Senior Application Scientist

Oterra•Mount Pleasant, WI

36d•Onsite

About The Position

Under minimal supervision, the Senior Application Scientist serves as a technical expert in the formulation, application, and optimization of natural colors across diverse food and beverage systems. This role provides high-level technical guidance, drives complex development projects, and partners with commercial and global innovation teams to deliver customer-focused solu-tions. The Senior Application Scientist is a key contributor to strategic growth initiatives, custom-er success, and cross-functional technical excellence within Oterra.

Requirements

MS or PhD in Food Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline; or a BS degree with significant relevant experience.
Minimum of 7–10 years of experience in food and beverage formulation, product develop-ment, application science, or a related technical field.
Deep understanding of food and beverage processing across multiple application categories (e.g., beverages, dairy, snacks, confectionery, prepared foods).
Exceptional color discrimination and visual acuity; strong ability to evaluate color in a wide range of application systems. (Color vision testing required.)
Advanced technical communication skills, with the ability to present complex concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Strong analytical skills with the ability to design experiments, interpret data, draw conclu-sions, and communicate actionable insights.
Proven ability to lead projects independently while collaborating effectively in cross-functional and global environments.
Customer-centric mindset with the ability to build strong relationships and influence tech-nical decisions.
Highly organized, detail-oriented, and capable of managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced setting.
Proficiency with laboratory equipment, formulation tools, colorimetry, and digital documen-tation systems.

Responsibilities

Leads complex, multi-phase application projects, ensuring timely execution, technical accu-racy, and alignment with customer and business objectives.
Serves as a senior technical advisor to U.S. and global customers, providing expert-level guidance on the use, stability, processing, and performance of Oterra’s natural color portfolio.
Delivers on-site customer support at both laboratory and production-plant levels, including troubleshooting, scale-up support, and commercialization assistance.
Partners strategically with Account Managers to retain and grow key business, identify tech-nical opportunities, influence customer decision-making, and support long-term commercial relationships.
Champions safety practices, modeling and reinforcing safe laboratory behavior and compli-ance with all corporate and regulatory guidelines.
Develops advanced technical presentations, demonstrations, and training materials for in-ternal teams, customers, and industry events.
Conducts sophisticated analytical testing—including colorimetric evaluations, formulation trials, and stability assessments—to support data-driven decisions and customer recom-mendations.
Provides high-quality technical documentation, including project plans, experimental results, and formal technical reports for internal stakeholders and customer use.
Maintains and enhances relevant technical databases, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and efficient knowledge-sharing.
Authors, updates, and enforces technical SOPs, best practices, and standardized testing pro-tocols.
Collaborates with cross-functional teams—R&D, Product Management, Marketing, Opera-tions, Quality, and Regulatory—to support new product development, application guidelines, and optimized customer solutions.
Supports sample preparation activities as required, particularly for high-priority customer or innovation projects.
Mentors junior scientists and technicians, providing guidance on experimental design, tech-nical problem-solving, and best practices in application science.
Participates in strategic initiatives that shape Oterra’s future product roadmap, application capabilities, and customer experience.