R&D Sr Formulator – Nutritional Bars

Nutritional Bars- R&D Senior Formulator:
This is a senior-level, onsite R&D role based near the Santa Fe Springs area that will serve as the organization's lead formulation expert, with a primary focus on nutritional bars. The position is responsible for driving product development from concept through commercialization, leading complex formulation projects, supporting innovation initiatives, and serving as a key technical resource across cross-functional teams and customer-facing activities.
Some of the primary requirements and highlights discussed include:

• 8+ years of formulation experience within dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, functional foods, OTC products, or related manufacturing environments.
• Significant experience developing and commercializing nutritional bars, particularly utilizing extrusion manufacturing processes.
• Expertise in formulation science, stability studies, scale-up activities, technical transfers, ingredient functionality, and shelf-life validation.
• Strong understanding of food safety and regulatory requirements, including cGMP, HACCP, SQF, and 21 CFR Parts 101 and 111.
• Experience managing multiple projects simultaneously while driving innovation, cost optimization, and continuous improvement efforts.
• Ability to provide technical leadership, mentor junior formulators, and collaborate effectively with Operations, QA, Regulatory, Procurement, Sales, and customers.
• Proficiency with data analysis, documentation systems, ERP/MRP platforms, and AI-enabled tools to support R&D efficiency and decision-making.

Additionally, the compensation range for the position is $94,000–$114,000 base salary, along with a 5% bonus opportunity, and the role requires approximately 10–15% travel.

JOB SUMMARY 

The R&D Senior Formulator is the company’s highest individual-contributor formulation authority, responsible for architecting and delivering innovation across the full product development lifecycle—from early-stage concept through commercial launch and lifecycle management. This role owns the most technically complex and strategically significant formulation programs, drives platform-level innovation, and serves as the principal scientific resource for cross-functional leadership, key customers, and external partners. The Senior Formulator mentors and elevates the entire R&D team, champions data-driven decision-making and AI-enabled workflows, and shapes the technical direction of the company’s product portfolio. Mastery of formulation science, regulatory compliance, process engineering, and customer-facing technical leadership are all defining expectations of this role. Focus emphasis and development to elevate FoodPharma’s nutrition bar business to new levels. This is an onsite/in-office position.
 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO) 

• Serve as the primary technical authority for company’s most complex, high-value, and strategically critical formulation programs across all product platforms—nutritional bars (primary focus), soft chews, dragées, and/or pan-coated forms—from concept through commercial scale.
• Architect and own comprehensive formulation strategies leveraging expert-level command of water activity control, pH and buffering chemistry, rheology, emulsification, hygroscopicity management, coating science, and multi-component ingredient interaction to deliver products that are stable, consumer-acceptable, and commercially robust at scale.
• Design and govern company-wide stability programs: author accelerated and real-time study protocols, develop Arrhenius-based degradation kinetics models and overage strategies, and issue authoritative validation reports with label claim risk assessments for senior leadership and customer stakeholders. 

• Lead raw material evaluation and substitution strategy at a platform level; anticipate and resolve formulation risks upstream in the development cycle and publish technical guidance documents for use by the broader R&D team.
• Own end-to-end pilot and commercial scale-up execution for flagship programs; author complete technical transfer packages, lead manufacturing trials, product costing and cost optimization, resolve scale-dependent process and formulation challenges, and establish critical process parameters that become manufacturing standards.
• Review, approve, and champion new product formulas for conversion to Master Manufacturing Records (MMRs); serve as the final technical authority for formula accuracy, compliance, and manufacturing readiness at handoff.
• Assume senior project ownership across a portfolio of 25–40 concurrent projects; provide formulation strategy direction across the full pipeline and resolve escalated technical blockers impeding commercialization milestones.
• Serve as company’s principal R&D customer-facing Nutritional Bar technical expert; independently lead complex technical discussions, deliver innovation presentations, and build long-term technical relationships with key accounts and prospective customers.
• Lead the design, execution, and statistical interpretation of consumer and trained sensory panel studies; translate insights into differentiated formulation solutions and publish panel methodologies for team-wide adoption.
• Provide structured mentorship, technical coaching, and career development guidance to R&D Formulator I and II scientists as related to Nutritional Bar development and commercialization; review experimental designs, documentation, and results, and establish formulation best practices across the department.
• Drive company’s innovation agenda: lead competitive benchmarking, consumer trend synthesis, and white-space identification; develop and present differentiated innovation proposals and concept prototypes to R&D and Sales leadership.
• Dedicate 15–20% of time to proactive, market-driven Nutritional Bar innovation—including platform extensions, novel ingredient evaluation, concept prototyping, value engineering, and internal innovation pipeline development.
• Champion and model the use of digital tools, automation, and AI platforms (e.g., Claude) across the R&D function; develop scalable AI-enabled workflows that measurably accelerate speed-to-market, elevate documentation quality, and enhance data-driven decision-making.
• Establish and maintain meticulous formulation records and project data within company systems (Monday.com, ERP/MRP, SkuSafe); lead continuous improvement of R&D data architecture, nomenclature standards, and knowledge management practices.
• Serve as the department’s primary scout for emerging raw material science, supplier innovations, and ingredient technologies; evaluate, qualify, and introduce novel materials that expand FoodPharma’s technical platform capabilities and/or deliver cost savings.
• Lead and represent R&D in cross-functional collaborations with Regulatory, QA, Procurement, Operations, and Sales on 21 CFR Parts 101 and 111 compliance, third-party certifications (NSF, USP, Informed Sport), novel ingredient safety dossiers, and supply chain risk mitigation.
• Provide technical thought leadership and change leadership within R&D; model and advance a culture of scientific rigor, continuous improvement, and organizational accountability.

Food Safety Responsibilities

• Every employee is responsible for food safety.
• Ensure all projects comply with SQF, GMP, HACCP, and pre-requisite programs.
• Embed food safety risk assessments into the project risk register and proactively communicate emerging risks.  

• Incorporate Food Defense and personnel hygiene considerations into facility-impacting project plans.
• Report food safety concerns immediately to the SQF Practitioner, Quality Manager, or Plant Management.
• Serve as the department’s food safety subject matter expert; develop and deliver food safety training for junior R&D team members and support cross-functional readiness for SQF audits.

QUALIFICATIONS 
 

Education & Certification

• BS degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related field required. Master's degree in a related discipline is strongly preferred.
• SQF Practitioner certification or food safety certification (PCQI, HACCP) preferred.

Technical Skills

• Advanced benchtop and formulation expertise across nutritional bars (primary emphasis), soft chews, dragée, and pan-coated product platforms with demonstrated mastery of process-formula interaction at scale.
• Advanced instrumentation and lab testing acumen: applied expertise in water activity (Aw), pH chemistry, texture science, rheology, emulsion science, and complex multi-component ingredient interaction behavior.
• Advanced proficiency in stability study design, accelerated shelf-life modeling, and degradation kinetics; independent authorship of stability protocols and validation reports required.
• Deep knowledge of food safety and regulatory frameworks: 21 CFR Parts 101 and 111, cGMP, HACCP, SQF, and applicable third-party certification requirements (NSF, USP, Informed Sport, etc.).
• Strong documentation discipline and best practices across the full PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) process; capable of independently managing all formulation records with high accuracy.
• Advanced sensory evaluation competency including experimental design, panel management, and statistical interpretation of results.
• Proficient data analysis skills: ability to build analytical models, apply descriptive and inferential statistics, and generate clear reports and visualizations for stakeholder decision-making.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint); experience with ERP/MRP systems (e.g., NetSuite), SkuSafe, survey platforms, and Monday.com required. Active and effective use of AI tools (e.g., Claude) to accelerate R&D work.
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills. Bilingual in Spanish preferred.

Experience

• 8+ years of progressive, hands-on formulation experience in dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, functional foods, OTC, and/or confectionery manufacturing with significant experience formulating and commercializing Nutritional Bars via extrusion manufacturing techniques.
• Demonstrated track record of independently owning and delivering the most technically complex pilot and commercial-scale manufacturing programs, authoring complete technical transfer documentation, and establishing validated process standards.
• Demonstrated track record of managing 30–50 concurrent projects and commercializing multiple products from bench to market in a contract development or branded supplement manufacturing environment.