R&D Data Scientist

Pay rate: $60 - $65/hr

Title: R&D Data Scientist

Location: Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Contract: 6 months

TEAMS interviews; 2 rounds max of interviews.

• Lead and coordinate the R&D activities to deliver the brand’s program.
• Lead the technical discussions in cross‑functional meetings and represent the R&D view for the project team to technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Conduct technical risk assessments and provide recommendations on risk mitigation plans.
• Demonstrate flexibility to manage multiple priorities by adapting to daily challenges and priority changes within the business environment.
• Define the technical project brief and targets against which products can be designed (performance and attributes), developed and measured. Translate the brand philosophy, culinary and operator insights into superior new products.
• Demonstrate strong formulation expertise in Cooking Aids to lead new product design and renovations with speed.
• Design and execute test protocols for the various technical aspects of projects as required (e.g., prototype development and scale‑up, shelf‑life testing, analytical testing, performance testing, etc.).
• Lead the process of specification/label creation in SAP PLM from initial request through approved status including lower order specifications/new ingredient specifications and artwork brief generation.
• Analyze and interpret data with guidance on final conclusions including the ability to prepare comprehensive reports and presentations, including recommendations and next steps.
• Lead/support technical investigations using root‑cause analysis and problem‑solving techniques.
• Provide product expertise and insights into innovation and activation strategies. Be a product ambassador internally and externally, demonstrate awareness of operator insights and needs/behavior.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships and communicate effectively across NA and China R&D and non‑R&D functions (with key business and strategic vendor partners) to support business initiatives.
• Drive the connective thread between consumer (chef/operator) needs, technical expertise, and business strategy, working across US partners in MKT, CMI and R&D.

• Good written and oral communication skills (English and Chinese) in technical and non‑technical contexts.
• Knowledge of Chinese cuisine.
• Related background in Psychology.
• Effective in working with virtual teams.
• Pro‑active self‑direction with a high level of initiative and persistence and a very hands‑on approach to results delivery.
• Ability to manage complex relationships and solve complex problems.
• Passion for product development and extremely customer/consumer focus.
• Ability to identify and address emerging issues as well as set and manage priorities and continuously improve processes and practices.
• Comfort with multi‑tasking and operating in a fast‑paced, multi‑faceted, and multi‑cultural environment.
• Adapting consumer/technical information to communicate results with other cross‑functional team members such as marketing, customer development, nutrition and others.
• Knowledge on some scientific methodologies to drive design of experiments for various products.

Education:

Master of Science Degree in Food Science or equivalent degree.

Education:

Master of Science Degree in Food Science or equivalent degree.

Senior

Relevant

Experience:

+7 years of experience in the food industry, preferably in product development, processing, and/or project management. Experience with SAP PLM/Minerva, specification creation and approval process, demonstrated knowledge/experience especially in cooking aids technology, research experience in consumer, sensory, customer or market research (internship or graduate research experience included).