Sr. Food Scientist

Employee Type:

Full time

Location:

IL Oak Brook

Job Type:

Research and Development

Job Posting Title:

Sr. Food Scientist

About Us:

TreeHouse Foods is a leading manufacturer of private label packaged foods and beverages, operating a network of over 20 production facilities and several corporate offices across the United States and Canada. At TreeHouse Foods, our commitment to excellence extends beyond our products and revolves around our people. We are investing in talent and creating a performance-based culture where employees can do their best work and develop their careers, directly impacting our mission to make high quality, affordable food for our customers, communities, and families. We hope you will consider joining the team and being part of our future.

Named one of America's Best Large Employers by Forbes Magazine, we are proud to live by a strong set of values and strive to "Engage and Delight - One Customer at a Time." Guided by our values- Own It, Commit to Excellence, Be Agile, Speak Up, and Better Together. We are a diverse team driven by integrity, accountability, and a commitment to exceptional results. We embrace change, prioritize continuous learning, and foster collaboration, transparency, and healthy debate. Together, we set each other up for success to achieve enterprise-wide goals.

What You Gain:

• Competitive compensation and benefits program with no waiting period - you're eligible from your first day!

• 401(k) program with 5% employer match and 100% vesting as soon as you enroll.

• Comprehensive paid time off opportunities, including immediate access to four weeks of vacation, five sick days, parental leave and 11 company holidays (including two floating holidays).

• Leaders who are invested in supporting your accelerated career growth, plus paid training, tuition reimbursement and a robust educational platform - DevelopU - with more than 10,000 free courses to support you along the way.

• An inclusive working environment where you can build meaningful work relationships with a diverse group of professionals. Take advantage of opportunities to build on our team-oriented culture, such as joining one of our Employee Resource Groups.

• Access to our wellness and employee assistance programs.

Job Description:

About the Role:

We are seeking a Senior Food Scientist to join our R&D team at our Oak Brook, Illinois corporate office. This role is responsible for leading the development and commercialization of new products, product improvements, and cost optimization initiatives across powdered beverage and dry mix categories.

In this role, you will work closely with cross-functional teams including Marketing, Sales, Quality, Procurement, and Operations to deliver innovative, high-quality products that meet business and customer needs. This position offers the opportunity to lead product development from concept through commercialization while supporting innovation and continuous improvement across the organization.

You'll add value to this role by performing various functions including, but not limited to:

• Lead bench to plant development of new products, cost optimization initiatives, and quality improvement projects

• Create prototypes, evaluate ingredient functionality, and assess new manufacturing and supplier options

• Develop product specifications, process documentation, and technical playbooks to support scale up and production

• Support technology transfer and provide onsite support during internal and external manufacturing startups

• Apply scientific methods across experimental design, trial planning, data analysis, and interpretation

• Provide technical guidance and influence cross functional decision making

• Lead complex problem-solving efforts and support root cause analysis activities

• Partner with Marketing, Sales, Quality, Procurement, Finance, Operations, and Engineering to deliver aligned solutions

• Support customer facing technical activities including presentations and product discussions

• Contribute to innovation, productivity, and continuous improvement initiatives

• Mentor and support development of less experienced team members

Important Details:

• The anticipated compensation for this position ranges from $82,600 to $123,800 annually. This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, specific competencies, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue-based metrics and business or organizational needs. For certain roles, the successful candidate may be eligible for annual discretionary merit compensation award, bonus and equity pay.

• This is a full-time, hybrid role based in our Oak Brook, IL office. Travel up to thirty percent (30%) may be required to support plant trials, customer needs, and project work.

You'll fit right in if you have:

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, or related field required

• Master's degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, or related field preferred

• Minimum of five (5) years of progressive experience in food product development with increasing scope and responsibility

• Experience in powdered beverage, dry mix, or similar product categories preferred

• Strong understanding of ingredient functionality and interactions within dry systems

• Demonstrated ability to lead product development from concept through commercialization

• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and timelines

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across cross functional teams and external partners

• Experience presenting technical concepts to customers or stakeholders preferred

Your TreeHouse Foods Career is Just a Click Away!

Click on the "Apply" button or go directly to to let us know you're ready to join our team!

At TreeHouse Foods, we embrace diversity and inclusion for innovation and growth. We are committed to building inclusive teams and an equitable workplace for our employees to bring their true selves to work to help us "Engage and Delight - One Customer at a Time". TreeHouse Foods is an Equal Opportunity Employer that prohibits discrimination or harassment of any type. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Applicants who require an accommodation to participate in the job application or hiring process should contact [email protected]

TreeHouse Use Only: #IND1

TreeHouse Foods is a private label food and beverage leader focused on customer brands and custom products. When customers partner with TreeHouse they can expect access to an industry-leading portfolio, strategic vision, on-trend innovation and insights, world-class supply chain, operational excellence and flexibility, collaborative approaches, and dedicated customer service.

Our strategy is to be the leading supplier of private label food and beverage products by providing the best balance of quality and cost to our customers. We engage with retail grocery, food away from home, and industrial and export customers, including most of the leading grocery retailers and foodservice operators in the United States and Canada. Our portfolio includes a variety of shelf-stable, refrigerated, and snack products.

Customers can expect comprehensive flavor profiles including natural, organic, and preservative-free ingredients in many categories and packaging formats. TreeHouse Foods is best known for food and beverages produced by our two largest businesses Bay Valley Foods, LLC (including E.D. Smith and Sturm Foods) and TreeHouse Private Brands. With more than 10,000 employees in over 26 plants across the United States and Canada, TreeHouse Foods is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Recruitment Fraud Alert

We want to ensure your career journey with TreeHouse Foods is safe and secure. Scammers may attempt to impersonate our company by sending fake job offers, interview, and sensitive document requests. If you receive an email claiming to be from us, always verify the sender's email address-it should match our official company domain (@treehousefoods.com) exactly. We will never ask for payment, financial, or personal information and documents as part of our interview process. If you suspect fraudulent activity, please contact us directly by visiting the Contact page on our website ( . Stay vigilant to protect yourself from recruitment scams.

Disability Assistance and EEO Considerations: At TreeHouse Foods, we embrace diversity and inclusion for innovation and growth. We are committed to building inclusive teams and an equitable workplace for our employees to bring their true selves to work to help us "Engage and Delight - One Customer at a Time." TreeHouse Foods is an Equal Opportunity Employer that prohibits discrimination or harassment of any type. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Applicants who require an accommodation to participate in the job application or hiring process should contact [email protected]

To all recruitment agencies: TreeHouse Foods does not accept unsolicited agency resumes/CVs. Please do not forward resumes/CVs to our careers email addresses, Treehouse Foods employees, or any company location(s). TreeHouse Foods is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes/CVs.