Food Scientist

Job Title: Food Scientist

*** Must have 3 years of Food Scientist/Food Product Development Experience

Job Description

The Food Scientist is an individual contributor responsible for leading new food product development from initial concept through commercial production. This role translates customer and marketing requirements into benchtop formulations, pilot batches, plant trials, and successful commercial launches, with a strong emphasis on hands-on work in active manufacturing environments. The position focuses on bakery, pastry, frozen dessert, and related systems, ensuring products are technically sound, commercially viable, and consistently reproducible at scale.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end development of new food products, translating customer and marketing briefs into commercially viable formulations.

• Create and refine benchtop prototypes and conduct pilot-scale testing to optimize product performance.

• Apply food science principles to optimize ingredient functionality, sensory attributes, product stability, and manufacturability.

• Develop bakery and dessert systems, including doughs, laminated and crumb crusts, fruit fillings, custards and cream systems, emulsions, stabilizers, and freeze-thaw products.

• Design and formulate private-label products based on customer specifications, target attributes, manufacturing capabilities, and price points.

• Own the full development lifecycle for new products, including concept, benchtop, pilot, plant trials, scale-up, first commercial runs, and post-launch specification runs.

• Lead plant-scale trials and troubleshoot issues involving formulas, ingredients, equipment, or manufacturing processes.

• Be present onsite during critical first production runs to ensure successful scale-up and reproducibility.

• Translate benchtop formulations into robust, repeatable commercial manufacturing processes.

• Document lessons learned, process changes, and corrective actions following trials to support continuous improvement.

• Develop and validate shelf-life requirements for new and existing products.

• Evaluate key shelf-life parameters such as water activity, pH, freeze-thaw stability, thaw-and-serve performance, and microbiological shelf life.

• Collaborate with Quality teams and third-party laboratories to validate product code dates and shelf-life claims.

• Immediately escalate any food safety, allergen, or labeling concerns to appropriate stakeholders.

• Support nutritional analysis and regulatory labeling activities for new and existing products.

• Review ingredient statements and allergen declarations to ensure accuracy and compliance.

• Verify packaging proofs to confirm that labeling, claims, and ingredient information are correct.

• Ensure finished product specifications align with applicable food safety and regulatory requirements.

• Partner with Quality to establish finished product standards and specifications, including written specifications, product tolerances, reference photographs, preparation instructions, and baking instructions.

• Ensure products manufactured across multiple facilities meet consistent quality and performance standards.

• Build Bills of Material (BOMs) for new products and maintain accurate formulation documentation.

• Calculate and evaluate ingredient costs, partnering with Finance to ensure formulations meet margin expectations.

• Reformulate products when necessary to meet cost targets while maintaining product quality and integrity.

• Provide technical support to Sales for private-label product development and customer discussions.

• Partner with Purchasing and Quality to evaluate and qualify new ingredients and suppliers.

• Support ingredient qualification testing and develop secondary sources for critical ingredients.

• Assess ingredient functionality, quality, cost, and manufacturing performance to ensure reliable supply and product consistency.

• Serve as a technical R&D resource when production issues arise, supporting active manufacturing operations.

• Diagnose formulation, ingredient, process, or equipment variables that affect finished product quality.

• Develop corrective actions, implement changes, and document updates to prevent recurrence of production issues.

• Work cross-functionally with Production, Quality, Sales, Purchasing, and Finance to support successful product launches and ongoing manufacturing.

• Travel periodically to other manufacturing facilities to support trials, first runs, and ongoing production needs.

Essential Skills

• Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Culinary Science, or a related discipline, or equivalent professional pastry credentials combined with demonstrated commercial formulation experience.

• At least 3 years of food product development, R&D, or culinary development experience within a commercial food manufacturing environment.

• Demonstrated experience taking products from concept or benchtop through pilot trials, plant trials, scale-up, and full commercialization.

• Strong formulation skills and hands-on troubleshooting abilities in an active manufacturing environment.

• Experience developing product specifications, formulas, and manufacturing processes for commercial food products.

• Solid understanding of food manufacturing and scale-up principles, including the transition from lab to plant.

• Working knowledge of food safety requirements, GMP principles, allergens, nutritional analysis, and FDA labeling regulations.

• Ability to review and support accurate ingredient statements, allergen declarations, and regulatory labeling.

• Experience building Bills of Material (BOMs) and evaluating formulation and ingredient costs.

• Comfort working within active food production facilities, including participation in plant trials and first production runs.

• Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams, including Production, Quality, Sales, Purchasing, and Finance.

• Demonstrated skills in bakery and frozen dessert product development, including dough and crust formulation and fruit fillings.

• Valid drivers license and ability to travel up to 25%, including multi-day trips to manufacturing facilities.

• Strong experimental design, problem-solving, and analytical skills for formulation and process troubleshooting.

• Clear written and verbal communication skills for documentation, specifications, and cross-functional collaboration.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Bakery, pastry, pie, or frozen dessert development experience in a commercial setting.

• Strong understanding of bakery ingredient functionality and how ingredients interact in complex systems.

• Hands-on experience with doughs, crust systems, fillings, custards, emulsions, stabilizers, and hydrocolloids.

• Experience developing freeze-thaw stable products and thaw-and-serve items.

• Experience in private-label food manufacturing and customer-driven product development.

• Familiarity with HACCP, PCQI, or SQF programs; related certifications are a plus.

• Experience supporting multiple manufacturing facilities and ensuring product consistency across sites.

• Ability to interpret and apply FDA labeling requirements and related regulatory standards.

• Comfort with traveling regularly to support plant trials and production runs at remote facilities.

• Interest in contributing to the growth and modernization of an expanding R&D laboratory and product portfolio.

Work Environment

This role is based onsite in Silverton, Oregon, working primarily in an R&D laboratory and active food production facilities. The position follows MondayFriday standard business hours, with occasional flexibility to support plant trials and first production runs as needed. The R&D lab is scheduled for an expansion and renovation at the end of 2026, which will include a dedicated private office for the Food Scientist and an upgraded workspace. The work environment involves frequent interaction with production lines, equipment, and bakery and dessert manufacturing processes, requiring comfort in active plant settings. Travel to manufacturing facilities in Georgia occurs approximately once a month for up to three days at a time, typically a few months after hire to allow time for onboarding and local integration. The organization offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with matching, paid time off, and an annual performance bonus, supporting both professional growth and long-term career development.

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Silverton, OR.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $80000.00 - $90000.00/yr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Performance Bonus - Yearly! Medical insurance Dental insurance Vision insurance 401(k) 401(k) matching Paid time off

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Silverton, OR.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Nov 19, 2026.

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Silverton,OR.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on click.appcast.io for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.