Food Scientist

Position Title: Food Scientist 

Position Summary

Vantage Specialty Chemicals is seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Food Scientist to support product design, process development, and application testing within the Vantage Food R&D team. This role is ideal for an early-career food scientist or engineer looking to build hands-on experience in developing food ingredient formulation and scalable manufacturing processes. The Food Scientist will assist in designing and testing food ingredients and release agents that improve food products and enhance food manufacturing processes. This role will also support the development of reproducible production processes, evaluate product stability, and ensure compatibility with customer formulations and manufacturing operations. The position requires collaboration with cross-functional teams, including R&D, Marketing, Quality, Operations, and Sales, as well as engagement with customers and raw material suppliers.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Assist in the development, optimization, and testing of Vantage food ingredients and release agents based on project briefs from Marketing and Sales

• Design and execute experiments to evaluate ingredient application potential; includes developing application guidelines, preparing technical reports, and providing training and technical guidance to internal and external partners

• Support lab-scale batch production and help define manufacturing procedures and specifications based on experimental data

• Participate in scaling up formulations and transferring processes to manufacturing operations

• Analyze experimental results and contribute to recommendations for process and formulation improvements

• Conduct basic performance and stability testing, sensory evaluations, and packaging compatibility assessments

• Conduct in-house applications testing of prototypes and/or coordinate testing with third-party service providers

• Maintain accurate, organized records of experimental work and ensure timely data entry into internal systems

• Coordinate with Marketing and Sales to fulfill customer sample requests and complete customer-specific application testing

• Support the development of technical marketing content, including product brochures, presentations, and data summaries

• Adhere to all safety, quality, and regulatory standards while contributing to a collaborative team environment

Education & Experience

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Food Science or Engineering, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or a related discipline

• Experience: Minimum of two (2) years of relevant experience in formulation and/or manufacturing of food products or food ingredients

Knowledge, Skills, & Talents

• Basic knowledge of ingredient chemistry, formulation techniques, and laboratory practices

• Strong organizational and documentation skills

• Effective written and verbal communication skills, including presenting to technical audiences

• Strong proficiency in MS Office programs, especially MS Excel and PowerPoint

• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines

• Willingness to learn and adapt in a fast-paced R&D environment

• Authorized to work in the United States

• Willingness to travel occasionally to manufacturing sites, partners, or customers

• Ability to work in laboratory and manufacturing plant environments for up to six (6) hours per day

• Ability to lift up to 50 lb. during course of normal work

Preferred Skills

• Experience in formulation, processing, and testing of food products, including sensory evaluation

• Experience in industrial scale food operations, especially baked goods

• Understanding of stability testing and product evaluation methods

• Experience working in cross-functional teams

Pay and Benefits

The estimated base pay range for this position is:  $70,000 - $90,000 annually.  Actual pay will be determined based on education, certifications, experience, qualifications, skills and geographic location.  This position is eligible to participate in a short-term incentive program.

Vantage offers a comprehensive benefit package to eligible employees, including:

• Medical, HSA, dental, vision

• Life and AD&D insurance

• Accident, hospital indemnity and critical illness insurance

• Short- and long-term disability

• EAP, identity theft protection

• Paid time off, Parental Leave

• 401(k) with company match

Equal Employment Opportunity

Vantage is an equal opportunity employer.  Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other protected category. 

About Vantage

Vantage provides natural solutions to our customers’ technical performance and marketing needs through a unique combination of chemistry, application expertise and service. Underpinned by our broad portfolio of formulations, ingredients and actives that are built on a backbone of sustainable oils, fats and their derivatives, Vantage targets selected markets and applications including personal care, food, surface treatment, agriculture, pharma, and consumer and industrial performance. Vantage is headquartered in Deerfield, IL., operates in 11 countries worldwide and employs more than 1,000 talented professionals focused on delivering exceptional customer experiences with every interaction.

We are a dynamic people-centered organization where you’ll be part of a collaborative global team. Embracing our cultural diversity, we learn from each other to constantly improve, adapt and iterate. We value the voices and talents of our colleagues, empowering them to drive their unique ideas to completion. We’re convinced that exceptionally motivated employees produce outstanding results and we celebrate them by fostering a culture of recognition, development, learning, excellence and shared achievement. Most importantly, we know you’re going to like it here.  For more information visit: vantagegrp.com or LinkedIn/vantage.