The position will serve as a technical liaison between clients and internal manufacturing teams within a co-manufacturing facility specializing in aseptic packaged beverages and foods. This role is responsible for evaluating client-owned formulations, identifying optimization opportunities, facilitating pilot and plant trials, and ensuring seamless scale-up to commercial production. This position will report to the Chief Scientific Officer of the company and will be one of the senior members of the R&D team with supervision responsibilities.
Formula & Specification Review and Optimization
Attend technical meetings with company clients as requested by business development, brand managers or operations team
Critically review client-owned beverage formulations and ingredients, supporting studies, and technical documentation together with scientist team
Identify risks related to processing, homogenization, aseptic filling, and shelf-life stability
Provide science-based justifications for proposed modifications while maintaining client ownership of recipes
Pilot & Bench-Scale Trial Leadership
Design and coordinate bench-scale (if applicable) and pilot-scale trials to validate formulation and process changes
Manage pilot plant and supporting staff
Developing clear pilot trial objectives, experimental plans, and success criteria
Analyze trial data and generate technical reports and recommendations for scale-up readiness
Ensure trials simulate commercial aseptic conditions as closely as possible
Plant Trial Support & Commercial Scale-Up
Support production teams during plant trials and first-time production runs
Translate lab/pilot learnings into manufacturing parameters
Establish and approve final product and intermediate specifications for commercial production
Troubleshoot formulation-process interactions during scale-up
Provide real-time technical support to operations, quality, and engineering teams
Document validated processing parameters and technical standards
Risk Prevention & Production Optimization
Proactively identify foreseeable risks that could lead to failed runs, rework, or product loss
Develop preventative technical guidelines to reduce repeat production due to avoidable errors
Support root cause analysis of formulation or process-related deviations
Implement best practices for robust, repeatable aseptic beverage production
Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency and reduce waste
People Management Requirements
Pilot lab staff members (currently two)
Qualifications
Training in chemical engineering, chemistry or food engineering, bachelor’s degree and above
At least 5 years of hands-on experience and proven record of successful process development of food and beverage products, or food ingredient products
Hands-on experience in aseptic beverage processing is preferred
Pilot lab management experience a strong plus
This role requires 50% - 80% of the time on the production floor, pilot lab or the R&D lab with occasional hand-on activities
Salary Range: $120,000 - $150,000
Steuben Foods is committed to equal employment opportunity. We recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
