Principal Scientist, Next Generation Ingredients, Global Sweeteners & Salt

Job Description

The individual will support the Next Generation Ingredients – Global Sweeteners & Salt Technology Team working from the Glenview, IL R&D facility. This position offers the candidate an excellent opportunity to lead innovative and disruptive ingredient technology platforms while creating competitive advantage across the global Kraft Heinz portfolio.  

The candidate will manage technical platforms, identify, and lead ingredient technology development initiatives. The candidate should be able to also identify future technology platforms, prioritize research pathways, demonstrate proof of concept, develop prototypes, conduct technology scale-up trials, validate technologies in model systems and applications, conduct consumer testing, and commercialize technologies. This includes understanding of the business need, designing and executing tests, analyzing data, drawing conclusions, documenting, and communicating results to both technical and non-technical audiences.  Proven communication and collaboration skills are essential in this role.

The candidate must also have a proven strong technical background, leadership, ability to think critically to apply prior knowledge and scientific principles to new situations, and project management skills.  Technical background should include general food science and ingredient interactions with focus on sweeteners, flavor, and taste. The candidate should also have demonstrated cross-functional team leadership within their own organization and with the scientific community through leadership positions in industry associations. He or she will need to interact and build research collaboration programs within external ecosystems while progressing research pathways internally.

Responsibilities:

• The individual will identify, scope, design and develop technology platforms to support different KHC product categories renovations and innovations initiatives, assessing business case and risk
• Design and execute experimental plans. Apply learnings to drive product renovation and /or innovation
• Be able to embrace all aspects of ingredient technology development including the fuzzy front end, ideation, design, development and commercialization.  
• The candidate will need to also understand fundamentally other product technologies associated with applications.   
• Conduct bench top, pilot plant and plant trials to explore, optimize formulation and processes.
• Work cross functionally with other team members to progress company research project
• Responsible for technology scouting and discovery.
• Build /have external connection to research partners such as universities, research institutes, consultants

Technical Requirements:

• B.S. degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, or related fields with minimum of 7 years of relevant experience or M.S. in the above fields with 5+ years of relevant experience or PhD in above fields with 2+ years of relevant experience
• Experience with flavor, taste, and sweetener ingredient technologies and applications
• Demonstrated record of conducting research development projects and leading research programs individually and in collaboration with other teams
• Demonstrated executional excellence in technology discovery, scale up and commercialization experiences

Additional Requirements:

• Demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage complexity and demonstrated success of individually developed research programs
• Demonstrated ability to deal with ambiguity
• Demonstrated track record of creative, out of the box thinking with ability to define and prioritize research pathways that will ensure success
• Possess excellent industry external ecosystem and relationships, ability to manage multiple industry collaborations
• Possess technical /intellectual curiosity. Insulate technology to create KHC competitive advantage.
• Ability to manage projects with a high degree of autonomy
• Excellent verbal and communication skills
• Ability to build strong relationships and network
• Willingness to travel up to 20% of the time  

EEO Policy:

Kraft Heinz is an EO employer – Minorities/Women/Vets/Disabled and other protected categories

Location(s)

Glenview R&D Center

Kraft Heinz is an Equal Opportunity Employer that prohibits discrimination or harassment of any type. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Applicants who require an accommodation to participate in the job application or hiring process should contact NATAI@kraftheinz.com .