Improvement of food quality, extension of food shelf life and making food more nutritious are just a few of the responsibilities of a Flavor Scientist. They specialize in creating food flavors as well as improving already established food flavors. Some Flavor Scientist also create flavors for medications. A strong sense of smell and taste is necessary to be a successful flavor scientist.

As the first line of defense pertaining to our food safety, Food Microbiologist primarily work to prevent food-borne diseases. The successful candidate will be experienced in studying spoilage, preservation and food poisoning.

Typically, Food Process Engineers research and develop new and existing processes and products. Candidates for this position can work in the chemical, food, pharmaceutical and biochemical industries.

The Food Safety Manager establishes and delivers food safety strategies. The right candidate will be able to lead multiple programs including Corporate Food Safety, Quality Systems as well as compliance of the Food Safety Modernization Act.

The successful candidate builds a talent pool that strengthens the food safety and quality assurance function. Thorough analysis, appropriate corrective action and follow-up the organizations best practices remain consistent.

Packaging engineers must be able cover a wide range of considerations from conceptualization of food product packaging to product placement into the supply chain right through to store display. Successful packaging engineers must have a complete understanding of a broad set of disciplines including industrial design, packaging science, packaging technology, engineering, safety, material science, marketing and logistics to name a few.

The Plant Manager will plan, organize, direct and provide leadership necessary of the achievement of all plant and the organizations goals in the area of safety, quality, employee relations, performance and cost.

A plant manager is responsible for the successful attainment of production objectives as well as implementation of policies. They also must have the ability to effectively utilize available resources and facilities.

The plant manager will plan, schedule and direct the operation of equipment and facilities to insure safe and cost-efficient operations. As part of the responsibilities, management of the annual budget is required as well as management of capital assets.

A successful candidate for a quality assurance position must know that achievement of quality assurance is done by establishing good management systems and assessing its viability. Everyone involved in developing a product is ultimately responsible for its quality assurance.

Food manufacturers require someone on staff that can act as a link between the company and regulatory authorities such as FDA and the USDA. Their task is to ensure that the products manufactured are in compliance with all legislation.

A successful candidate must be comfortable studying scientific and legal documents as well as understanding them and able to communicate the pertinent information to necessary staff.

The regulatory affairs manager must also be able to gather, organize and manage information into various formats.

What skills does a food scientist working in research and development need? A successful Director or Manager of Research and Development must have skills in food design, food formulation, food processing concepts and techniques.

It is also important that the successful candidate be well versed in safety concepts, sensory process as well as package design. Most importantly, those working in R&D will be overseeing production or process trials which includes the planning and organization of the trials.

A sensory scientist is the individual in the research and development department who is the liaison between R&D and the consumer. Through testing, they determine what the consumer wants. Years ago, tests were done in malls, asking shoppers or others to taste and or smell a few different varieties of the same product, and getting their taste preferences. But in current day, sensory science has become a much more sophisticated science.  It has become a critical role R&D, as the information they can provide can start the product development process on the right path. A sensory scientist works as a partner with product development teams, providing cross functional support to teams by designing, executing, analyzing and reporting all kinds of tests; descriptive analysis, shelf life testing, discrimination testing and consumer research.