Senior Research Scientist, Plant Proteins

Louis Dreyfus Company • Livermore, CA

4h • Onsite

About The Position

Louis Dreyfus Company is a leading merchant and processor of agricultural goods. Our activities span the entire value chain from farm to fork, across a broad range of business lines, we leverage our global reach and extensive asset network to serve our customers and consumers around the world. Structured as a matrix organization of six geographical regions and ten platforms, Louis Dreyfus Company is active in over 100 countries and employs approximately 18,000 people globally.

Requirements

• PhD in protein chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics or related fields. MSc degrees will be considered given the evidence of PhD+ level of knowledge in the relevant areas.
• Minimum 5 years of working experience in a plant protein processing or relevant food and beverage ingredient manufacturing industry
• 8+ years of experience
• Experience in (plant) protein extraction
• Deep understanding of (plant) protein structures and functionality
• 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
• Written and verbal English language proficiency
• Ability and desire to work effectively in a team, leading and mentoring research associates, collaborating with fellow scientists and engineers, and setting an example of scientific excellence for the team.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in characterization of volatile and non-volatile flavor compounds is a plus.
• 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.
• Develop new methods to extract protein fractions from various plant sources for food applications.
• Innovate new ways to produce protein ingredients while with a vision on value proposition – economics, functionality and taste.
• Generate valuable intellectual property to enrich LDC’s plant protein patent portfolio.
• Set up protein characterization platform to assess physio-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.
• Lead by example in terms of research execution with attention to detail and ownership of project deliverables.
• Coach and mentor less experienced team members.
• Supervise research assistant and/or associate. Work closely with the research scientists and engineers across the function.
• Day to day decisions on experiments and their design to meet project’s KPI.

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

What This Job Offers

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