Senior Scientist - Extraction

Vibrant Ingredients•Vista, CA

12d•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a creative and technically accomplished Senior Scientist to help define the future of premium coffee and tea extraction. In this highly visible, hands-on role, you will apply deep expertise in tea and coffee chemistry, sensory performance, and process development to turn complex technical challenges into scalable ingredient solutions with distinctive flavor, aroma, and quality.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field.
10 years of experience in the Food Industry with a proven track record of success in new product development, improving process performance, and product quality.
Deep knowledge of manufacturing processes, including extraction, filtration, drying.
Good project management skills including MS Office (Excel, PPT, Word, etc.)
Experience and knowledge of a wide range of aqueous extraction and separation technologies including Spinning Cone column, cold brew coffee, filtration, evaporation, drying.
Hands on experience working with different tea, coffee raw materials and knowledge of their sensory characteristics and extraction behavior.
Excellent technical execution and project management skills
Well-developed communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively throughout all levels of the organization.
Ability to travel up to 25%

Nice To Haves

Direct experience with coffee/tea/botanical extraction and processing is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead formulation and development of new coffee and tea extracts, concentrates, essences, and other value-added products.
Conduct systematic technical assessment of existing processes. Redefine process parameters to balance extraction efficiency with preservation of desirable flavor and aroma characteristics.
Design and execute benchtop and pilot extraction experiments to understand the relationship between raw material characteristics, extraction conditions, processing parameters, and finished product performance.
Generate high-quality technical data and translate results into clear conclusions and recommendations.
Work with sensory teams and/or conduct structured sensory evaluations to assess product and process performance.
Stay current with emerging technologies, competitive products, processing methods, and industry trends related to tea and coffee ingredients.
Manage and drive projects to a successful outcome.