Scientist, Research & Development

The J.M. Smucker Co.•Cleveland, OH

23h•Hybrid

About The Position

Drive process development for innovation from concept through commercialization, resulting in the launch of new pet food and snacks. Support the improvement of existing processes, value engineering, and technology development to enable new product development or cost improvement.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering.
5+ years relevant experience in Research and Development or similar technical role.
Experience with experimental design (DoE) and execution.
Demonstrates knowledge and expertise; still acquiring higher-level knowledge and skills.
Strong organizational, critical thinking and creativity skills.
Effective presentation, verbal, and written communication skills.
Ability to work under moderate supervision within guidelines and processes.
Strong time management skills.
Strong cross-functional collaboration with technical teams (Operations, etc.) to influence shared goals and objectives.

Nice To Haves

Advanced Engineering degree and Chemical/Food Engineering.
Experience with rotary molding or baking.
Experience with pet food/snack production and/or human biscuit/cookie production.
Experience in food manufacturing environment.
Experience with statistical analysis/software.

Responsibilities

Lead the development of robust processes to deliver the required finished product attributes, guardrails, and metrics (i.e. design criteria, consumer preference, cost, feasibility, timeline, etc.).
Efficiently design, plan, coordinate, and execute experiments from benchtop through manufacturing scale (i.e. creating test plans/experimental design, developing process flow diagrams, designing equipment and tooling, analyze and interpret data, etc.).
Lead technical and cross-functional teams to successfully develop and launch new innovation/renovation/business support/value engineering projects at JMS and/or co-manufacturing facilities.
Apply fundamental engineering/processing principles in combination with a creative mindset and critical thinking to develop novel process solutions.
Communicate project updates, review and summarize experimental results, provide go/no-go recommendations, and provide general technical updates to pet leadership and additional internal and external stakeholders.
Participate, and often lead discussions, as an active member of cross-functional project teams comprised of individuals from various disciplines, including Operations, Quality, Marketing, Finance, Procurement, and Co-Manufacturing to successfully commercialize new products or commission new processes.