Product Development Scientist

Balchem Corporation•Bridgeton, MO

About The Position

The Product Development Scientist will apply scientific training and industrial experience to develop and scale up new products for the food and beverage market. The role handles technically complex projects through development, scale-up, and commercialization, ensuring products meet business goals. It works cross-functionally to establish goals and timelines, drive innovation, support commercialization, execute local and global strategies, and provide technical expertise to internal and external customers. The role develops food and beverage products such as beverage and frozen dessert bases, variegates, coatings, and lipid-based inclusions. It creates customer-specific benchtop prototypes using flavors, colors, stabilizers, and other ingredients; evaluates ingredient sourcing and related risks; oversees initial production batches; and supports product testing, technical data generation, customer support, and business initiatives. The position also contributes to laboratory integrity through sound records, test design, and sanitary practices. Work involves typical food science laboratory equipment, computers, and instrumentation. The employee may periodically work on their feet for extended periods in laboratory, pilot, and manufacturing settings; lift and carry large boxes or bags; and work in environments that may be noisy, wet, slippery, or subject to temperature variations. Some business travel by automobile, bus, train, and/or plane is required.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science or a related scientific field and 4 or more years of experience in new product development, or a master’s degree and 2 or more years of relevant experience.
Proven product formulation experience, including flavors, colors, and stabilizers; specification creation; commercialization; and new technology development.
Demonstrated history of delivering successful results.
Strong understanding of functional and sensory evaluation methods.
Advanced problem-solving, data analysis, and evaluation skills.
Ability to learn new product categories quickly and work in a complex, fast-paced business environment.
Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects while delivering high-quality results.
Commitment to continuous learning and staying current with industry trends and innovations.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and senior management.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook, and with product formulation tools.
Ability to use typical food science laboratory equipment, computers, and instrumentation.
Ability to work on feet for extended periods in a laboratory, pilot, and manufacturing plant when needed.
Ability to lift and carry large boxes or bags when required.
Willingness to undertake some business travel by automobile, bus, train, and/or plane.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of bakery products, including breads, muffins, cookies, and cakes.

Responsibilities

Lead and champion a culture of safety across work activities.
Develop new food and beverage products, including beverage and frozen dessert bases, variegates, coatings, and lipid-based inclusions.
Source ingredients and documents and evaluate and mitigate risks such as cost, lead times, and minimum order quantities.
Create benchtop prototypes for internal and external customers using flavors, colors, stabilizers, and other ingredients to meet customer needs and food trends.
Oversee production of newly commercialized products and monitor initial batches to support successful scale-up.
Drive the conceptualization, development, and commercialization of new products.
Support cross-functional initiatives such as cost reduction, production efficiency, and quality improvement.
Optimize and validate functional performance and sensory properties of food products.
Conduct sensory and analytical product testing, and review and analyze test data.
Help manage and maintain ingredient and supply inventory, including obtaining materials from the company warehouse when needed.
Translate unmet consumer needs into actionable scientific and technological insights for the commercial team.
Execute experiments and generate technical data supporting the business's commercial strategy.
Provide technical support to customers, sales teams, and internal departments, with guidance from senior team members.
Collaborate with Marketing, Sales, Operations, Quality, Regulatory, and other stakeholders to achieve business objectives.
Deliver written and oral reports on project status, experimental results, and technical recommendations.
Organize and prioritize work independently, seek additional projects, and advance business objectives.
Maintain R&D laboratory integrity through accurate record-keeping, appropriate test design, and sanitary practices.
Use Microsoft Office and other software systems.
Perform other duties as assigned.