Your Opportunity as a Principal Scientist, Product Development-Pet Research & Development

The R&D Principal Scientist will bring together consumer needs and product possibilities to create winning, break-through innovation, and is responsible for the development of technology platforms to support such innovation. He/she will be responsible for leading the creation, development, and qualification of new product innovation as well as providing technical thought leadership. The scope of this role covers Pet food, snacks, and other adjacencies and includes multiple brands within the Pet portfolio. The ideal candidate would have significant product development experience across a broad range of products, ingredients, and technologies with a strong ability to make connections across different technologies to solve challenging technical problems. He/she will serve as a technical advisor to senior management in his/her areas of expertise and/or technical focus, and a technical mentor to other product developers.

Location: Orrville, OH Corporate Campus

Work Arrangements: Anticipated 50% In-Person Presence (with flexibility)

In this role you will:

Develop, qualify, & recommend technology platforms that support break-through innovation and a pipeline of projects.
Create, execute, & analyze research plans to solve challenging technical problems. takes a new perspective using existing solutions.
Design and execute robust product experimental designs at all levels (lab, pilot plant and production facility).
Requires in-depth technical knowledge and Product development experience.
Requires conceptual and practical expertise in own discipline and basic knowledge of related disciplines.
Demonstrate critical thinking and creativity!
Works independently, with guidance in only complex situations (e.g., when decisions have functional or organizational impact), and contribute to the development of functional strategy.
Collaborate with peers, suppliers, consultants, and external researchers to identify new ingredients and processes or co-develop technical solutions.
Assess Intellectual Property opportunities through review and interpretation of patents and scientific publications.
Conduct technology (formulation and processing) assessments of competitive products.
Mentor and teach more junior colleagues and act as a technical resource for the Pet team.
Generally, acts as a resource for colleagues with less experience; may formally or informally manage a small number of individuals in own area of expertise.
Provide thought-leadership on product development, formulation, and/or ingredient functionality to the R&D organization.
Serve as technical lead and develop an appropriate learning plan and technical timeline; time management skills to stay on track with both and meet business goals.
Regularly maintain and update product formula and claims records in product life cycle systems.
Develop & maintain proper technical documentation. Properly document and report development progress, results, conclusions, and recommendations.
Will present and share technical content and development progress.

The Right Place for You

We are bold, kind, strive to do the right thing, we play to win, and we believe in a strong community that thrives together. Our culture is rooted in our Basic Beliefs, and we believe in supporting every employee by meeting their physical, emotional, and financial needs.

What we are looking for:

Minimum Requirements:

BS degree or higher in Science (e.g., Food Science, Chemistry, Biology, Nutrition), Technology (e.g., Engineering Technology), or Engineering (Chemical, Food, Biomedical, etc.)
Minimum of ten (10) years of relevant experience in Research & Development
Experience in food product development
Self-starter with high level of results orientation & proven track record of acquiring proficiency in new technologies.
Demonstrated knowledge of new product development process from concept through commercialization
In depth knowledge of design of experiments (DOE) and ability to perform data analysis of experimental results
Track record of applying technical mastery to solve complex problems.
Strong collaboration skills and experience partnering with internal and external colleagues to deliver technical solutions.
Strong written, verbal and oral communication skills
Work independently with minimal direct oversight.
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, managing multiple projects simultaneously.
Must be passionate and driven, yet flexible and willing to embrace changing business priorities and ambiguity.
Up to 15% Travel
Must be willing/able to drive a company or rental vehicle as needed.
Expertise with MS Office software (Excel, Outlook, Word, and Power Point)

Additional skills and experience that we think would make someone successful in this role:

Pet Food and/or Snacks formulation and product development experience
An advanced degree (Masters degree or PhD)
Experience with food processes, e.g. extrusion, thermal processing, or baking
Experience with formulation software
Meet the physical demands of the role as necessary, including but not limited to working safely around manufacturing processes and equipment

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