Pet Nutrition Cd&D Associate Scientist - Fort Collins, CO Or Harvard

Job Description

Pet Nutrition CD&D Associate Scientist

• Fort Collins, CO or Harvard, IL

This is a full-time, exempt position.

MAIN FUNCTION: Become a key driver in ADM's pet treat and supplement innovation. Develop cutting-edge soft chews, powders, bakery items, and liquids that revolutionize the industry. Collaborate with clients to brainstorm game-changing concepts and translate pet nutrition science into irresistible products. Fuel sales with market-leading creations and build strong relationships with customers, vendors, and partners. A passion for innovation and new product development, coupled with the ability to translate pet nutrition science into compelling business propositions, is essential. This position is located in either ADM's Ft. Collins, CO or Harvard, IL facility, and will require travel to other ADM North American sites for project and scale-up work.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK PERFORMED:

• Lead new product development and prototyping for functional pet treats, formulating products to meet client specifications.

• Create product and processing specifications for each development project.

• Provide technical support to customers, sales teams, and internal divisions (e.g., plant trials, troubleshooting, training).

• Adhere to new product development best practices and project tracking methods.

• Develop value-added solutions for the pet food industry by leveraging ADM's portfolio and establish technical credibility with customers.

• Oversee the scale-up of product prototypes through commercialization.

• Execute sample and prototype production in the lab/pilot plant environment.

• Research and identify new ingredients, technologies, product formats, and industry trends to drive innovation.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams within ADM on research and customer projects.

• Keep up-to-date on trends, new technical developments and competitor's activities by monitoring applications for processing systems and ingredients.

• Build and maintain strong relationships with customers, alongside Account Managers.

• Support ADM's growth strategy initiatives.

REQUIREMENTS AND MINIMUM EDUCATION LEVEL:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Animal Sciences, Food Science, Nutrition, or a related field.

• Minimum of 2 years of experience in the pet food industry (preferred).

• Experience with pet food processes (extrusion, thermal processing, baking) is a plus.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:

• Sense of urgency, adaptability, resilience, communication, technical mindset, quality-minded, collaboration, flexibility, teamwork, dependability, curiosity, integrity and a commitment to safety and quality.

KEY SKILLS & COMPETENCIES:

• Ability to work independently and take accountability for projects.

• Experience with Solid Mathematical Skills

• The individual is comfortable with basic calculations, ratio scaling, fraction proportioning, percentage calculations, along with graphing techniques, predictive modeling, etc.

• Solid Food Science Skills

• The individual is comfortable with basic food science principles, including knowledge of food chemistry, lipids, carbohydrates, proteins and the principles of food processing.

• Computer Skills

• The individual is comfortable with computer usage, internet access, Microsoft WORD, EXCEL and Email ( or similar program) usage, along with ability to create, edit, manipulate WORD and EXCEL files as well as basic presentation development using PowerPoint or other.

• Teamwork Skills

• The individual has ability to work closely within a team with productive results. Able to share workload with others. Able to communicate in a friendly yet business appropriate manner.

• Project Management Skills

• The individual is capable of planning, organizing and managing the efforts to accomplish a successful project; a project is a one-time activity that produces a specific output.

• Industry Knowledge

• The individual has basic knowledge of target industry including key companies, technologies, cost and geographical factors. Appropriate understanding of consumer drivers.

• Analytical Skills

• The individual is comfortable with basic instrument calibration, usage and reporting skills.

• Problem Solving Skills

• The individual is capable of problem/root cause identification, alternative solution consideration and ultimate recommendation and selection of workable solution.

• Written Skills

• The individual is able to prepare basic business and Email correspondence with appropriate word selection and usage.

• Verbal Communication Skills

• The individual is capable of clear verbal communication to supervisors, managers, team members and business contacts. Able to express ideas and needs clearly.

• Bench Development Aptitude

• Understanding of food manufacturing equipment operating procedures and desire to perform hands on development work with minimal supervision.

Salary/Wage Range: $50K to $70K, but we have flexibility.

Excited about this role but don't meet every requirement listed? Studies show that often applicants will self-select out if they don't check every box. We encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this role or another one of our openings.

ADM requires the successful completion of a background check.

REF: 83503BR