Product Development & Culinary Scientist

Product Development & Culinary Scientist

Job Description:

To contribute towards the delivery of Global Mars Food & Nutrition projects by developing innovative product solutions, and to drive the global innovation pipeline. The job holder will be required to collaborate closely with regional partners to enable technical solutions to be developed and delivered. The job holder will also be expected to help drive our Mars Food & Nutrition culinary agenda & to link science & culinary capabilities to deliver their objectives. The role will support the sensory and consumer science agenda providing consumer and sensory leadership to the R&D project portfolio.

What are we looking for?

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Food Chemistry, Biochemistry or science related technical field
• 3+ years professional experience in an FMCG environment
• Prior experience in product development (culinary background preferred)
• Professional knowledge of raw material, recipe/ formulation and manufacturing processes in a relevant field

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced Degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Food Chemistry or Biochemistry or science related technical field
• Project management experience
• Experience in sensory and consumer science

What will be your key responsibilities?

Product Development & Culinary

• Understand our consumers to develop product solutions from initial concepts which deliver to defined consumer and customer benefits, and ensure these solutions deliver to a business model as part of the global Food & Nutrition strategy. Translate product development briefs into final product propositions aligning with internal stakeholders. Understand how to leverage technology platforms across multiple product propositions. Ensure we approach product development from both a scientific & culinary perspective.
• Work seamlessly with Global and Regional Marketing, Packaging Innovation, Process Development, Science & Technology, Commercial, CMI, and Supply to establish product performance targets and a route to implementation. Continuously drive improvements to how we work, particularly with regards efficiency and agility. Influence the S&T Strategy & workstreams in the context of the global innovation pipeline.
• Lead product development workstream project delivery to time, cost and quality whilst working with and influencing key stakeholders. Understand the balance of proposition desirability, viability and feasibility. Develop and deliver an aligned final Product Specification.
• Ensure effective risk management of the product development workstreams, linking cross functionally.
• Drive the product development workstreams to pre-stage gate technical readiness and follow through on post launch review and optimization.
• Define the key quality attributes through iterative prototyping, sensory evaluation and consumer research (in collaboration with sensory and consumer scientists).
• Provide high quality formal and informal communication on the progress of the product development workstreams.
• Proactively managing Intellectual Property risks and opportunities and leveraging Intellectual Property to insulate our innovations.
• Support business and team objectives including engagement, impact planning and HPC.
• Link the science & the culinary to consumer understanding to develop new concepts & propositions. Translate Product Development Briefs into prototypes to learn from and further develop, ensuring we have relevant benchmarks.
• Drive external culinary trend understanding to build into future concepts and innovations, aligned with our business strategy.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Category Sales to support innovation activation, developing communication material and compelling culinary centered selling stories.
• Set up, conduct and analyze sensory and flavor related research on the consumer-product interface.

Sensory and Consumer Science

• Provide consumer research methodology leadership to Product Design and Development teams.
• Build and guide sensory panels to provide sensory leadership to R&D projects and enable tailored product design.
• Exploit existing sensory & consumer related product knowledge, identifying appropriate external partners and existing or new tools to address knowledge gaps and develop critical product insights on behalf of R&D associates. Use the data and knowledge gained to provide creative technical guidance and performance feedback based on proven consumer protocols.

What can you expect from Mars?

• Work with over 140,000 diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.
• Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
• Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
• An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.

#LI-Hybrid

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Mars is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.

About Us

Mars is a family-owned business with more than $35 billion in global sales. We produce some of the world’s best-loved brands: M&M’s, SNICKERS, TWIX, MILKY WAY, DOVE, PEDIGREE, ROYAL CANIN, WHISKAS, EXTRA, ORBIT, 5, SKITTLES, BEN’S ORIGINAL, and COCOAVIA. Alongside our consumer brands, we proudly take care of half of the world’s pets through our nutrition, health and services businesses such as Banfield Pet Hospitals, BluePearl, Linnaeus, AniCura, VCA and Pet Partners. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars operates in more than 80 countries. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our 140,000 Associates into taking action every day towards creating the world we want tomorrow.