Everyone on our Research & Innovation team shares a passion for innovation, new formulations, new processes, new packaging, and new ways of thinking. By joining this team, you will use your scientific and technical expertise to help bring health through food, meet evolving consumer needs, and support growth for the dairy yogurt business. We are currently looking to hire a Food Scientist I based in Louisville, CO.

This role will support the development and commercialization of fermented dairy products, with a focus on creating winning yogurts grounded in consumer, market, and technical understanding. The Food Scientist I will support and/or lead lower-complexity innovation, renovation, productivity, and business-continuity projects while managing key R&I deliverables across the product development life cycle with guidance from senior team members.

The position spans ideation, rapid prototyping, hands-on bench and analytical work, pilot plant and industrial trials, product and process design, scale-up, launch support, specifications, formula cost management, sensory and analytical evaluation, and stage-gate progression. The candidate will work closely with Brand Marketing, Quality and Food Safety, Regulatory, Procurement, Planning, Engineering, Manufacturing, external suppliers, and other cross-functional partners to represent R&I interests and bring a consumer-centric, technically grounded approach to yogurt development.

In this role, you will be responsible for:

• Support the dairy yogurt business by applying R&I strategy, foundational food science, and structured product-development methods to execute projects.
• Manage and deliver lower-complexity innovation, renovation, productivity, and business-continuity projects using the stage-gate process, with clear ownership of R&I timelines, milestones, deliverables, and follow-up actions.
• Translate consumer and business needs into product and process design criteria, including sensory attributes, nutrition, food safety, quality, cost, and manufacturing requirements.
• Develop and optimize yogurt formulations and processes, including ingredient functionality, fermentation, texture, flavor, and stability, to deliver targeted product performance.
• Plan and execute bench, pilot, and plant trials for new and improved products; analyze results, identify trends and risks, and provide clear conclusions and recommendations for next steps.
• Support industrial scale-up and commercialization in partnership with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality and Food Safety, Regulatory, Marketing, Procurement, Planning, and other cross-functional teams.
• Develop and maintain formulas, finished-product specifications, processing procedures, raw-material requirements, and supporting technical documentation to enable launch readiness and consistent product quality.
• Organize samples and tasting sessions, support consumer-test sample production, and coordinate analytical and sensory evaluations, including shelf-life follow-up, to confirm product performance against defined targets.
• Collaborate with ingredient, culture, flavor, fruit-preparation, and other technical suppliers by preparing briefs, coordinating samples and trial materials, reviewing results, and providing feedback.
• Troubleshoot product and process challenges with internal partners and external suppliers, document learnings, and identify practical technical solutions and contingency plans.
• Support R&I activities during product launch and start-up, ensuring required product and process documentation is complete and available before commercialization.
• Maintain an organized, safe, and efficient laboratory workspace and follow applicable food safety, quality, regulatory, and documentation requirements.

The salary range for this position is $65,000.00 – $93,000.00 USD. The exact salary offered will depend on several factors, including the candidate’s relevant experience, geographic location, internal equity, and market conditions.  Danone North America additionally offers a performance-based bonus and has a strong benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, Prescription Drug Coverage, 401k Plan, Wellness Program, Life Insurance, Tuition Reimbursement, Flexible Time Off, and Paid Parental Bonding Leave, among other benefit plan options. To give our employees flexibility, Danone is a hybrid work environment.

Flexible Time Off, and Paid Parental Bonding Leave, among other benefit plan options.

About you

• B.S. in Food Science, Dairy Science, or a closely related field; M.S. preferred, with 1-3 years of experience in product and/or process development in the food industry.
• Foundational understanding of food science and product development principles, with the ability to apply scientific thinking to formulation, process, and product-performance challenges.
• Preferred knowledge or experience in dairy and/or fermented products, including yogurt formulation, fermentation, industrial processing, and manufacturing practices.
• Hands-on capability in rapid prototyping, bench development, pilot trials, industrial trials, analytical testing, sensory evaluation, and commercialization support.
• Demonstrated excellence in execution, with strong organization and attention to detail, and the ability to consistently deliver high-quality work across multiple priorities, project timelines, trial logistics, data, and technical documentation.
• Ability to analyze technical and statistical data, identify meaningful trends, and translate findings into practical recommendations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work effectively across R&I, Marketing, Quality and Food Safety, Regulatory, Procurement, Planning, Engineering, and Operations.
• Open-minded, curious, self-driven, and creative team player with a strong growth mindset and willingness to learn.
• Proficiency with product development systems and general computer applications.
• Flexibility to travel (25%) & willingness to support plant trials outside of business hours. 

Life at Danone

With 5,000 employees across two headquarters and 10+ U.S. manufacturing locations, Danone offers a vibrant culture, meaningful work and growth opportunities that make employees proud to be Danoners.
Rooted in our mission to bring health through food to as many people as possible, Danone is proud to be the world’s largest B Corp. Learn more about Life at Danone

Our Brands

When you join Danone USA, you’ll work with some of the best known food and beverage brands in the world, including Activia®, Danimals®, Oikos®, Silk®, Dannon®, evian®, International Delight®, STŌK® Cold Brew Coffee®, and more. View our full lineup of brands.

Our Benefits

Our benefits support your physical, mental, financial and family wellbeing through health coverage, flexible time off, retirement savings, family care support and more. Learn more about our benefits.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Danone USA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. It is our policy to give equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to legally protected characteristics, or any other consideration made unlawful by applicable federal, state/provincial and/or local law. For our EEO policy statement and your EEO rights under law click here.

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