Starter Culture Development Scientist (DSR)

Job Description

The newly established IFF Innovation Center in Dangé-Saint-Romain (France-86) is hosting its Research Cultures R&D Group who provides expertise on lactic acid bacteria and enzymes to support the commercialization of new starter cultures for the fermented food industries with a big focus on dairy. These starter cultures are based on carefully selected microorganisms which are associated together in relevant food model to meet customer needs in term of new and/or improved functionalities (acidification control, texture modulation, flavor development, bacteriophage resistance…).

The Starter Culture Development group is looking for and Experienced Scientist to support the development of new starter cultures for the dairy industry with ideally an emphasize on the cheese category. Building on state-of-the-art capabilities and experienced people, the candidate will leverage our knowledge on Lactic Acid Bacteria to design innovative solutions to address the market needs. The candidate will design relevant microbial solutions (strain combinations) through testing such prototypes in relevant food model, applying the right screening methodology and/or processes as well as measuring functionalities in the best possible manner.
  

Description

The candidate will have proven experience in international project management and a strong ability to work with diverse teams (R&D, process development, application, business…). Autonomous, people oriented, and with a strong passion for food science, the candidate will take ownership in developing innovative solutions.

Responsibilities are:

• Manage starter culture development projects and coordinate work of different teams ;
• Provide guidance and support to technicians for their experimental work ;
• Seek ways to contribute to team efficiency as well as develop new and or improved methods/processes ;
• Design experiments to evaluate strains functionality and strain associations ;
• Maintain and identify opportunities for improvement of a high-quality research infrastructure.

Job Requirements

Education / Experience

• The candidate will have an Engineer/Master degree in Food Science/Microbiology / Ph. D in the field of microbiology, biotechnology would be a plus ;
• A minimum of 5 years experience in project management is a pre-requisite ideally in an international Food/Biotech company ;
• Good knowledge of the dairy (cheese) processes will be a big plus.

Competencies:

The candidate will have studied microbiology and/or food science, preferably in dairy applications

• Ability to network, work in a team and with strong communication skills ;
• Experience in Project management is a must ;
• Degree in Microbiology or related life science discipline required.;
• A scientific mindset is required and understanding of molecular biology and biochemistry techniques would be a plus ;
• Knowledge in cheese technology would be a plus ;
• Knowledge on data treatment/statistics would be a plus (JMP/Minitab).

The position being located in France (Dangé-Saint-Romain), the candidate will be able to speak french or show a strong ability to learn French. IFF being an international company, the candidate will have to be fluent in English.