R&D Section Manager, Food Sensory

Land O'Lakes•Arden Hills, MN

3d•$142,160 - $213,240•Onsite

About The Position

Land O'Lakes is seeking a leader for its Food Sensory team within the Dairy Foods R&D organization. The role advances sensory science as a strategic business capability while building and developing a high-performing team of scientists and technical professionals. The successful candidate will shape sensory science across the organization and elevate its contribution to innovation, product development, consumer experience, manufacturing, product quality, and business decision-making across the Dairy Foods portfolio. The manager leads and develops sensory scientists, technologists, sensory panel leaders, and support personnel; fosters an inclusive, accountable culture; and builds succession and individual development plans. In partnership with the Foundational Sciences R&D Director, the manager sets sensory science direction and strategy, champions best-in-class methods and emerging technologies, and advances the discipline through research, external partnerships, and thought leadership. The role translates scientific findings into actionable recommendations, ensures sensory insights inform business and product decisions, and manages priorities and resources across the sensory portfolio. The position also establishes governance for interoperability between sensory and analytical data, partners with analytical teams on sensory-chemistry correlation workflows, and oversees sensory software and data tools to enable reusable analytics and reduce cycle time. The work location is Arden Hills, Minnesota, with four days per week in the office when not traveling. Work takes place in office, laboratory, pilot plant, and manufacturing environments, with estimated travel of 10–20%. The salary range is $142,160–$213,240.

Requirements

PhD or master's degree in Sensory Science, Food Science, Flavor Chemistry, or a related scientific discipline.
At least 15 years of sensory science experience in the food, beverage, ingredient, flavor, fragrance, or consumer packaged goods industry.
At least 7 years of experience leading technical teams and developing scientific talent.
Expertise in descriptive analysis, discrimination testing, consumer research, sensory statistics, predictive model development, and sensory interpretation.
Demonstrated record of influencing product development and business decisions through science-based insights.
Strong understanding of food systems, flavor perception, consumer behavior, and sensory methodologies.
Ability to build relationships and influence decisions across R&D, Marketing, Operations, Quality, and executive leadership.

Responsibilities

Lead, coach, and develop sensory scientists, technologists, sensory panel leaders, and support personnel.
Create an engaging, inclusive, high-accountability culture that promotes collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
Build succession plans and individual development plans to strengthen organizational capability.
Connect sensory science with internal and cross-functional partners, maintain strong working relationships, clarify roles and responsibilities, and hold teams accountable.
Establish technical direction and long-term sensory science strategy with the Foundational Sciences R&D Director.
Ensure adoption of best-in-class sensory methodologies and statistical approaches, and monitor emerging technologies.
Advance sensory science capability through focused research, external partnerships, and thought leadership.
Serve as Dairy Foods' primary expert and champion for sensory science.
Ensure sensory insights inform formulation decisions, commercialization strategies, product quality, and consumer acceptance.
Translate complex scientific findings into actionable recommendations for senior leaders and business partners.
Prioritize work and allocate resources across the sensory portfolio, balancing immediate business needs with long-term capability development.
Improve project intake, execution, and knowledge management while using team resources efficiently and maintaining scientific rigor.
Establish governance for sensory and analytical data interoperability, including shared identifiers, metadata standards, controlled lexicon conventions, and data quality checks.
Partner with analytical teams to operationalize sensory-chemistry correlation workflows, including linking analytical markers to sensory attributes and consumer response.
Oversee deployment and consistent use of sensory software and data tools, and drive reusable analytics that reduce cycle time.