McCain Foods

Senior Scientist

Reposted 7 Hours Ago

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Oakbrook Terrace IL USA

In-Office

86K-114K Annually

Senior level

Food • Retail • Agriculture • Manufacturing

At McCain Foods we know the importance that food plays in people's lives.

The Role

Lead product development projects for NA potato innovation from formulation through commercialization. Apply ingredient functionality formulation DOE and scale-up expertise; partner cross-functionally (Engineering Quality Procurement Culinary) and mentor junior scientists. Translate consumer and technical insights into scalable product platforms while maintaining documentation risk mitigation and regulatory/food-safety compliance.

Summary Generated by Built In

Position Title: Senior Scientist
Position Type: Regular - Full-Time
Grade: Grade 05
Requisition ID: 40817
In every role McCainers are ambitious curious and passionate about creating exceptional work experiences - together. With a customer-first mindset we make doing business with McCain easy.
About the role .
As a Sr. Product Development Scientist in NA Potato Innovation you will play a key role in developing optimizing and scaling innovative products and platforms across McCain's NA and Canadian Potato categories. You will lead and deliver complex product development projects applying strong scientific and technical expertise while partnering closely with global and regional stakeholders.
This role requires solid experience in ingredient functionality formulation processing and commercialization. You will contribute to shaping innovation pipelines by translating consumer customer and technical insights into feasible and viable product solutions. As a senior individual contributor you will serve as a trusted technical partner support capability building within R&D and represent the voice of Product Development in cross-functional forums.
What you'll be doing .
1. Front-End Innovation & Platform Development

Contribute to the identification and development of innovation opportunities grounded in consumer culinary and technology insights in partnership with Sensory UX Insights Commercial and Marketing.
Support the development and evolution of product platforms that can scale across regions and customers.
Translate insights and concepts into technically sound product designs with clear development and feasibility pathways.
Demonstrate a working understanding of market trends emerging technologies and the competitive landscape to inform product and project decisions.
Where appropriate partner with Global Innovation Platform team to align and translate global innovation opportunities into regional pipeline initiatives.

2. Technical & Scientific Leadership

Lead technical execution of product development projects from formulation through commercialization.
Apply strong knowledge of ingredient functionality formulation principles and processing to solve development challenges.
Design and execute development and validation work including DOE pilot trials scale-up activities and commercialization readiness.
Partner with internal teams (ATI Engineering Quality Procurement) and external suppliers to deliver products that meet key performance cost and quality targets.
Serve as a technical contributor or subject matter expert in assigned technology or product areas.
Maintain high standards of project documentation including technical plans risk assessments trial summaries and feasibility reviews.
Stay current with advancements in food science and ingredient technology through journals supplier engagement and professional networks.

3. Project & Portfolio Execution

Serve as the Product Development technical lead on innovation projects representing R&D and other Technical functions across cross-functional teams.
Own technical deliverables timelines and risk mitigation plans within assigned projects.
Proactively identify technical risks and work with the team to develop practical mitigation strategies.
Ensure alignment between technical execution project objectives and business priorities.

4. Collaboration Influence & Capability Building

Communicate technical findings and recommendations clearly to cross-functional and regional stakeholders.
Support and mentor junior scientists and team members through knowledge sharing and on-the-job coaching.
Collaborate with Culinary and customers to co-create and adapt recipes to meet menu needs and "back-of-house" requirements.
Lead raw material sourcing evaluation improvement and approval activities in partnership with Procurement.
Support Commercial and Marketing with technical input for customer presentations and innovation discussions.
Provide technical support to Manufacturing Q&FS Engineering and Technical Operations to resolve product or process issues.
Share learnings on trends ingredients and new product introductions with the broader Product Development team.

What you'll need to be successful .
Education and Experience

BS or MS degree in Food Science Chemical Engineering or a related field.
Minimum 5+ years of relevant experience in product development preferably within food CPG or manufacturing environments.

General Competencies

Proven ability to independently lead and deliver multiple product development projects.
Strong communication skills with the ability to translate technical information for non-technical audiences.
Effective collaborator across regions functions and cultures.
Demonstrates learning agility and openness to new tools methods and insights.
Applies commercial understanding to balance consumer desirability technical feasibility and business needs.
Comfortable working with ambiguity and evolving project scope.
Well-organized with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities.
Positive self-motivated and solution-oriented mindset with a passion for innovation.

R&D Technical Competencies

Strong capability in experimental design data interpretation and scientific rigor.
Working knowledge of GMP HACCP food safety and the product development lifecycle.
Knowledge of food laws related to product labeling and nutritional requirements.
Demonstrates solid technical expertise in formulation ingredients and processing; applies data-driven approaches and DOE to optimize development decisions.
Anticipates and addresses scale-up considerations in partnership with manufacturing and engineering teams.
Contributes to continuous improvement in development practices and technical standards.

About McCain .
Click Here to learn more about McCain and how we provide you with opportunities to make an impact that matters.
Leadership principles .
At McCain our leadership principles guide how we engage with customers collaborate as a team and achieve success. We focus on understanding customer needs driving innovation empowering people and taking ownership to clear obstacles and deliver results.
The McCain experience .
We are McCain. This statement is a testament to our collective strength and our individual value. Your contributions play a vital role in our success. Our winning culture is rooted in authenticity and trust empowering us to bring out the best in one another. Here you'll find opportunities to learn grow and thrive. Join us and experience why we're better together.
Our purpose is grounded in building meaningful relationships. We're big believers in the power of working together in person-it helps us stay connected collaborate more effectively and grow as a team. At the same time we recognize the importance of flexibility. Most office-based roles follow a hybrid model with the option to work remotely two days a week. There may be exceptions depending on the role and location so we encourage you to speak with your recruiter for more details.
Compensation Package : $85500.00 - $114000.00 . USD annually + Bonus eligibility
The above reflects the target compensation range for the position at the time of posting. Hiring compensation will be determined based on experience skill set education and training and other organizational needs. This posting is for an existing vacancy.
Benefits: At McCain we're on a mission to create a winning culture that puts employee safety and well-being at the heart of what we do every day. We understand and appreciate that each person's needs are unique and ensure our benefits & well-being programs reflect that. Employees are eligible for the following benefits: health coverage (medical dental vision prescription drug) retirement savings benefits and leave support including medical family and bereavement. Well-being programs include vacation and holidays company-supported volunteering time and mental health resources. Coverages are aligned with country provincial and state governing plans and can vary by work level location and nature of the role. Additional benefit detail available during the application process.
Your well-being matters to us and we're here to provide you with the necessary resources to support you in being your best self at work - and at home.
McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. As a global family-owned company we strive to be the employer of choice in the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that inclusion drives our creativity resilience and success and makes our business stronger. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race religion color national origin sex age veteran status disability or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.
McCain is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms) please let us know and we will work with you to find appropriate solutions.
Your privacy is important to us. By submitting personal data or information to us you agree this will be handled in accordance with McCain's Global Privacy Policy and Global Employee Privacy Policy as applicable. McCain leverages AI in the hiring process though all final decisions are made by humans. You can understand our approach to AI and how your personal information is being handled here.
Job Family: Research & Development
Location(s): US - United States of America : Illinois : Oakbrook Terrace
Company: McCain Foods USA Inc.

Top Skills

Doe

Gmp

Haccp

Product Development Lifecycle

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The Company

HQ: Florenceville-Bristol NB

20000 Employees

Year Founded: 1957

What We Do

The power it has to uplift and bring people Guided by our purpose - Celebrating real connections through delicious planet-friendly food - we believe that working together with our teams business and community partners will bring sustainable growth and positive change - today tomorrow and for generations to come. As a privately owned family company with over 60 years of experience a presence in over 160 countries and a global team of 22000 people our values and culture are at the heart of everything we do. Our product quality people and customer dedication help us achieve global sales in excess of CDN $10 billion. Through our investment and innovation we continue to be a global leader in prepared potato products including our famous French Fries and appetizers. We are passionate about supporting and developing our people-providing opportunities to grow and learn in their roles as well as building careers for the long term.

Why Work With Us

We are working to bring digital tools and data into our processes to drive efficiency automation and data-driven insights. From connecting our business enabling our supply chain supporting our customers to reinventing agriculture. So if you are a tech expert looking to join a company transforming technology think of McCain.