Senior Food Scientist (61026)

Come work with Tofurky! We are the Nation's leading manufacturer of plant-based proteins and dairy-free cheeses. Our range of 35+ products can be found in more than 25,000 grocery stores throughout North America. We're on a mission to erase the myth that people have to make a choice between enjoying tasty food OR taking care of themselves and the planet. We can do both.

Tofurky is hiring a Senior Food Scientist to join our Research & Development team. This position is full-time and onsite at our location in Hood River, Oregon.

The Senior Food Scientist is a hands-on technical leader responsible for driving the development, improvement, and commercialization of our plant-based protein and dairy-free cheese products. Reporting to the VP of R&D, this role owns projects from concept through production scale-up, leads plant trials, drives cost-savings and quality initiatives, and serves as a senior technical resource across the R&D team. This position is designed for an experienced food scientist who can work autonomously, lead multiple projects in parallel, and thrive in a fast-moving, small-team environment.

The ideal candidate is curious, detail-oriented, and highly organized. You document your work meticulously because you know reproducibility matters and that institutional knowledge must survive turnover. You're an easy-going team player who is comfortable in a startup-like environment, moving fast, prioritizing effectively, and leading projects from bench to shelf.

Essential Functions

Formulation and Product Development

• Develop product formulations, processing procedures, and product specifications for new products, line extensions, product improvements, and cost-savings projects.
• Work collaboratively to execute development from bench to production scale, finding ingredient alternatives, optimizing formulas, and improving ingredient functionality to reduce cost while protecting quality.
• Design and execute product quality and stability experiments; analyze and interpret data to make sound technical recommendations on product and process.
• Document processes, formulas, ingredients, and results related to production tests, samples, and product evaluations.
• Evaluate prototypes provided by 3rd party partners and assist in quality, product improvement, and productivity initiatives for co-manufactured (CO-MAN) products.
• Work with outside suppliers and vendors to source and evaluate ingredients.

Scale-Up and Manufacturing Support

• Design and lead in-house and plant trials, create analytical reports, organize sensory tastings, and draw conclusions and recommendations for next steps.
• Translate bench formulas to pilot and production scale, including working with co-manufacturing partners.
• Understand production equipment constraints (e.g., sizing, slicing, shredding, binding) to ensure formulations are manufacturable.
• Partner with operations to provide technical support that drives quality and value improvement in processes.
• Collaborate with production, maintenance, and QA to improve current products by creating and implementing new quality parameters (e.g., temperature and time data, amperage testing).
• Partner with operations to implement cost-optimization approaches focused on waste reduction.

Testing and Analysis

• Design and run shelf-life studies, including product performance under various conditions.
• Conduct quality evaluations and contribute to quality disposition decisions on existing products.
• Support sensory programs: prepare samples for internal and external tasting and analyze results to inform formulation decisions.

Documentation and Regulatory

• Create nutritional specs, ingredient specs, and allergen statements for in-house Tofurky products across the USA, Canada, UK, and Australia using Genesis software.
• Review nutritional claims, identify gaps and non-compliance, and recommend action plans to ensure compliance; support non-GMO Project verification.
• Establish and maintain systems and processes for storing, reviewing, and sharing labeling information.
• Support food safety initiatives through knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and HACCP principles, and help maintain regulatory compliance for domestic and international markets.
• Maintain internal R&D documentation: systematically record experiments, formulations, trial outcomes, sensory evaluations, and observations.

Project Management and Leadership

• Independently manage time and projects for assigned tasks; develop weekly work-plans to manage projects and ensure deadlines are met.
• Lead and prioritize multiple projects in parallel, adjusting based on Tofurky's dynamic needs.
• Manage external consultants engaged on R&D projects.
• Lead training and onboarding of new R&D team members and QA techs on current product formulations and processes.
• Communicate project status, results, and recommendations clearly to stakeholders.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Marketing/NPD: translate technical results and constraints to marketing partners; support New Product Development timelines and participate in feasibility discussions.
• Supply Chain & QA: partner on ingredient sourcing, supplier qualification, and continuity planning; help qualify secondary suppliers and develop test plans for new ingredients; communicate R&D ingredient needs early.
• Finance: ensure R&D cost-savings projects are tracked and reported correctly.
• Prepare product prototypes and samples for sales events, trade shows, and internal reviews.