Senior Scientist – Dough

KFC•Plano, TX

About The Position

Pizza Hut is looking for a highly driven Senior Food Scientist to support product innovation, formulation, and continuous improvement initiatives across a dynamic portfolio of food products – with a primary focus on dough. This role is ideal for someone passionate about food science, product development, and innovation within a fast-paced, franchise driven, QSR environment. The selected candidate will collaborate globally and cross-functionally with supply chain, quality, procurement, operations and commercial teams to develop and optimize products that align with consumer experience, quality and cost.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Chemistry or related field – with a preferred concentration in wheat/grains/bakery science.
5+ years of experience in product development, R&D, or food manufacturing environments
Experience within large scale global QSR or CPG environments
Strong understanding of food formulation, ingredient functionality, food processing and quality systems
Exposure to process optimization, commercialization and sensory science and ability to proactively and positively interface with various cross functional and technical teams
Ability to flawlessly execute bench work
Must be proactive, reliable and self-motivated
Passion for food innovation and emerging industry trends
Ability to manage priority tasks with little supervision
Must possess excellent verbal and written communication and collaboration skills
Ability to apply initiative and creativity to problem solving
Strong project management, analytical, and problem-solving skills
Must be well organized, capture work details and learning and highlight any unexpected results

Nice To Haves

Experience working with fresh and frozen doughs a plus

Responsibilities

Lead product development and reformulation initiatives from concept through commercialization.
Develop and optimize formulations, ingredients, and manufacturing processes to improve product quality, consistency, shelf life, cost efficiency, and to improve overall product experience to consumer.
Conduct bench trials, plant trials, sensory evaluations, and product validations.
Partner with cross-functional teams including Quality Assurance, Operations, Supply Chain, and Marketing to ensure successful product launches and continuous improvement.
Analyze product performance, market trends, and competitor products to identify innovation opportunities.
Support scale-up activities and ensure products are manufacturable within operational capabilities.
Maintain accurate documentation related to formulations, specifications, testing, and process validations.
Collaborate with suppliers to evaluate ingredients, troubleshoot challenges, and identify alternative solutions when needed.
Ensure compliance with food safety, regulatory, and quality standards throughout all stages of development.
Manage project timelines and communicate progress effectively with key stakeholders.