Scientist II - Integrated Ops, Consumer Experience Team

OVERVIEW

The Scientist II position in product performance requires a strong culinary baking background to develop and validate foodservice case instructions and package product preparation directions, ensuring safe and high-quality consumption-ready products for our operators and customers. This role involves overseeing and preparing our portfolio of products to ensure food safety, consistency, quality, and the best overall product experience. The ideal candidate will leverage their culinary and foodservice back-of-house knowledge as well as their influencing skills to optimize product preparation processes, design and lead product tolerance and lethality validation testing, and serve as a critical business partner to the NAF team.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Subject Matter Expertise: The role requires a deep understanding of culinary and foodservice operations, including back-of-house procedures, equipment, and operator behavior. The individual will serve as the product performance representative and ensure food safety, quality, and the best overall product experience.
• Product Validation: This individual will design and execute product tolerance and lethality testing to ensure safe, effective product preparation to create a quality food product. They will lead the daily activities of the execution work team assigned to each product performance and lethality test.
• Instruction Development: A primary accountability is to advance product placement with operators by providing clear and concise baking case and package instructions that align with equipment and technical ability of customers.
• Collaboration: This role involves working closely with cross-functional teams including culinary, marketing, R & D, quality, and supply chain.
• Technical Expertise: Will interpret tolerance testing and lethality validation results in the context of business risk, key product attributes, quality measures and operator/consumer expectations. They will be a technical coach on product performance principles, methodology, and best practices.
• Facilitation: The product performance lead will facilitate product performance business team product reviews for hand-on product experience and business team decision making.
• Communication: The ITQ Scientist II will effectively communicate test results, findings, and recommendations to various ITQ stakeholders as well as guide business teams to next steps in the product development process.
• Agility: Support all types of cross-functional needs and adjust work schedule as ITQ business dictates.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Associate or Bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts, Culinology, Food Science, or Applied Food Studies.
• Two years of applicable work (food service back-of-house) experience in culinary such as restaurant, bakery, retail, or food; food service baked goods product development and/or food service baked goods food safety and quality.
• Strong culinary and baking skills, knowledge of back-of-house operations, and experience with food service product preparation.
• Holistic understanding of food safety, tolerance testing, lethality methodology, product quality, and operator behavior.
• Proficient in independently planning, executing test plans, prioritizing business needs, and leading through others.
• Effective verbal, written, facilitation, and influence skills.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Five years of applicable work (food service back-of-house) experience in culinary such as restaurant, bakery, retail, or food; food service baked goods product development and/or food service baked goods food safety and quality.
• Deep expertise in baked goods and/or foodservice product quality, formulation or back of house culinary operations with a variety of types of products
• Understanding of back of house operator behavior with GMI food service products.
• Strong applied sensory acuity skills for product quality assessments.
• Experience conducting tolerance and lethality testing methodology.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate complex organizations.
• Proven business partnering skills with cross-functional teams inclusive of Marketing, Consumer Insights, Research and Development, Quality, Supply Chain, and other key functions.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

• In ITQ, we are relied on to bring expertise and continuity to our business. It takes time to build the type of deep expertise that drives innovation and helps build bold brands. We will all consistently need several cycles of success to truly have an impact and develop key skills and capabilities. As you apply for new roles, it is important for you to know that we expect a minimum of 24 months in role to ensure you are set up to drive impact and results.
• Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. General Mills will not sponsor applicants for a U.S. work visa.
• Relocation support will not be offered to applicants within the United States.
• International relocation or international remote working arrangements (outside of the US) will not be considered.

We exist to make food the world loves. But we do more than that. Our company is a place that prioritizes being a force for good, a place to expand learning, explore new perspectives and reimagine new possibilities, every day. We look for people who want to bring their best - bold thinkers with big hearts who challenge one other and grow together. Because becoming the undisputed leader in food means surrounding ourselves with people who are hungry for what's next.