Senior Director - Scientific Affairs, North America & Latam

PepsiCo•Valhalla, NY

3d•Onsite

About The Position

PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader operating in more than 200 countries and territories with a product portfolio that includes 23 world-famous, billion-dollar brands. From Gatorade to Quaker, Poppi to Lay’s, we make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are loved throughout the world. Scientific Affairs is a critical partner in delivering PepsiCo’s innovation strategies, safeguarding our products and future-proofing our portfolio of foods and beverages. Working with R&D colleagues, our role is to assess the toxicological safety of ingredients, packaging and new technologies to drive safe product design. You will work closely with our cross-functional partners to identify and build pre-market pathways to successfully launch new ingredients and technologies for the beverage business. Through external collaboration and engagement, Scientific Affairs promotes and advocates for the integration of sound science into decision-making to protect public health. By providing leadership for PepsiCo in external organizations, you will encourage dialogue and support research that both advances the science and allows access to necessary tools and technologies, all while ensuring our top priority – consumer safety.

Requirements

PhD in Toxicology or a closely related discipline preferred; Master’s degree with significant relevant experience may be considered.
Minimum of 10 years of progressively senior experience applying toxicology and risk assessment in the food, beverage, flavor, ingredient, consumer products, or related industry.
Recognized technical expertise in toxicological risk assessment, including current and evolving risk assessment paradigms, weight-of-evidence approaches, exposure assessment, and the ability to conduct, interpret, defend, and coach others on risk assessments.
Represent the company in external forums with technical credibility.
Demonstrated ability to influence through trade associations, scientific bodies, and external stakeholder forums, with a track record of credible scientific advocacy and coalition building.
Strong ability to build and sustain trusted networks with industry counterparts, government authorities, academic experts, NGOs, and other key opinion leaders.
Specific experience with safety assessment of ingredients, food contact materials, contaminants, pesticides, and other relevant product safety topics.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate complex toxicology and risk assessment concepts into clear, compelling messages for non-technical audiences, senior executives, regulators, and external stakeholders.
In-depth understanding of relevant regulatory frameworks for risk assessment, product safety, and substantiation of science-based positions.
Understanding of US federal and state risk management approaches; comparable international experience is a plus.
Comprehensive awareness of the external scientific, regulatory, policy, and political environment related to food and chemical safety, with the judgment to anticipate emerging issues and position the company effectively.

Responsibilities

Serve as the senior toxicology expert for North America and LATAM, providing authoritative, science-based guidance on ingredient, packaging, contaminant, pesticide, and product safety, including expert recommendations on suitability, risk characterization, and emerging risk mitigation.
Lead external scientific affairs and advocacy strategies across the Americas, translating technical toxicology positions into clear, credible, and influential messages for industry, regulatory, academic, NGO, and other external stakeholders.
Develop scientific strategies that enable innovation with new ingredients and technologies while ensuring consumer safety, regulatory readiness, and defensible toxicological risk assessment positions.
Deliver post-market support on matters relating to ingredient and product safety, including rapid, balanced, and business-relevant scientific assessments for issue management.
Partner with regional and global teams to shape and execute international scientific affairs strategies, including leading horizon scanning efforts to anticipate emerging scientific, regulatory, policy, and stakeholder issues and coordinate proactive responses.
Actively monitor new scientific developments in toxicological risk assessment directly and through the team.
Lead literature monitoring and assessment programs that provide timely, relevant, and actionable positions to senior leadership.
Coach, mentor, and elevate the team by strengthening technical toxicology capability, external engagement skills, and the ability to communicate complex science clearly to diverse audiences.
As a senior member of the global Scientific Affairs team, help shape, evolve, and deliver the functional strategy, ensuring toxicology expertise is integrated into R&D priorities, innovation decisions, risk management, and external advocacy.