Sr. Product Development Scientist - Blue Buffalo Wet - Golden Valley, MN

$91,900 - $138,000/Yr

General Mills - Golden Valley, MN

Full-time - Mid Level

Remote - Golden Valley, MN

Food Manufacturing

About the position

The Senior R&D Scientist will lead initiatives in the wet pet food segment, focusing on innovation, core product renovation, and holistic margin management projects. This role requires strong collaboration with various departments, including Quality, Supply Chain, and Marketing, to ensure successful product development and execution. The ideal candidate will possess technical rigor, problem-solving skills, and a passion for pet food, aiming to influence the business strategically while working in a cross-functional team environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide product development leadership on innovation, core product renovation, and HMM projects to meet consumer and business needs.
• Develop robust technical plans and collaborate with peers to strengthen approaches and build a pipeline of activities for new or renovated products.
• Forge successful cross-functional partnerships to commercialize projects efficiently and excellently.
• Champion food safety, pet safety, pet parent insights, and product quality from product design through production.
• Manage multiple complex projects from concept through launch, flexing prioritization based on business needs.
• Drive projects forward amidst complexity and demonstrate a sound understanding of pet food product development and formulation.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in food, animal, or meat science, food engineering, or related field with 5+ years of product development/processing and commercialization experience, or a Ph.D. in a related field with 3+ years of experience.
• Demonstrated strong leadership skills with agility to adapt quickly to changes in project scope.
• Effective communication skills and ability to collaborate in cross-functional and external environments.
• Self-starter with a high bias for action, learning mindset, and passion to challenge assumptions.

Nice-to-haves

• Master's degree in food, animal, or meat science, food engineering, or related field with 5+ years of product development/processing and commercialization experience.
• Pet food development/processing and commercialization experience in the pet industry or similar experience from an adjacent pet industry.
• Excellent interpersonal and executional skills, particularly when working with cross-functional and external supply chain partners.

Benefits

• Competitive salary range of $91,900.00 - $138,000.00 annually.
• Health benefits and retirement plans.
• Time off programs and wellbeing support.
• Potential participation in an annual incentive program based on performance.