R&D Associate Director

Louis Dreyfus Company • Livermore, CA

2d

About The Position

LDC’s plant protein business unit R&D group is looking for a Director R&D Plant Proteins to lead the research on the next generation of sustainable plant protein ingredients for application in food and beverage products. Director R&D Plant Proteins will work closely with the Engineering team on process scale up and will support the Application team in product development.

Requirements

• Experience in (plant) protein extraction
• Deep understanding of (plant) protein structures and functionality
• Demonstrated ability and commitment to work effectively in a team, leading and mentoring research scientists, associates, assistants, collaborating with fellow scientists and engineers, and setting an example of scientific and people management excellence for the team.
• Experience in methods and equipment used to assess protein physicochemical and functional properties
• Demonstrated ability to conceive original ideas, articulate them clearly and design experiments to test them.
• Experience in developing methods and operating LC-MS, GC-MS, SEM, DSC
• Experience in working on analytical characterization of volatile and non-volatile chemistry in complex food matrices, such as lipids, proteins and oligosaccharides
• PhD in protein chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, biotechnology, analytical chemistry, or related fields.
• 6-8 years of experience (in relevant industry)
• Written and verbal English language proficiency

Nice To Haves

• Experience in LIMS, NCBI tools is a plus

Responsibilities

• Lead the research on the next generation of sustainable, plant protein ingredients for application in food and beverage products
• Manage analytical platforms and associated data analysis pipelines for R&D and QA/QC.
• Develop new methods to extract protein fractions from various plant sources for food applications.
• Manage protein extraction and analytical team with advanced people skills, develop and advance their career and be able to create a sense of team, coordination, and connection.
• Set up protein characterization platform to assess physico-chemical and functional properties of various protein fractions.
• Ensure all the methods are captured in SOPs and results are reported in quality and timely manner
• Collaborate with the Engineering team to test and optimize protein down-stream processing methods at pilot plant scale
• Collaborate with the Application team on plant-based product development and characterization
• Set up and lead research collaborations with relevant external partners

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits program including medical, dental and vision care coverage, flexible spending account plans, employee assistance program, life insurance and disability coverage
• 401k with Company Match
• Family Friendly Benefits including childbirth and parental leave, fertility and family building benefits
• Paid Time Off (PTO) and Paid Holidays
• Flexible work available (not applicable to all roles)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees