Job Description:
Principal Scientist Chemistry - Mars Pet Nutrition North America
The Principal Scientist will be responsible for leading Analytical & Material Sciences capability building in support of R&D programs to enable quality growth, value leadership, and sustainability with focus on lipid oxidation, alternative proteins, method development, characterization of new ingredients and raw material development. This role will collaborate with cross functional technical partners across R&D both Regionally and Globally and other functions within Quality, Nutrition and Supply. For this role, the scientist will train/coach others and may direct the technical work of others and will work in collaboration with the R&D Innovation Laboratory team for technology or capability advances and solving complex technical problems. The Principal Scientist will be the Mars Pet Nutrition North America R&D Analytical Chemist lead for chromatography and spectroscopy.
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What are we looking for?
- PhD in Chemistry, (Food, Analytical, Physical, or related field)
- Minimum 8 years in Food Industry.
- Preferred Qualifications: PhD in Chemistry or Biochemistry, 15 years of R&D experience, Pet Food Experience
- Expertise close to the following fields: preservation science, raw material technology, food chemistry or nutrition
- Demonstrated technical mastery In Chemistry of Fats and Oils: Oxidation in Food.
- Demonstrated advance proficiency with analytical techniques (preparation, purification, separation, and detection) including Agilent HPLC-TOF, GC, LC, MS, and FTIR
- Advanced understanding of method development, validation, instrument operation, trouble shooting, problem-solving and data interpretation skills
- Solid grasp of experimental design and statistics
- Excellent project management skills and ability to manage multiple simultaneous demands.
- Preferred experiences: in flavor and aroma chemistry; knowledge of Pet Food/Food nutrition; proven track record of acquiring proficiency in new technologies quickly. Solid grasp of Intellectual Property principles and working knowledge of external alliance management and licensing principles. Ability to utilize Chem Station, Mass Hunter, Maestro (Gerstel), Data Acquisition, ELN, Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel and Word, LIMS software to perform tasks.
What will be your key responsibilities?
- Lead projects to deliver new methods/capabilities by applying scientific rigor through extensive understanding of chemistry of ingredients (Lipid Oxidation, Fats, Oils, Proteins, Fermentation etc.), products, and packaging. Expert in several analytical and material science method areas and responsible for upskilling others to increase capabilities.
- Applies hands-on specialized skills in both High-Performance Liquid Chromatography, Ion Chromatography and gas chromatography toward nutritional and objective organoleptic measurements.
- Applies most appropriate analytical tools for experimental designs and studies. Analyses complex samples utilizing appropriate instrumentation (e.g. Chromatography (GC, HPLC, TOF), mass spectroscopy, microscopy, imaging, X-ray fluorescence, FTIR, material and physical characterization and prepares insightful reporting.
- Operate advanced instrumentation, develop and validate new methods, monitor data for quality and integrity.
- Provide advanced data analysis, summaries and reports to supervisors and key project members.
- Provide technical knowledge, coaching and training to technicians and contractors.
- Continuously improves work processes and systems to increase compliance, quality and efficiency.
- Drive partnership/collaboration with the other functions within R&D and Supply, collaborate to interpret the data and own the problem and the solutions.
- Technically innovate to provide discontinuous solutions leading to breakthrough technologies.
- Focused externally, reading scientific journals and working with instrument suppliers, academic communities, external labs and government labs to identify new or emerging leading-edge technologies that might be either brought in house or contracted out for use in the Analytical & Material Sciences department.
- Effectively develops and presents technical findings to internal peers and stakeholders. Gathers information & documents into the relevant knowledge management systems (e.g. Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) and Nexus)).
What can you expect from Mars?
- Work with over 130,000 diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.
- Join a purpose driven company, where we're striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
- Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
- An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.
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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.