Food Scientist

Job description

Job Title: R&D Research Scientist
Job Description
The Product Development Scientist, Health & Wellbeing, will play a pivotal role in supporting the development of top-tier formulations aimed at propelling the growth ambitions of the Health & Wellbeing Collective.

This position focuses on new product development and market entry while establishing an external ecosystem of technical partners and capabilities.

The role involves cross-functional interaction and coordination with various departments, including Marketing, Supply Chain, Quality, Regulatory, and external partners, to ensure timely achievement of objectives.
Responsibilities

+ Support formulation design work for innovations to deliver superior, design-to-value, and consumer-winning products.

+ Collaborate seamlessly with other R&D functions, such as packaging, Consumer Technical Insights, processing, and regulatory teams, to ensure project delivery.

+ Ensure statutory regulatory and legal compliance for products and processes.

+ Identify and establish appropriate technology for manufacturing products to specification at lab-scale and pilot-scale.

+ Scale up production to factory level with relevant transfer of technology documentation and training for the factory team.

+ Develop and enforce specifications, formulations, processes, packaging, and Quality Assurance regimes.

+ Conduct shelf-life studies to establish the shelf-life of new products and intervene through formulation to enhance it.

+ Utilize appropriate analytical techniques to characterize key physical attributes of the product.

+ Engage with the marketing team to gain insights and translate them into product properties and performance.

+ Anticipate and mitigate environmental, safety, regulatory, PR, and competitive challenges.

+ Build and maintain strong networks with cross-functional teams including Brand, CMI, SC, and CQA.

Essential Skills

+ Bachelor's degree in Pharmacy or Science.

A Master's degree in Science, Pharmaceutics, or Industrial Pharmacy is preferred.

+ 2-3 years of experience in formulation development or technology development, preferably in dietary supplements or OTC products.

+ Strong understanding of product development principles, including formulation development for consumer-friendly ingestible dosage forms, material understanding, product scale-up, ingredient sourcing, and GMP.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

+ Experience in food or beverage product development and sweet flavor development.

+ Experience with dietary supplement formulation, beverage, and flavor development.

+ Excellent written and oral communication skills.

+ Ability to work collaboratively with others.

+ Capability to independently plan and execute work with minimal supervision.

+ Experience in supporting projects with multiple external parties, including contractors, research partners, and manufacturing facilities.

Work Environment
Join a dynamic and agile team that operates in an entrepreneurial manner, focusing on the €140bn Health & Wellbeing space defined by Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements (VMS).

Our collaborative environment encourages strategic thinking, hands-on experimentation, and the integration of large company structures.

You'll have the opportunity to lead, support, and innovate in a project-based, networked setting.
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract position based out of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $40.00 - $45.00/hr.
Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment.

Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms.

If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:
• Medical, dental & vision • Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital • 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available • Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) • Short and long-term disability • Health Spending Account (HSA) • Transportation benefits • Employee Assistance Program • Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)
Workplace Type
This is a fully onsite position in Englewood Cliffs,NJ.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Oct 27, 2025.
About Actalent
Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions.

We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market.

With a network of almost 30,000 consultants and more than 4,500 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com (%20actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com) for other accommodation options.

Required Skill Profession

Other General