R&D Food Scientist IV - Lyons Magnus LLC

Lyons Magnus leads the food industry with creativity and innovation, crafting top-quality products across all manufacturing phases, from raw materials to marketing. With over 2,000 diverse items for industrial ingredient and food service sectors, Lyons caters to leading restaurant chains nationally and internationally.

At Lyons, our diverse and talented staff is the heart of our organization. We foster a thriving work environment where employees are engaged in shaping both the company's and their own future.

The highly motivated, successful applicant will be expected to be a member of the Research and development team, able to effectively implement innovative ingredient and processing technologies in new and existing products to ensure the company's sustainable growth and profitability.

Salary Range: $90,000 - $120,000/ per year

Shift: Day

Schedule: Monday - Friday

Core Responsibilities:

• Direct the coordinated development of new products and improvements of current products to deliver on objectives of the annual business plans. Apply sound culinary and scientific techniques to design products with consumer/customer valued attributes.
• Lead and manage multiple development projects using detailed investigations, well-thought-out experimental design, sound scientific techniques and data-based decision making.
• Work cross-functionally to develop new products and processes, improve existing products and to effectively solve problems.
• Develop relevant food products and initiate new concepts for assigned accounts.
• Establish professional relationships with fellow scientists and team members of our customers and suppliers.
• Work with other departments (Manufacturing, Engineering, Maintenance, Quality and Purchasing) to determine equipment, materials and processes necessary to produce products to maximize capacity and optimize product quality and differentiation.
• Participate in customer ideation session, focus groups and product demonstrations.
• Develop new or improved ways of developing, processing, packaging, storing finished products across Lyons Magnus’ portfolio of products.
• Adopt and use innovative diagnostic tools, processing technologies and ingredient technologies to improve product consistency and functionality.
• Respond to incoming field/manufacturing/customer questions by providing detailed technical research-based information and documentation.
• Design and execute experiments (laboratory and plant level) and prepare results for review.
• Select raw materials and equipment, define operational conditions, manage commissioning of new equipment, conduct trials, and conduct shelf-life testing of products.
• Develop finished products and processing specifications.
• Maintain accurate and complete records and report findings in the form of technical documents, presentations and standard operating procedures.
• Responsible for technical leadership in the area of ingredient technology with a focus on stabilization, flavoring, processing, and packaging.
• Responsible for creating and managing project plans and timelines.
• Effectively present research findings to other members of the organization, industry, and university collaborators.
• Maintain accurate and complete records and data bases, and report findings in the form of reports, technical documents, and presentations.
• Provide and promote collaboration with university-based researchers to facilitate research and implementation of results.
• Willingness to travel

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work with cross functional teams, internally and externally (e.g. research institutes, representatives of processing and produce industries, suppliers, laboratories, etc.).
• Ability to work independently and as part of a technical team.
• Individual must have strong product development skills in ingredient functionality, material selection, and formulation.
• Candidate must expertly plan and conduct trials, data collection, and interpret results to drive program and technical knowledge forward, developing robust action plans, risk assessments, and contingency planning.
• Demonstrated problem-solving skills (pays attention to details and effort to understand causes instead of just the effects) and creativity for developing innovative solutions and applications.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with strong emphasis on technical presentations and reports.
• Excellent communication to external partners including customers and vendor network.
• Ability to effectively manage multiple projects under short timelines to produce commercially viable solutions.
• Proven ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong project management skills, influential savvy, and perseverance.
• Consistently meet deadlines.
• Self-motivated, self-starter.
• Ability and willingness to work extended or odd hours when necessary.
• Ability to thrive in a fast paced, dynamic working environment.
• Mature, friendly, enthusiastic, and motivated team member.
• Effective written and oral communication skills.
• Excellent work ethic with proven ability to effectively balance multiple priorities.
• Ability to establish credibility with others.
• Ability to recognize and support the organizations preferences and priorities.
• Proficient in Excel, Access, Power Point, and ERP systems.
• Analytics skills, developing and building data models.
• Strong passion for science and creative problem solving.
• Technical knowledge with good reasoning and sound judgment abilities.

Education and/or Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree preferred, in Food Science, Dairy Science or an equivalent science program.
• Minimum 7 years experience in an industrial or applied research environment in the area of food science and technology, processing, or new product development.
• Demonstrated experience with the experimental design, execution and management of laboratory and Pilot Study trials and data collection.
• Experience with Food Service and QSR is preferred.
• Prior experience with customer interaction is required.
• Prior beverage development and application work is strongly desired.