Scientist - NPD & Innovation

Key Responsibilities

• Lead research-driven NPD programs in emerging and differentiated categories, with an initial focus on alternate sugars, next-generation sweeteners, nutrition-led products, and innovative food technologies.
• Identify market, scientific, and technology white spaces and translate them into original research programs with potential for proprietary know-how, patents, new products, processes, and technology platforms.
• Develop scientific hypotheses and research plans covering formulation, mechanism studies, analytical characterization, process development, prototype development, validation, and scale-up readiness.
• Drive the development of original and technically defensible solutions rather than relying primarily on existing formulations or readily available technologies.
• Lead scientific research on alternate sugars and sweeteners, including sweetness optimization, ingredient functionality, physicochemical properties, stability, sensory performance, process interactions, nutritional relevance, and product applications.
• Integrate nutrition science into product innovation by evaluating ingredients, reviewing scientific evidence, assessing nutritional relevance, and developing credible nutrition-led product propositions.
• Build and manage the R&D intellectual property pipeline through prior-art reviews, novelty assessment, invention disclosures, patent-supporting studies, and collaboration with IP counsel.
• Design and oversee scientifically robust studies for product and claim substantiation, including study objectives, controls, endpoints, analytical methods, sample-size rationale, statistical approaches, protocols, and interpretation.
• Work closely with Regulatory Affairs to assess ingredient permissibility, product classification, labelling requirements, and the scientific and regulatory basis for nutrition, functional, and health-related claims.
• Prepare research protocols, technical reports, scientific dossiers, patent-supporting evidence, publications, and presentations for internal and external stakeholders.
• Monitor emerging ingredients, technologies, scientific literature, patents, competitor developments, and research trends to identify opportunities relevant to the company s innovation strategy.
• Build and manage collaborations with universities, research institutions, CROs, analytical laboratories, technology providers, clinicians, nutrition experts, and other external specialists.
• Guide laboratory, pilot, and manufacturing trials and ensure that research outcomes are translated into scalable, commercially viable products and technologies.
• Mentor R&D team members and strengthen organizational capabilities in experimental design, scientific documentation, IP development, nutrition research, and evidence-based innovation.
• Collaborate closely with R&D, Regulatory, IP, Quality, Marketing, Operations, and external research partners to ensure timely progression of innovation programs.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Number and quality of original research programs, invention disclosures, proprietary technologies, and patent applications generated from strategic R&D initiatives.
• Development of differentiated products, ingredients, processes, and technology platforms with clear scientific and commercial potential.
• Robustness and quality of experimental evidence supporting product differentiation, patentability, nutritional positioning, and proposed claims.
• Progress of strategic research programs from hypothesis and proof of concept through validation, scale-up readiness, and technology transfer.
• Development of scientifically credible and regulatorily defensible substantiation packages for nutrition, functional, and health-related claims.
• Identification and evaluation of relevant emerging technologies, ingredients, patents, scientific developments, and innovation opportunities.
• Timely achievement of research milestones, experimental studies, protocols, technical reports, invention disclosures, and scientific dossiers.
• Effectiveness of cross-functional and external collaborations in advancing research and commercialization objectives.
• Contribution to building long-term organizational capabilities, proprietary knowledge, and defensible technology platforms in alternate sugars, sweeteners, nutrition-led products, and other strategic innovation areas.