Sr. Sensory Scientist

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.

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

As the Senior Sensory Scientist, you will be responsible for designing sensory experiments to answer business questions. You will consult with key stakeholders to understand research needs, manage project execution, conduct statistical analysis, generate reports, and share findings with stakeholders. You will develop new sensory protocols and train sensory team members on these protocols to ensure high quality actionable data. This role reports to the Director of Global Sensory with a responsibility to support the Differentiated Services business unit.

What you will do:

Cross-Functional Consulting & Influence (40%)

• Act as a strategic thought partner to key stakeholders, shaping sensory vision and driving high-impact interpretation across Differentiated Services.
• Serve as the subject matter expert for Ingredion’s Differentiated Services, influencing key customer relationships and representing the company at high-level technical and industry forums.
• Provide sensory insights to customers and internal stakeholders though written reports and presentations.
• Interface with customer product development teams, being a trusted advisor on integrating sensory into the product development cycle.

Strategic Sensory Leadership (30%)

• Work with key stakeholders to develop new technical initiatives aimed at improving our predictive formulation capabilities.
• Oversee the development of new sensory methodologies.
• Work with the sensory laureate to integrate next generation technologies into the sensory team.
• Sit on cross functional working groups to ensure sensory is integrated into the Differentiated Services strategy.

Innovation & Thought Leadership (20%)

• Demonstrate scientific and technical leadership in sensory research to internal partners and external customers.
• Promote innovative approaches to integrating sensory science into predictive formulation workflows.
• Identify insights and trends from metadata analysis, build predictive model, and create interactive toolkits
• Capability Building (10%)
• Lead the Differentiated Services mentorship program, focusing on building technical and career guidance with geographical sensory team members.
• Lead internal training programs and knowledge-sharing initiatives.

What you will bring:

• Ph.D. or M.S. degree in Food Science or relevant sensory coursework, graduate degree preferred.
• 8+ years of relevant sensory and consumer research experience.
• Strong statistical understanding with the ability to interpret results in a business context.
• Ability to independently design experiments to answer research questions.
• Panel leadership experience, including training and mentoring panelists.
• Comfortable pivoting quickly between business priorities and projects.
• Highly detail-oriented with strong organizational and planning skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrates consumer empathy and applies insights to research outcomes.

• A deep interest in understanding the human perception of food and beverage
• Strong quantitative reasoning skills
• Ability to work collaboratively with peers and others
• Creative problem-solver with a continuous improvement mindset
• Desire to create research with impact

Discover why Ingredion is the ideal place to advance your career with our exception 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

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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:

Pay Range:

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.