Application Scientist (Chicago)

About the Company

Applications Scientist - Confectionary - Illinois

About the Role

This position is responsible for leading the development of innovative confectionery applications to support strategic customer initiatives and revenue growth. The role includes ownership of technical projects, customer facing innovation support, and leadership in scale-up and commercialization efforts. The Confections Applications Technologist serves as the technical expert for confectionery product development, including gummies, nutraceutical gummies, licorice, chocolate, compound coatings, hard candy, soft candy, chews, and related confectionery applications.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of confectionery applications for strategic customer presentations, product demonstrations, and trade shows.
• Serve as a technical liaison to customers, consulting on formulation, ingredient functionality, processing considerations, labeling, and regulatory compliance.
• Develop and optimize formulations for gummies, nutraceutical gummies, licorice, chocolate, compound coatings, hard candy, soft candy, pectin systems, starch-molded confections, chews, and related confectionery products.
• Evaluate flavor performance, sweetness systems, masking technologies, texture systems, and color performance in confectionery applications.
• Develop innovative prototypes aligned with consumer trends, customer requests, and strategic business objectives.
• Ability to navigate and apply legislation (FDA, Kosher, Halal, DSHEA), regulatory/nutritional labeling.
• Lead pilot trials and provide on-site support for scale-up and commercialization activities.
• Responsible for physical/chemical stability checks to determine shelf life reliability or to ensure product potency and structure meets intended shelf life.
• Collaborate with Flavor Development, Sales, Marketing, Regulatory, Quality Assurance, Operations, and Commercialization teams to support business objectives.
• Travel up to 25% domestically to support customer visits, product demonstrations, manufacturing trials, pilot plant activities, trade shows, and other business-related events.
• Evaluate and troubleshoot formulation, texture, processing, shelf-life, and flavor delivery challenges in confectionery systems.
• Effectively and efficiently execute assigned laboratory and customer development projects.
• Support product development and applications teams in tastings, information sharing, concept development, training, and sample creation as needed.
• Maintain detailed and accurate records of formulations, processing parameters, project activities, stability studies, and test results.
• Conduct sensory evaluations and participate in internal tasting panels to assess flavor, texture, and overall product performance.
• Stay current on confectionery market trends, ingredients, technologies, consumer insights, and manufacturing advancements.
• Mentor laboratory technicians and junior technologists on confectionery formulation and processing techniques.
• Report any food safety or quality issues to appropriate personnel.
• Perform other duties as assigned by management.
• Uphold and demonstrate stated client values with respect to all job responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Confectionery Science, Culinary Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field required.

Required Skills

• Minimum 3 years of confectionery product development or applications experience required.
• Strong experience in gummies, nutraceutical gummies, licorice, chocolate, compound coatings, hard candy, soft candy, chews, and related confectionery systems.
• Ability to support finished product labeling and regulatory compliance initiatives.
• Ability to support scale-up activities from bench-top development through commercial manufacturing.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and willingness to learn new software applications.
• Strong organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and within cross-functional teams in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Skills

• Preferred 5+ years of confectionery product development, applications, or commercialization experience.
• Preferred experience with gelatin gummies, pectin gummies, starch-molded products, sugar-free confectionery systems, and functional confectionery products.
• Preferred experience working with and applying active ingredients commonly used in nutraceutical products, including vitamins, minerals, botanicals, adaptogens, caffeine, and other functional ingredients preferred.
• Experience with flavor masking technologies and sweetness optimization for nutraceutical and functional confectionery products preferred.
• Knowledge of chocolate processing, tempering, viscosity management, bloom prevention, cocoa systems, and compound coating technologies preferred.