Senior Scientist, Product Research-Sweet Baked Snacks Research & Development Team

Due to the acquisition of Hostess Brands, we have several opportunities for new team members in our Sweet Baked Snacks team which will be permanently located in Orrville, Ohio!

Your Opportunity as the Senior Scientist, Product Research-Sweet Baked Snacks Research & Development Team

In this role you will be responsible for leading project and product testing to understand consumer needs translating them into technical requirements to drive business impact. You will leverage your critical thinking skills and understanding of product and consumer testing along with other technical skills to bring consumer desires, wants, and needs together with product possibilities (food and packaging) to formulate winning innovation as well as improve existing products. You will provide leadership for projects or programs including defining and executing testing and methods used for insight understanding, product optimization, and qualification of products. You will partner with consumer insights, product formulation, packaging, and process to ensure that we deliver the strongest products performance possible by combining consumer understanding with the technical design strengths of the team.

As a Sr. Scientist of Product Research, you will provide expertise and provide input into project briefs and final product designs that will shape the evolution of the product, and you will at all times act as the "voice of the consumer" in the technical team.

Location: Corporate Offices in Orrville, Ohio

Work Arrangements: Hybrid model with minimum 30% in person presence (increased based on business need/projects)

In this role you will:

• Be a leader, product and subject-matter expert, and the “voice of the consumer” within Sweet Baked Snacks (SBS) business.
• Lead qualitative and quantitative consumer research to understand consumers' needs and inform product development. This involves study design, fielding, data analysis, translation into technical requirements (design criteria, specifications, consumer models, etc.), and internal sharing of results.
• Have advanced ability to translate consumer-based needs into product design by working cross functionally with product, process, and packaging development.
• Lead any foundational research into category product learning for base product improvements
• Define and influence product research methods and activities working with other SBA's and externally with professional groups to bring in new ways of thinking on how to test and qualify new products as well as how to qualitatively develop insights that can be used for product development and optimization
• Initiate and lead Products Research methods and activities that guide current and future product innovation and technology platforms
• Become a subject matter expert (SME) on SBS products and consumers using that information to guide discovery and pipeline activities as well as active projects
• Coach and mentor other in products research and other technical disciplines
• Leverage and collaborate with other cross functional partners to integrate products research into the innovation, renovation, and product optimization process

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:

• B.S. Degree or higher in Science or Engineering. Food Science, Bakery Science, Consumer Science, or Sensory Science preferred
• 8+ years of experience preferably in Consumer-Packaged Goods (CPG) or with a 3rd party supplier with extensive experience in servicing CPG
• Passion for sweet baked snacks and baked goods. Direct experience in baked goods and working knowledge of food/bakery science is preferred
• Understanding and experience in designing, moderating and interpreting qualitative interviews
• Experience and understanding of product testing, designing tests to answer questions or test hypothesis, drawing conclusions from data, interpreting results and translating those results into action plans for food and packaging scientists
• Strong understanding of statistical analysis and data interpretation
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written
• Excellent organizational, critical thinking, and creativity skills
• Project management experience is highly valued, as individual will collaborate cross functionally to manage costs, schedules, and resources for the work.
• Effective presentation, verbal, and written communication skills. Able to distill complex technical issues and communicate to non-technical cross functional team members
• Comfortable in ambiguous situations and able to provide leadership and direction on projects even if outside of technical expertise
• Lead by example and willingness to teach and mentor others
• Can work with personal and food safety in mind
• Must be able to independently manage projects and be able to manage multiple projects simultaneously

Learn more about working at Smucker:

• Our Total Rewards Benefits Program
• Our Thriving Together Philosophy Supporting All Impacted by Our Business 
• Our Continued Progress on Inclusion, Diversity and Equity 

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