SME - Dairy Based Sauces & Processed Cheese

Subject matter expert responsible for the development of process cheese, sauces and many other applications across the wide landscape of current and future dairy possibilities. This position is responsible for development from concept/opportunity through commercialization (at the customer). This person will be relied upon as an expert related to Process Cheese and Sauces including the dairy science research, innovation, development, applications; relating to new product/solution development. Key driver of organic growth through monetization of the opportunity and innovation pipeline.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Research dairy science, food science and equipment for the purpose of innovating new technologies and the development of intellectual property (IP) for DFA
• Develop new process cheese and sauce solutions using DFA's plethora of ingredient options and manufacturing capabilities
• Work with engineering and process technology to continuously expand DFA's process cheese and sauce capabilities through discovery of new tech, equipment/process modification, and formulation
• Reformulate products as appropriate to reduce cost including building least cost/flexible formulation models encompassing of the fluctuation commodity markets and raw material availability
• Perform applications testing simulating the customer's end-use to ensure the products developed exceed the customer's expectations for taste, functionality, and nutrition
• Utilize sensory science tools, available in the Innovation Center, to give data points to the customer demonstrating expectations are met/exceeded
• Perform pilot plant testing to ensure a successful scale-up for DFA manufacturing and ultimately the end customer
• Drive the commercialization of new products by partnering with the process technology team in the plants
• Support the customer in scale up and commercialization to ensure DFA people and products are part of the scale up and launch
• Effectively operate all pilot plant equipment required to properly scale-up and test in application
• Develop effective concepts for benchtop sessions, in partnership with sales and marketing, to generate wins with customers
• Support sales in determining customer needs, problems, insights, and strategy that would ultimately require a DFA solution
• Proactively initiate action plans to develop the solutions and capabilities
• Inspire and excite customers through demonstration of unique new products and applications that are relevant to their consumers
• Partner with sales to understand customer's future needs, their brands, and strategies to anticipate new areas of capability development and innovative ideas for end use categories
• Provide technical and applications expertise to support the customer
• Drive opportunities to commercialization internally and close with the customer
• Co-create and effectively utilize the product lifecycle management (PLM) process and adhere to the Scientific Development Standards Process, including version control, development notes and documented learnings
• Effectively utilize CRM (Salesforce.com) as a tool to manage status of the opportunities, project milestones in the pipeline and track KPIs related to the opportunity pipeline continually improving our R&D service to customers, ultimately leading to faster speed-to-market driving increased customer connectivity.
• Collaborate with and influence technical sales, customer support and other stakeholders to "solve for yes"
• Contribute to technical content and review presentations for sales and marketing
• Provide effective, timely and relevant reporting to leadership
• Apply strong knowledge of the DFA's capabilities - including understanding the functional and technical aspects of the products and how DFA's capabilities differentiate us from others in the industry
• Demonstrate a "never stop learning" mindset and influence others to adopt this mindset
• The requirements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employee, but is not a complete list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required. Other duties may be assigned as required.

Minimum Requirements:

Education and Experience

• B.S. degree in a biological science related discipline
• Master's degree or PhD desirable
• 10+ years of experience in R&D
• Proven career advancement in food ingredients and products
• Proven experience and expertise developing process cheese and sauce products
• Proven successful track record in new product development with multiple examples of commercialized products/solutions directly
• Areas of expertise:




• Process cheese and sauces
• Dairy science

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Food safety programs and food safety by design
• Food regulatory & labeling laws including both: USDA & FDA
• Strong leadership abilities
• Exceptional communication skills
• Ability to solve complex customer demands and problems
• Self-driven and committed to hands on work habits
• Ability to initiate and adapt to change
• Ability to balance heavy workload and manage multiple tasks
• Must have the ability and capability to interact and communicate with the most senior levels of the organization
• Able to read, write, and speak English

An Equal Opportunity Employer including Disabled/Veterans