in a dynamic Chicago food hub.
• Professional growth in R&D, with exposure to cutting-edge emulsion and liquid technologies.
• Collaborative team environment with access to modern labs and pilot facilities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level