R&D Scientist

About Kerry

Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

About the role

 As a Scientist, you will work in the Kerry Protection & Preservation RD&A team. Your role will involve optimizing existing Kerry products and supporting the development of new products aimed at controlling spoilage organisms and pathogens. You will be responsible for serving end-use market projects and strategy projects with the latest technical knowledge.

You will collaborate closely with Food Scientists, Microbiologists, and Business Development experts to deliver the Food Protection strategy. Your responsibilities will include managing projects within Food Protection, screening antimicrobials in broth systems, and designing and executing shelf-life and microbial challenge studies. You will evaluate the performance of clean-label and conventional antimicrobials across various food matrices. Additionally, you will develop collaborations with subject matter experts, industry-leading scientists, and scientific forums to become a leading expert in the Preservation field. Staying current with the latest advancements through literature searches and participation in relevant conferences or online forums is also essential.

Key responsibilities

• Set up, manage, and conduct microbial studies in broth and application, including challenge and shelf-life studies, and inactivation studies across a broad portfolio of food applications.
• Validate the performance of Kerry’s clean-label and conventional antimicrobial products in novel applications and benchmark against competing technologies.
• Coordinate external third-party challenge studies, including materials, data handling, and reporting. Provide input for proper study design and execution.
• Draw conclusions based on experimental data and share with relevant stakeholders (RD&A, Business Development, Product Management, Sales) in a manner fit for the audience.
• Perform periodic reviews of internal challenge study database and present findings to Technical Business Development leaders to identify commercially relevant gaps.
• Build strong working relationships with RD&A colleagues in Kerry Taste and Nutrition food science teams.
• Build a network with research institutes, universities, and external labs to drive the Food Protection strategy.
• Implement and execute Food Protection strategy plans to meet business needs.

Qualifications and skills

M.S. or Ph.D. in Food Safety, Food Microbiology, or a similar field with 1-5 years of work experience in the food preservation field.
Experience in working with meat, bakery, or savory applications is preferred.
Experience with microbial modeling is preferred.

The typical hiring range for this role is $79,199 to $90,000 annually and is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, location, etc.  In addition to your pay, Kerry offers benefits such as a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and retirement contribution (all benefits and incentives are subject to eligibility requirements.