PD Scientist

Target•Minneapolis, MN

5d•$73,000 - $132,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Target is an iconic brand, a Fortune 50 company and one of America’s leading retailers. At Target, food is life. So, it’s the mission of our Food & Beverage organization to help our guests more easily discover the joy of food. We thrive on giving families new favorite ways to eat well and cook less, simply, and affordably. With curated in-store experiences and a streamlined assortment designed to inspire and save time, we understand the importance of food to our guests’ everyday life—from snack duty at soccer practice to important family gatherings and holidays. Join our centralized Food & Beverage team where you’ll partner with people from literally every area of the business. Here, you’ll help dream up new ways to offer our guests a reliably wonderful experience with the freshness, selection, and value they expect and deserve from Target. Join a dynamic team of inventive and passionate engineers, food scientists and sourcing managers in Food & Beverage Product Design & Sourcing at Target. We concept, develop, source, and deliver our owned brand foods and beverages; everything from dry goods, snacks and beverages, to candy, fresh, frozen and dairy. We research and engage with the food industry and the consumer marketplace to stay current on technical advances and get ahead of the trends. Join our dynamic and inventive team to influence the taste, quality and value that decisively positions Target above the competition. This team is passionate about the foods we develop to inspire and delight our Target guests. Utilize your passion for food and discovery to bring key trend insights to our product development team. Your ability to keep your finger on the pulse of all things trend & innovation and synthesize data into insights will influence our product strategy and development pipeline. Bring your design skills, curiosity, and storytelling expertise to our talented team of creative, culinary & scientific minds with visionary goals to lead the industry in best-in-class food product design and development.

Requirements

B.S. in Food Science, Chemical Engineering or related discipline
4-8 years’ relevant experience
Proficiency with food product development and formulation including cost drivers, ingredient interactions, and technical feasibility
Exhibits a working knowledge of product manufacturing
Strong communication and collaboration skills
Strong problem solving, creative thinking, and strategic thinking skills
Demonstrated business understanding and acumen
Strong project management skills
Ability to successfully work in a team environment

Responsibilities

Understands their business’s strategic initiatives and proactively works to implement supporting technical solutions
Partner with Insights Teams to understand guest needs and develop product to meet those requirements
Leverages understanding of product/process/packaging interactions in conjunction with supply chain requirements to ensure robust product design that delivers consistent product performance
Accountable for developing products that meet brand intent and quality
Partner with appropriate Cross Functional Team (CFT) members and vendors to ensure the brand vision is appropriately understood and executed
Diligent approach to workload, maintaining good, timely communication with suppliers, team members and CFTs
Full understanding of product commercialization process and accountability for meeting deadlines
Accountable for timely sample evaluations and ensuring approvals of all products meet Target’s standards
Is a committed team player who can be counted on to do their part and be relied on to work cooperatively with others
Leads special projects or captainships as assigned
Provide and maintain effective product technical specifications
Support the timely resolution of all issues pertaining to the development and manufacturing of products
Partner with vendors to identify and address manufacturing and quality issues related to design
Leads the Technical Functional Review
Appropriately leverages their knowledge and expertise to suggest COG, , negotiations, sustainability and other ROI improvements to their director and the broader CFT