Staff Scientist Popcorn & Kid Snacking
On-site · Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States
Job Summary
Staff Scientist, R&D – Fried Snacks leads complex product and process development across tortilla chips, potato chips, and other fried snack platforms; serves as a technical expert in dough systems, masa processing, extrusion, frying, oil chemistry, seasoning application, and shelf-life performance. Design experiments, lead commercialization, solve manufacturing challenges, and drive long-term capability development with cross-functional collaboration across Operations, Engineering, Quality, Procurement, Marketing, Consumer Insights, and Sensory. Mentoring junior scientists and advancing Hershey’s salty snack technology roadmap. Requires deep fried-snack expertise, strong cross-functional influence, and communication skills for technical documentation and presentations. Based at Hershey Technical Center with 15–30% travel; travel accommodates plant trials and supplier visits. Minimum education and experience: BS, MS, or PhD in Food Science, Chemical Engineering, Food Engineering, or related fields with 7–10+ years of experience and a strong commercialization track.
Required Qualifications
- BS, MS, or PhD in Food Science, Chemical Engineering, Food Engineering, or related with 7-10+ years of experience
- Experience designing and executing pilot and plant trials
- Experience with sensory evaluation and consumer learning preferred
- Ability to work in lab, pilot plant, and production environments
- Strong track record of successful commercialization from benchtop through plant start-up
- Travel 15–30%
- Demonstrated experience leading technical problem solving in manufacturing environments
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