R&D Food Scientist (Bilingual)

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: R&D Food Scientist (Bi-Lingual English & Spanish)

Location: Chicago, IL

Hire Type: Direct Hire

Shift: 1st Shift | Monday–Friday

Compensation: $26.00/hour

Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), PTO

Language Requirement: Must be bilingual in English and Spanish

Must Have Experience: Research & Development within a food manufacturing environment

Job Summary:

Seeking a Bilingual Quality R&D Technician to support new product development, quality initiatives, and documentation management within a food manufacturing environment. This cross-functional role collaborates with Production, Quality, Operations, and suppliers to help launch new products while ensuring compliance with food safety and quality standards. Ideal candidates are organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable working in both lab and manufacturing settings.

Job Duties:

• Assist in new product development projects, supporting items such as snack products, flatbreads, and customer-branded formulations from concept through commercialization
• Perform bench-top, lab, and pilot plant trials, making formulation adjustments to achieve targeted taste, texture, nutrition, shelf life, and cost objectives
• Maintain and update technical documentation, including formulations, testing data, SOPs, product specifications, and change documentation
• Partner with Production, Quality Assurance, Packaging, and Operations teams to ensure successful product scale-up and manufacturability
• Support food safety, regulatory, and labeling compliance in accordance with company standards and customer requirements
• Conduct sensory testing, shelf-life analysis, and competitive product evaluations to support product improvements and development initiatives
• Communicate with ingredient and packaging suppliers regarding specifications, quality concerns, and corrective actions when needed
• Assist with supplier quality investigations, documentation reviews, and follow-up communication
• Provide bilingual communication support with vendors and suppliers in both English and Spanish
• Contribute to supplier qualification efforts, ingredient sourcing, and continuous improvement projects

Qualifications:

• 1–3 years of experience in food product development, R&D, or a similar role within a food manufacturing environment
• Bachelor’s degree preferred in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry, Nutrition, or a related discipline
• Bilingual in English and Spanish (written and verbal)
• Strong documentation, organization, and attention-to-detail skills
• Ability to communicate professionally with cross-functional teams and external suppliers
• Comfortable working in a hands-on, fast-paced manufacturing and R&D environment

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information.