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For more than 115 years, Ferrara has created sugar confections that enable moments of sweetness, celebration, and connection for candy lovers of all generations. Today, the company is the #1 sugar confectioner in the United States. Ferrara boasts a passionate team of nearly 9,000 employees creating and delivering hundreds of products sold under 20 popular brands like Brach’s®, NERDS®, SweeTARTS®, Laffy Taffy®, and Trolli® to more than 66 million U.S. households annually and popular Dori snacking products under brands such as Dori, Gomets, Pettiz, and Yogurte 100 in Brazil. Additionally, Jelly Belly, known world-wide for its confections, was acquired in November of 2023.

Product Development Sr. Scientist - Rapid Prototyping

Work Location: Chicago

Want to make an impact?

The Product Development Sr. Scientist – Rapid Prototyping will have primary responsibility for undertaking and executing product development on front-end innovation projects of major importance, complexity, and scope. They should have a passion for innovation, creativity, and generating new ideas. This individual will have a direct impact on Ferrara’s Innovation Pipeline through leading key strategic initiatives and bringing ideas to life in the form of edible prototypes across a variety of brands and candy forms.

Ways you will make a difference

Independently leads various front-end innovation projects or platforms with moderately to highly ambiguous scope and complexity, owning the technical development plan and communication with relevant stakeholders.
Manages multiple priorities at a given time by engaging with Manager to effectively communicate risks and tradeoffs.
Possesses a strong understanding of the innovation process and is able to apply strategic thinking to ownership of key strategic Rapid Prototyping workstreams.
Consistently brings a range of concepts to life through prototypes for early concept development of fuzzy front-end innovation.
Creatively uses a variety of forms of inspiration (e.g. competitive landscaping, category consumer insight, adjacent category innovation, etc.) and translates consumer insights and brand strategy into gold standard prototypes for identification of new innovation projects.
Develops new product formulas of a moderate to high complexity on a bench scale while providing technical expertise and considerations for full scale feasibility.
Actively participates in ideations and collaborative brainstorming sessions by staying informed on new trends and thinking of unique and interesting ideas across the product range.
Has a strong passion for creativity and innovation within a commercially driven environment.
Collaborates with R&D, Industrial Design, and Process Engineering staff to problem solve and suggest innovative solutions.
Consistently utilizes technically sound methodology and problem-solving tools to design experiments and test new ideas.
Observes, evaluates, and concisely and accurately documents experimental data and results leading to robust technical recommendations as well as risk identification.
Provides strong cross-functional partnership with Marketing, Growth Office, Industrial Design, Process Engineering, Project Management, Quality, Food Safety, and Procurement teams to ensure an efficient and successful project execution.
Effectively communicates project status updates directly with key stakeholders and cross-functional partners with project reports and product showcases.
Spends majority of time on-site in Ferrara’s Innovation Lab creating new prototypes (60-100% of the time).
Travel both domestically and internationally (up to 10% of job).
Ensures adherence to all company policies and procedures.
Understands and demonstrates the Company’s core values.
Performs other duties as assigned.

Skills that will make you successful

Strong knowledge of food science, food chemistry, and ingredient functionality with proven ability to think creatively and apply that understanding in new ways for the purposes of innovation prototyping
Strong knowledge of the product development process and proven ability to prototype new ideas and develop commercially successful food products
Creative thinker with a passion for bringing concepts to life through gold standard prototype development based on innovation input inspiration (e.g. brand strategy, competitive product, consumer insights, etc.)
Passion for front-end/early innovation and product development
Strong technical competencies with attention to detail and ability to problem solve
Self-starter/self-motivated with a drive for results
Highly efficient at planning with experience working under tight timelines
Agile mindset with ability to balance competing priorities and manage ambiguity in fast evolving white space product development
Great understanding/appreciation of the broader business environment with ability to apply technical and commercial knowledge during project execution
Very strong interpersonal skills with ability to communicate, influence, and build effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders from different levels, backgrounds, and cultures
Ability to explain complex technical issues / solutions to a non-technical audience
Enjoys working in results oriented, collaborative team environment
Comfortable operating lab scale equipment and spending majority of time on-site in a lab environment (60-100% of the time)
Able to travel up to 10%, domestically and internationally

Experiences that will support your success

B.S. Food Science or related field required. M.S. or Ph.D. in Food Science or related field preferred with 5+ years of relevant work experience in product development in the food industry
Experience in rapid prototyping and/or fuzzy front-end development of prototypes preferred
Experience in confections, culinary, or pastry preferred
Excellent written and verbal communication skills (bilingual if possible: Spanish preferred).
Strong mathematical skills.
Strong computer skills – including proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite and SAP.

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What We Offer

At Ferrara, we're proud to support our employees with comprehensive benefits that enhance health, financial wellness, and include paid time off (PTO).

Eligible employees may also receive an annual bonus based on company performance.

Learn more about our benefits at https://flimp.live/Ferrara-Candy-2025-OE-QR

Compensation

The salary range for this position is $80,300 - $112,500 annually

Ferrara’s success in industry-leading innovation has been driven by deep consumer insights, strong retailer co-creation and partnerships, and a dedication to diversity of thought, experience, and people. A privately held company, Ferrara has its global headquarters in Chicago and an operational network of more than 27 locations in North America, Brazil, and China that includes manufacturing, distribution, sales, and R&D facilities. Ferrara is a privately held Ferrero related company. Learn more at www.ferrara.com or www.linkedin.com/company/ferrara-.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. In order to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees, employment decisions and opportunities at Ferrara will be based on merit, qualifications, and abilities, without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital or civil union status, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, military or veteran status, disability, handicap, genetic information, pregnancy (childbirth or related medical condition), or on any other basis prohibited by law. This policy governs all aspects of employment, including selection, job assignment, compensation, discipline, termination, and access to benefits and training.