Senior Scientist - Cultured Dairy Products & Applications

Kerry•Beloit, WI

13d•$63,000 - $116,900

About The Position

Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. The Senior Scientist – Cultured Dairy Products & Applications is a key technical leader within Kerry’s Food Dairy business, driving innovation, customer satisfaction, and commercial success across cultured dairy platforms. This role blends advanced scientific expertise with hands-on processing knowledge to support customers in solving formulation, process, and scaleup challenges. The scientist leads development, optimization, and commercialization of cultured dairy solutions while providing high-impact technical support to internal teams and external customers.

Requirements

BS in Food Science, Dairy Science, Dairy Chemistry, Food Microbiology or related field with 8+ years relevant experience, or MS/PhD with 5+ years preferred.
Deep technical knowledge of cultured dairy products, including fermentation science, dairy biochemistry, ingredient functionality, and process interactions.
Proven ability to apply advanced scientific knowledge to solve complex technical and processing challenges.
Strong project leadership with demonstrated success commercializing new products and delivering customer-focused solutions.
Customer-centric mindset with the ability to anticipate needs, influence key stakeholders, and translate technical outcomes into business value.
Experience with experimental design, statistical analysis, and technical reporting.
Familiarity with food safety, regulatory frameworks, and quality systems relevant to cultured dairy manufacturing.
Strong understanding of processing equipment used in fermentation, heat treatment, homogenization, and cultured dairy packaging lines.

Responsibilities

Lead development of cultured dairy applications showcasing Kerry’s technology portfolio and optimization of existing formulations to support customer briefs and strategic EUM priorities.
Translate market insights and consumer data into differentiated, high-performing product concepts aligned to customer needs.
Benchmark competitive technologies and products and ensure internal prototypes meet or exceed industry performance standards.
Develop and execute technical plans that balance cost, quality, functionality, and manufacturing feasibility.
Create cost effective formulations, batching instructions, and process flow diagrams with a strong understanding of dairy processing unit operations and their impact on texture, flavor, and stability.
Lead pilot plant trials, factory scaleups, and commercialization in collaboration with Kerry manufacturing sites and customer production teams.
Provide expert troubleshooting support on cultured dairy manufacturing issues—including fermentation dynamics, culture performance, process deviations, ingredient interactions, and post-fermentation handling.
Serve as the primary technical resource for customers, delivering formulation support, processing recommendations, and rapid issue resolution throughout the commercialization cycle.
Conduct onsite and virtual technical sessions, including processing audits, product assessments, root-cause analyses, and optimization workshops.
Record trial procedures, observations, and results to drive data-informed decision making.
Lead sensory reviews, product evaluations, and shelf-life studies, communicating clear technical conclusions and improvement paths.
Identify technical risks, propose mitigation strategies, and maintain robust documentation to ensure repeatability and knowledge transfer.