Sr. Application Scientist

Reports to: Innovation Director

Direct reports: n/a

Department: 330-Innovation

Work location: CIC Ohly Chicago, IL (facility of PGP’s sister company Ohly)

Exempt/Non-Exempt: Exempt

I - Job Purpose and Summary:

Sr. Application Scientist contributes to the company's strategic goals and overall success by identifying new application opportunities, driving innovation, and supporting the development of products that align with market trends and customer needs.

Develop and execute innovative application studies and projects for various food products, including nutrition and wellness bars, confectionery, dairy toppers, rehydrated foods, and healthy snacks. Provide technical support across a variety food applications, utilizing/applying product and application knowledge.

II - Key Accountabilities: 

HSE: Always promote a safe work environment through adherence to all PGP’s and Ohly’s Health & Safety and Environmental policies and procedures as well as to all relevant OSHA regulations in order to achieve ZERO workplace incidents and injuries.

Studies / Projects: Develop and execute innovative application studies / projects for nutrition and wellness bar products, high-value confectionery, dairy toppers, rehydrated foods, healthy snacks. Analyze study results, draw conclusions, and prepare comprehensive reports to communicate findings and recommendations. 

Product Development: Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, including Innovation, Sales & Marketing, Corporate Quality & Food Safety, and Operations, to ensure successful product development and launch as supported by application learnings. commercial liaison work between Sales/Innovation. 

Application Opportunities: Collaborate with Sales and Marketing team on market research initiatives to identify application opportunities in the food industry for PGP business. Participate in brainstorming sessions to generate new product and application ideas and concepts.

Prototypes: Produce prototypes from product concepts for technical sales projects, key trade shows and innovation days. Support protype development and application validation work within our Where to play categories.

Technical Knowledge: Support Sales team with technical knowledge of PGPs portfolio and become an expert in assigned application focus areas and with key customer’s. Identify and create solutions for internal and external customers. Educate Sales team members in application development expertise and technical knowledge.

Ohly Policies & Standards: Support local Ohly team with upkeep and improvement of the CIC lab including inventory, cleaning, and overall upkeep needed to have a top-level application kitchen.

Training & Development: Stay updated on industry trends, nutritional guidelines, and regulatory standards impacting product development. Participate in all the trainings related to the role organized by PGP and Ohly.

III - Job Requirements (Required and Preferred):

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in food science, nutrition, culinary arts, or a related field.
• 5 to 10 years of relevant application development experience in the food industry.

Related Experience:

• Strong understanding of wellness and nutrition-focused bar and bites products, as well as strong knowledge on confectionary applications, familiarity with dairy toppers, and rehydrated and toddler snacks.
• Proven ability in culinary and application projects with a third-party and/or consumer product company.
• Experimentation, data analysis and technical report writing.
• Experience in sensory evaluation methods is a plus.  

Competencies:

• Self-Starter, independent, and proactive in solving and executing projects as needed.
• Good creative, analytical, sensory, and experimental design skills to be applied to Ohly’s product functionalities.
• Problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to deal with ambiguity in a workday by effectively and comfortably dealing with change and shifting of goals based on commercial needs.
• Ability to communicate, collaborate, and manage relationships effectively with all levels of the organization.
• Effectively manage time to lead and execute multiple technical and sales projects.
• Passion for food and flavors and a willingness to try new things with reliable and critical evaluation skills.



Technical Skills:

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Copilot/AI) and data analysis tools.
• Knowledge of FDA food safety and regulatory standards.
• Identify the equipment and knowledge required for specific application projects.
• Identify software necessary to improve efficiency of this position.