Sr. Food Science & Data Analytics Specialist

International Dairy Queen, Inc.•Bloomington, MN

14h•$74,968 - $89,962•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Food Science & Data Analytics Specialist serves as the technical and analytical lead for the Research & Development department, leading data management, reporting, and insights. The role combines food science expertise with analytical thinking to identify meaningful trends, investigate what is driving the data, and translate findings into clear, actionable recommendations. The position transforms complex information into business intelligence supporting product trends, sensory evaluation, risk management, regulatory compliance, supplier performance, product quality, and operational excellence. The specialist identifies important findings, risks, and opportunities, asks follow-up questions, and recommends actions and improvements. The role partners across R&D (FSQR and Product Development), Supply Chain, Operations, International, Distribution, IT, and supplier partners to develop data-driven solutions that improve decision making and strengthen food safety and quality performance throughout the Dairy Queen system. It is a subject matter expert for data analytics, regulatory intelligence, emerging risk identification, and continuous improvement, with broad exposure across Food Safety, Quality, Regulatory, and Product Development. The position offers the opportunity to build and shape a growing R&D analytics capability and influence how data is used across R&D. The role may be based at the global headquarters in Bloomington, Minnesota, where most positions work a hybrid schedule with three collaboration days per week. Additional office time may be needed for team or project needs. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required to meet project deadlines, and travel may be up to 20%. The targeted U.S. base salary range is $74,968–$89,962; pay is determined by job-related skills, work location, and relevant education or experience.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Nutrition, Quality Assurance, or equivalent related experience in lieu of a degree.
Coursework, experience, or demonstrated interest in data analytics or statistics.
3–5 years of progressive responsibility experience in food safety, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, data analytics, or related disciplines.
Demonstrated experience leading complex projects and cross-functional initiatives from analysis through implementation.
Proficiency with data visualization and business tools such as Power BI, Domo, Tableau, or similar platforms, and strong Microsoft Office skills.
Experience with SQL, databases, data modeling, reporting automation, and data governance or validation practices.
Knowledge of AI-enabled productivity and analytics tools, including Microsoft Copilot, and ability to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and analytical capabilities.
Experience with food safety, quality, audit, complaint, regulatory, or workflow management systems.
Strong understanding of food science principles and current industry and technical issues, with ability to apply technical knowledge to root cause analysis, problem-solving, and risk identification.
Ability to organize and analyze complex data, identify meaningful trends and conclusions, and apply statistical concepts to produce actionable recommendations.
Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills, including ability to explain complex technical and analytical information clearly to varied audiences.
Ability to influence through logic, data, and technical credibility; build effective relationships with internal and external partners; and deliver constructive feedback when needed.
Self-starter with strong initiative, accountability, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple priorities and complete work in a fast-paced, changing environment.
Ability to work occasionally during evenings and weekends as needed to meet project deadlines and travel up to 20%.
Must be authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Experience working within restaurants or food service, food manufacturing, franchising, or supply chain environments.

Responsibilities

Establish and lead a new R&D data analytics capability supporting Food Safety, Quality, Regulatory, and Product Development teams.
Build and maintain dashboards, scorecards, recurring reports, and executive summaries covering R&D data, project performance, supplier and product performance, quality trends, emerging issues, and key risk indicators.
Translate complex datasets into insights, recommendations, presentations, and business cases for R&D leadership and cross-functional decision making.
Establish data governance and reporting practices that improve data quality, consistency, accessibility, and use of analytics across R&D.
Build R&D capability through technical guidance, training, and adoption of data and analytics tools.
Analyze food safety, quality, supplier, audit, complaint, regulatory, operational, cold chain, and laboratory testing data to identify trends, risks, and improvement opportunities.
Develop predictive and risk-based analytics to proactively identify and manage food safety, supplier quality, product performance, and compliance concerns.
Support regulatory and traceability initiatives, including FSMA 204 data management, compliance reporting, and restaurant support using established data management tools.
Analyze sensory evaluation, product benchmark, consumer insight, market performance, and competitive data to improve product success criteria and inform innovation strategy.
Build and use searchable product profiles covering current and historical products, LTOs, formulations, product attributes, launch details, market performance, and key learnings to identify sensory white spaces, trends, similarities, benchmarking opportunities, and process improvements.
Occasionally work evenings and weekends as needed to meet project deadlines and travel up to 20%.
Comply with the requirement to be authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship.