Senior Food Scientist, Yogurt Product Development & Food Design

About Ingredion:

Join Ingredion, where innovation impacts lives worldwide! Without even realizing it, you've experienced our work in your favorite chocolate, your pet's food, the paper you write on, and your everyday snacks. As a global powerhouse across more than 60 industries, we harness the potential of natural ingredients to transform lives. Whether you're just starting your career or bringing years of experience, there's a place for you here to make a real difference. Be part of our team that values a wide range of perspectives and is committed to shaping a better world with every product we create.

Location: Bridgewater, NJ

Workplace type: On-Site/Hybrid (4 days/week on-site & 1 day/week remote)

Ingredion seeks a passionate and innovative Senior Food Scientist- Yogurt Formulator to join our Global Dairy and Alternative Dairy Applications team. In this role, you will lead and execute innovation projects focused on fermented dairy and alternative dairy yogurt products. This position requires a hands-on approach to food design and development, a strong foundation in food science, and technical curiosity. You'll apply your expertise across the full product development lifecycle, from ideation to commercialization, in a collaborative, cross-functional environment.

Join us to innovate and lead in the yogurt category!

What You'll Do:

• Lead product development initiatives in the yogurt category, collaborating and partnering with cross-functional teams, including Marketing, Region Technical Services, and customers to identify and deliver differentiated product solutions.
• Translate voice of customer and key customer value propositions from regional teams into technical solutions that make our customer's breakthroughs possible.
• Formulate and optimize fermented dairy and alternative dairy yogurt products in laboratory and pilot settings, overcoming technical challenges and ensuring commercial feasibility.
• Design and conduct experiments, analyze data, and assess structure-function relationships to drive formulation and process optimization and improvements.
• Serve as the subject matter expert in yogurt applications, providing guidance and innovative solutions to complex technical challenges and supporting commercialization efforts.
• Evaluate new ingredients, formulation structures, and technologies to enhance functionality that drives consumer liking.
• Manage Applications project timelines and deliverables, and clearly communicate progress, findings and recommendations to stakeholders.
• Coordinate sensory and consumer testing activities, manage sample production, and monitor product quality and organoleptic attributes throughout shelf life through analytical measurements (eg. pH, viscosity, brix, solids, etc.) and routine tasting sessions. Collaborate with Sensory, Rheology and Texture teams for in-depth product evaluations.
• Support scale-up and commercialization efforts with global and/or regional teams and customers,
• Maintain accurate and detailed technical and experimental documentation and ensure compliance with nutrition, regulatory, and food labeling standards.
• Stay updated on industry trends and participate in relevant international associations and conferences.
• Deliver impactful internal and external presentations, trainings and technical documentation to demonstrate Ingredion's innovation capabilities.
• Collaborate widely and actively with Ingredion's Dairy/ Alternative Dairy Applications community to share knowledge, best practices, and technical insights.

What you will bring:

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, Engineering or related field with 5+ years of progressive experience.
• Proven experience in developing and commercializing dairy and plant-based yogurt products.
• Expertise in experimental design, process development, troubleshooting and technical data analysis.
• Proven track record of taking products from concept to commercialization.
• Excellent communication skills, including technical reporting and impactful presentations.
• Ability to collaborate across functions and influence stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel up to 20% for customer visits, facility trials and conferences.

Who You Are:

• A creative problem solver with strong scientific rigor and a passion for food innovation in the yogurt space.
• A collaborative team player with proven industry experience, including exposure to pilot and plant manufacturing environments, and capable of scaling up products while troubleshooting processing challenges.
• A clear communicator committed to commercial excellence, with the ability to translate technical findings into business impact.
• Curious, proactive and eager to stay at the forefront of industry trends and emerging technologies.

Why Join Ingredion?

Discover why Ingredion is the ideal place to advance your career with our exceptional rewards and benefits package designed to help you thrive. Create the future with us and enjoy:

• Total Rewards Package - Competitive salary and performance-based pay recognizing your contributions to our success
• Comprehensive Benefits & Wellness Support - Health, long-term savings, and resources for your physical, mental, and emotional well-being
• Career Growth - Learning, training, and development opportunities, including tuition reimbursement
• Employee Recognition Program - A culture of real-time appreciation, with personalized recognition rewards globally
• Employee Discount Program - Provides exclusive discounts on everyday products, services, and travel

#LI-JG1

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. Ingredion seeks to provide a work environment that is free from harassment and discrimination. We will not tolerate any form of discrimination based on race, color, religion, age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, handicap or disability-mental or physical-marital status, sexual orientation, veteran status, disability resulting from military service, or any other classification protected by law ("protected classifications"). We are committed to establishing and maintaining a work environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

Ingredion provides accommodations to job applicants with disabilities throughout the hiring process. If a job applicant requires an accommodation during the application process or through the selection process, we will work with the applicant to meet the job applicant's accommodation needs.

Ingredion uses AI-enabled tools to support parts of the recruitment process, including resume screening and interview scheduling. These tools help match candidate skills to job requirements and streamline communication. All AI-assisted decisions are reviewed by our Talent Acquisition team to ensure fairness and compliance with applicable laws. By applying, you acknowledge that AI may be used to support your application journey.

Relocation Available:
Yes, Within Country

Pay Range:
$102,100.00-$136,166.67 Annual

This pay range is not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Final base salary will be determined based on several factors which may include but are not limited to responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data and applicable bargaining agreement (if any).

Incentive Compensation:

As a part of the total compensation package, this role may be eligible for the Ingredion Annual Incentive Plan or a role-specific commission/bonus.

Benefits:

Full-time roles are eligible for our comprehensive benefits package which includes medical, dental and vision coverage as well as a 401(k) plan with an competitive company match.