R&D Scientist
Job Description
Title: R&D Specialist (Food Manufacturing)
Location: Thornton, IL
Hire Type: Direct Hire
Compensation: $80-100k
Bonus/ Incentives/ Stock Options: Annual Bonus potential
Benefits: Medical Dental Vision 401k
Must have Skill Set:
- Food Product Development: Hands-on experience developing and improving food products and formulations.
- Manufacturing Scale-Up: Proven experience taking products from laboratory development into plant-level production.
- Laboratory & Data Analysis: Ability to independently execute experiments, evaluate results, and use data to guide development decisions.
- Cross-Functional Problem Solving: Experience partnering with Operations and Quality teams to troubleshoot and improve products and processes.
Overview:
Job Duties:
- Independently plan and execute laboratory experiments, including product formulation, testing, and sensory evaluations.
- Support new product development from initial concept through commercialization.
- Lead the collection, preparation, and organization of technical documentation required throughout the commercialization process.
- Collect, analyze, and interpret experimental data to support product and process development decisions.
- Maintain accurate laboratory records, formulations, test results, and technical reports.
- Identify opportunities to improve existing products, formulations, processes, and overall product costs.
- Partner with plant Operations and Quality teams to troubleshoot formulation, processing, and production challenges.
- Support product scale-up and transition from laboratory development to full-scale manufacturing.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Science, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, Materials Science, or a related technical field.
- Minimum 2 years of food product development experience.
- Direct experience supporting or executing new product scale-up within a manufacturing environment.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills with a high level of attention to detail.
- Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
- Experience with data analysis, formulation, or product development software is a plus.
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information.
Meet Your Recruiter
Technical Recruiter & Team Mentor
Alicia Alexander is a Technical Recruiter and Team Mentor at Sterling Engineering with four years of recruiting experience and nearly three years with Sterling. She specializes in engineering, manufacturing, and technical recruiting, supporting roles across maintenance, reliability, operations, engineering, and industrial environments, including food and life sciences.
Alicia is passionate about helping people find careers where they feel genuinely happy, supported, and positioned for long-term growth. She enjoys building meaningful relationships with candidates, helping them take the next step in their careers, and supporting companies as they build strong, high-performing teams.
With a background in psychology and human resources from North Central College, Alicia brings a people-focused approach to recruiting. Her understanding of relationship building, communication, and candidate motivation helps her create successful matches between talent and opportunity.
Alicia is known for developing strong partnerships with both candidates and hiring managers, with a focus on creating long-term placements that benefit both the individual and the organization.