Product Development Scientist- Franklin, TN

Job description

A mutually rewarding experience.

Work. Realize your ambitions. And realize there's more to being in business than just making a profit. That's the Mars philosophy. And the opportunity we offer every one of our Associates. An opportunity to take what you do and make it mean more for you, for those around you and for the planet. What you get here is challenging, interesting work. You get the tools you need to do a great job and you get to have the best possible people on your side to help you do it. And at the same time as getting to find ways to do business better today than we did it yesterday and driving a great career, you also get to build a more enlightened business and drive sustainability.

Because it's never just about a single person, a single project or a single brand. It's about how you can grab everything that's within your reach here and use it to pursue mutual, long-term gain. It's about having ideas. And ideals. Being prepared to risk failure because the promise of success means we'll all be a little better off. It's that mix of integrity and ambition that makes Mars such a special place to work. And why working here is always about more than just a job.

About Mars, Incorporated

Mars is a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. With almost $35 billion in sales, the company is a global business that produces some of the world's best-loved brands: M&M's®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5™, SKITTLES®, UNCLE BEN'S®, MARS DRINKS and COCOAVIA®. Mars also provides veterinary health services that include BANFIELD® Pet Hospitals, Blue Pearl®, VCA® and Pet Partners™. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars operates in more than 80 countries. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire its more than 100,000 Associates to create value for all its partners and deliver growth they are proud of every day.

Purpose of Role

Ensure the on-shelf competitiveness of the Mars Petcare North American Wet products portfolio through the delivery of innovation and productivity (DiB) pipelines.

The position is responsible for leading the development and deployment of product innovation/renovation as well as productivity (DiB) initiatives within our Wet portfolio to enable the successful delivery of the North American OP. The position is also responsible to support the maintenance and continuous improvement of Wet products for all NA production sites. The incumbent will work cross-functionally to provide technical support for existing products, lead new product development and drive continuous improvement, all while maintaining quality design and delivering desired product performance to both the consumer and pet. This position is also responsible to coach, mentor and help develop more junior associates. The role operates in a pet friendly, open office environment supporting pet nutrition.

Principal Accountabilities
• Lead the translation of consumer insights into holistic concepts (product).
• Use appropriate tools to facilitate concept and prototype evaluation (creation and presentation).
• Create and align product design briefs with cross functional project team.
• Specify product design attributes and quality targets.
• Own product development within projects.
• Support Process and Packaging Development Teams.
• Follow corporate labeling and claim policy.
• Lead agreed productivity (DiB) projects and initiatives.
• Support continuous improvement projects driven by Wet factories.
• Support business continuity contingencies that would require product development input.
• Contribute product design expertise to unit, regional, and global communities for the pet food segment.
• Mentor and coach more junior R&D associates.

Key Activities
• Develop understanding of pet food consumer insights, local market activities (Mars and competitors), and global food/pet food trends.
• Build contacts with external design agencies and institutes, equipment and raw material suppliers and apply consumer understanding techniques.
• Keep up to date on new developments in the relevant knowledge areas such as human food trends, new raw materials, and animal nutrition research.
• Create and maintain personal ties with scientific and technical communities within Mars and externally to enhance current knowledge base.
• Design, execute, analyze and review concepts with appropriate tools.
• Collaborate both internally (R&D, Marketing, Supply, Engineering, Commercial) and externally (Market Research Agencies, suppliers and Research Institutions) to develop products from concept to validation of final holistic product/packaging design.
• Ensure key R&D representation at innovation activity meetings.
• Follow corporate guidelines for pet food labeling in developing new products and reviewing existing products. Collaborate with Marketers to create maximum value marketing language within the constraints of the guidelines.
• Lead the development of new products/formulations from benchtop to full scale deployment in sites.
• Create product specifications and own knowledge transfer to Quality, Site R&D, and Manufacturing.
• Provide product and ingredient expertise to new process development opportunities/needs, and support as necessary.
• Support R&D packaging group for packaging innovation and continuous improvement activities.
• Provide technical training and knowledge transfer to segment Product developers/Technologists as well as for other functional groups within R&D.
• Act as a key contact for on-boarding & induction of new R&D technologists.

Key Functional Skills/Knowledge

• Food science/food chemistry
• Prior experience must include statistical analysis and design of experiments, as well as knowledge of food ingredients functionality
• Strong ability to work cross functionally with people in other disciplines and/or business areas
• Demonstrated excellence in project management and capability to lead cross functional projects
• Animal nutrition
• Understanding of Petfood consumers, market opportunities, recipes, raw materials and process constraints
• Strong knowledge of applicable petfood technologies and the manufacturing processes used to produce feed and pet food ingredients
• Intellectually curious to find and develop opportunities
• Ability to communicate and transfer knowledge to others in various forms (presentations, written reports, emails, training)

Minimum Requirements:
• Bachelor’s degree
• Strong knowledge of product development from bench top to full scale production
• Minimum 2 years of experience in research and development
• Ability to travel up to 35% of the time

Strongly Preferred Requirements:
• Advance degree
• 3 years of experience in research and development
• Experience within CPG
• Animal Nutrition
• Strong knowledge of applicable petfood technologies and the manufacturing processes used to produce feed and pet food ingredients

Mars is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.

Nearest Major Market: Nashville
Job Segment: Scientific, Engineer, Statistics, Market Research, R&D Engineer, Engineering, Data, Marketing