R&D Technical Services Specialist / Scientist I

Working cross-functionally with Product Development, Pilot Plant, Operations, Quality, Regulatory, Engineering, Supply Chain, and Planning teams, this individual will ensure successful product launches, support manufacturing optimization efforts, and drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on quality, efficiency, cost reduction, and operational excellence.

The ideal candidate combines strong technical expertise in food or dairy processing with excellent project management, problem-solving, and collaboration skills.

This is an onsite position located at our Eau Claire, WI facility.

Scope of the Role

• Lead the industrialization and scale-up of new infant formula powder and liquid products.
• Manage change control activities, including formulation reviews, bill of materials (BOM) updates, recipe parameterization, and manufacturing documentation.
• Coordinate and facilitate risk assessment activities associated with product launches and manufacturing changes.
• Review product quality and nutrient data to ensure compliance with specifications and regulatory requirements.
• Collaborate closely with Product Development, Pilot Plant, Quality, Regulatory, and Manufacturing teams to ensure successful transfer from development to production.
• Support factory trials and commercialization activities through execution and technical troubleshooting.
• Partner with manufacturing sites to identify and address process inefficiencies, quality issues, and production losses.
• Conduct root cause analysis and implement corrective actions to improve performance and reliability.
• Support resolution of manufacturing challenges, including product quality concerns and unplanned downtime.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on productivity, cost savings, process optimization, and product quality.
• Collaborate with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and other stakeholders to execute improvement projects.
• Evaluate and implement new manufacturing processes, technologies, and production capabilities.
• Support assessment of co-manufacturing and co-packing opportunities.
• Contribute to capital project initiatives involving new equipment and processing capabilities.
• Participate in feasibility studies, equipment trials, and process validation activities.

Experience Required

• Typically these skills are acquired with a Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Dairy Science, Food Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, or a closely related technical field.
• Typically 2 to 5 years of experience in food, dairy, nutrition, or related product and/or process development environments.
• Experience supporting manufacturing operations, product scale-up, process optimization, or commercialization activities.
• Experience with food manufacturing unit operations strongly preferred.