Senior Food Scientist

Job Description

Job Description

ABOUT EVERYDAY DOSE

Everyday Dose is a functional coffee company on a mission to help people feel better, think clearer, and perform at their best, without the crash that comes with regular coffee. We're a fast-growing, nine-figure D2C brand with a loyal, high-retention subscriber base, and we're scaling our retention function to match our ambitions.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We’re hiring a Senior Food Scientist to work directly with the CEO and lead the development of new functional beverage formulations from benchtop through commercialization.

This is a science-forward role with full ownership of the formulation work. Analytical rigor, sensory methodology, and ingredient functionality are at the core of the job, and you’ll set the technical direction for how we formulate.

Coffee formulation, sweetener systems, and flavor systems experience is a meaningful differentiator. We work extensively with complex functional stacks layered into coffee systems, and we need someone who understands the sensory, solubility, and stability challenges that come with that.

This role owns formulation end-to-end. Regulatory, co-manufacturer management, and quality assurance are partnered functions—your bench is the center of gravity, not a service desk. As we grow the team, this role will mentor junior food scientists and lab technicians and help define what great looks like across the bench.

A food science degree is preferred but not required. Demonstrated bench experience, shipped products, and functional beverage expertise are what we’re actually evaluating.

Requirements

WHAT YOU'LL OWN

You’ll take primary ownership across several core areas of our R&D and product development function:

• Formulation & Product Development: Own functional beverage formulations from first benchtop prototype through stability-validated, production-ready formula.
• Analytical Testing & Stability: Design and execute the testing needed to understand shelf life, stability, oxidation, nutritional composition, and packaging compatibility.
• Sensory Evaluation: Build rigorous sensory evaluation into the development process and translate results into clear formulation decisions.
• Ingredient Research & Innovation: Evaluate emerging functional ingredients, technologies, and category trends and bring evidence-backed ideas into the innovation pipeline.
• Technical Leadership: Set the technical standard for formulation methodology, documentation, and sensory craft as we build our R&D bench.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Own formulation end-to-end: Develop new functional beverage formulations from initial prototype through stability validation and production readiness, driving the technical direction rather than simply executing against a brief.
• Develop coffee systems: Build and iterate on coffee bases across multiple SKUs, evaluating flavor profile, solubility, mouthfeel, and ingredient compatibility.
• Formulate functional stacks: Develop products around functional ingredient constraints with a rigorous understanding of how ingredients interact with different carrier systems.
• Evaluate ingredient performance: Determine the functional and sensory performance of ingredients in finished products using established analytical and sensory evaluation tools.
• Optimize formulations: Identify and execute cost optimization opportunities without compromising sensory quality or functional integrity.
• Maintain formulation records: Build and maintain version-controlled batch sheets, trial reports, experimental write-ups, taste evaluation records, and handover documentation, while setting the documentation standard for the broader bench.
• Design stability studies: Execute shelf-life, stability, and oxidation studies across formats and storage conditions, identify changes over time, and make data-driven reformulation recommendations.
• Partner on analytical testing: Work with the Quality Manager and external analytical labs to collect and interpret data on nutritional content, microbial testing, and packaging compatibility.
• Prepare commercial-ready formulas: Prepare finished-good formulas for costing, nutritional analysis, and sensory review while ensuring the accuracy of nutrition facts panels and ingredient declarations.
• Coordinate trials: Organize benchtop trials, pilot plant sessions, and shelf-life testing timelines with cross-functional teams.
• Lead sensory evaluation: Design and run internal sensory panels, including blind tastings, triangle tests, and paired comparisons, and translate feedback into actionable formulation changes.
• Benchmark the category: Systematically evaluate competitive products to identify taste, texture, and functional gaps our products need to close or beat.
• Support consumer testing: Prepare samples and protocols for consumer lab testing and interpret sensory results to inform go/no-go formulation decisions.
• Research new ingredients: Stay ahead of emerging adaptogens, novel delivery formats, clinically studied actives, and other developments in the functional ingredient landscape.
• Evaluate ingredients: Source and assess new ingredients by reviewing COAs, third-party clinical data, certifications, and sensory performance in finished products.
• Identify innovation opportunities: Conduct competitive benchmarking and ingredient research to uncover formulation white space and emerging category trends.
• Shape new products: Co-lead new product ideation with the CEO, bringing both scientific rigor and sensory instinct to early-stage innovation.
• Set the technical bar: Establish strong formulation methodologies and, as the team grows, mentor junior scientists and lab technicians on documentation, experimentation, and sensory craft.
• Communicate technical decisions: Clearly communicate project status, formulation decisions, risks, and technical tradeoffs to the CEO and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Maintain food safety standards: Maintain GMP in laboratory and pilot settings and perform all activities safely and in compliance with applicable food safety standards.
• Travel as needed: Visit partners for innovation sessions, prototype trials, and other product development work as required.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• 4–6 years of hands-on formulation and product development experience within functional food, beverage, or dietary supplement R&D.
• A track record of personally taking at least 2–3 commercial CPG SKUs from the bench through launch.
• Coffee formulation experience, including an understanding of sensory differences between arabica and robusta, spray-dried and freeze-dried instant coffee, and how to build functional ingredient stacks around a coffee base without compromising flavor.
• Working knowledge of functional ingredients used in wellness beverages, including mushroom extracts, adaptogens, collagen peptides, L-theanine, amino acids, and solubility-enhancing systems such as lecithins, cyclodextrins, and emulsifiers.
• Strong experience with flavor and sweetening systems and the ability to develop products that deliver on both taste and function.
• A strong analytical mindset—you can design a shelf-life study, interpret laboratory data, turn sensory results into clear formulation decisions, and explain your reasoning to non-scientists.
• Exceptional sensory evaluation skills and the ability to articulate specifically what is happening within a product’s taste, texture, mouthfeel, and overall experience.
• Independent project ownership. You can take an ambiguous brief, scope the work, determine the right methodology, and drive it to a commercial-ready finish without needing to be project-managed.
• Strong organization and documentation discipline. Formulation records, experimental write-ups, trial reports, and version tracking are fundamental parts of how you work.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced startup environment with aggressive timelines, shifting priorities, and a high bar for both taste and function.
• You believe taste and function aren’t a tradeoff—they’re a formulation challenge to solve.
• You can balance ingredient science, analytical data, and sensory judgment when making formulation decisions.
• You’re naturally curious about coffee, functional ingredients, and what makes a technically correct formula become a genuinely great product.
• You’re comfortable making decisions when the data isn’t perfect, documenting the rationale, and validating those decisions as additional information becomes available.
• You want to help build an R&D bench, not simply work on one. You’re energized by the opportunity to establish processes, determine what gets measured, and eventually help develop junior team members.

NICE TO HAVE

• M.S. in Food Science, Food Engineering, Nutrition, Chemistry, or a related field. A B.S. paired with deep hands-on bench experience is also valued.
• Hands-on experience with sensory panel methodology, including panel design, triangle tests, ballot construction, and data analysis.
• Experience writing or reviewing regulatory-facing documentation, including nutrition facts panels, ingredient declarations, and functional claim substantiation.
• Experience designing and executing stability and oxidation studies.
• Working knowledge of accelerated shelf-life testing methodologies.
• Previous experience as the first or second R&D hire at an early-stage CPG brand.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

Within your first two quarters, you’ve taken meaningful ownership of our formulation pipeline and established yourself as the technical lead at the bench. You’re independently moving functional beverage concepts from early prototypes through structured sensory evaluation, analytical testing, stability work, and production-ready formulations.

You’ve established rigorous, repeatable standards for formulation records, experimental documentation, sensory evaluation, and version control. Our product decisions are supported by a combination of strong science, reliable data, and thoughtful sensory judgment.

You’ve developed a deep understanding of our coffee systems and functional ingredient stacks and are identifying ways to improve taste, stability, solubility, functionality, and cost without compromising the product experience.

Most importantly, you’re helping build the foundation for how R&D operates at Everyday Dose—setting the technical bar today and creating processes that can scale as we add junior scientists and lab support.

Benefits

COMPENSATION RANGE

The typical salary range for this position is: $155,000-175,000 

The actual salary offer will take into account multiple factors, including skills, experience, education and location. Please note that the salary details listed in role postings reflect the base salary only, not total compensation, which includes equity and benefits.

BENEFITS

Health, Vision, and Dental Insurance

Everyday Dose offers comprehensive medical, vision, dental, and prescription plan coverage for all team members working 32+ hours per week. Eligibility begins on the first of the month following your start date, and we cover 75% of employee premiums.

401K Match

Starting on the first day of your fourth month with the company, you are eligible to participate in our company-sponsored 401(k) plan. The company offers a match of up to 80% of your contributions, capped at 5% of your salary.

Flexible Wellness Credits

At Everyday Dose, we prioritize your health and well-being. To support you, we provide salaried employees a $500 monthly wellness credit through JOON, which can be used for a variety of health and wellness-related services.

Helpr Support for Families

At Everyday Dose, we know that supporting our team means supporting their families too. That’s why we partner with Helpr — a modern backup childcare and family support platform that gives employees access to vetted, reliable caregivers. Helpr is here to make sure our team has trusted childcare support when they need it most — at home and at work.