Principal Scientist, Analytical Science

ROLE DESCRIPTION

This Principal Scientist will serve as an analytical scientist and key area leader in the Analytical group, Global R&D. Global R&D is located at the Tate & Lyle facility in Hoffman Estates, IL (near Chicago). The team is currently composed of a diverse group of experienced scientists with skills in chromatography, spectroscopy, materials science, molecular biology, and chemical analysis.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

The Principal Scientist will be engaged in planning and executing laboratory work to characterize samples, and planning project resources. Leads or acts as a key technical contributor on projects/experiments/research. The Principal Scientist will determine and execute technical approaches required to meet desired objectives. They will demonstrate the ability to apply expertise utilizing complex scientific theory and concepts, to assignment where precedents typically do not exist. The successful candidate should be fully competent in reviewing scientific literature, developing hypothesis, and planning and conducting experiments to confirm or disprove hypothesis. The Principal Scientist will also be expected to engage with internal and external resources to advance technical product development and to provide technical expertise to support existing business in relevant areas. They will develop solutions to complex problems that required the regular use of innovation and creativity in identifying and trying new and different approaches. The Principal Scientist will also be expected to mentor junior scientists and act as a subject matter expert. The Principal Scientist will engage with R&D, Quality, Regulatory, Global Application, and Technical Service teams to ensure analytical work is in accordance with internal processes & metrics and will be responsible for delivery of the analytical work packages against project timelines. The Principal Scientist will lead capability builds in analytical testing and statistic modelling to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of a food ingredient substance or solution to drive successful use of current or new techniques and advance new food product development. Deep understanding and expertise in chromatography, wet chemistry, material science, immunoassays, and various bioanalytical instruments are necessary.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

The successful candidate will have a Ph.D. degree in Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmaceutics, Food Science, Material Science, or related disciplines with 8+ year industrial experience, or an MS degree with 12+ years of industrial experience. Post-doctoral and/or data science training are desired but not mandatory.

The ideal candidate should possess deep knowledge, including the ability to develop and validate new methods for finished products and potentially in-process measurements, in following areas:

• Expertise in separation sciences and proficient in techniques such as HPLC, GC, IC, mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS, MALDI-TOF, LC-QqQ, etc.), ICP, CE, and bioanalytical testing.
• Experience with biological testing including SDS-PAGE, next-generation sequencing, PCR, bioinformatics, etc.
• Expertise in analytical method development/validation and instrument troubleshooting in above areas.
• Experience and previous exposure to food ingredient manufacture, bioengineering, bioconversion, and/or related areas.
• Previous experience in serving as a mentor and role model for other junior scientists (people management experience preferred).
• Previous experience in working within cGMP, GLP, ISO 17025, or other regulated lab environment (at least one-year experience).
• Previous experience in presenting scientific observations to other stakeholders via oral presentations, conference posters, peer-reviewed papers, patent, etc.

The following would also be beneficial to the candidate:

• Experience with regulatory (e.g. for GRAS and EFSA) testing.
• Experience with compositional analysis for fat, moisture, protein, ash, etc.
• Experience with data science, machine learning, statistical analysis, and related programming language (e.g. R or Python) for predictive modelling, Design of Experiments, bioinformatics, and chemometrics.
• Experience in various LIMS and instrument software to perform data entry, analysis, visualization, and interpretation.
• Experience with OMIC analysis (e.g. proteomics) including peptide mapping, amino acid sequencing, and post-translational modification determination using mass spectrometry. Familiar with open-source resources for data interpretation. 
• Experience with correlating analytical data to structure/function and sensory characteristics of food and food ingredients.
• Experience with NIR spectrometers, FTIR spectrometers, UV-Vis spectrometers, NMR instruments, and spectral interpretation.
• Experience with material science instruments such as rheometers, differential scanning calorimeters, dynamic vapor sorption analysers, thermogravimetric analysers, and particle size analysers.

COMPETENCIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

• Safety – An exhibited dedication to safety and commitment to making safety the number one priority.
• Drive – Need to be passionate about his/her work, with a high energy level, strong work ethic, and internal drive for organizational and individual success.  Ability to energize others in a team setting is important. 
• Execution – Demonstrated ability to complete assignments, meeting quality- and time-oriented objectives.   Requires strong skills in timeline development and management.  
• Problem-Solving – Possesses excellent problem-solving skills and should be able to evaluate root causes, and take a systematic, structured view of projects/situations.
• Innovation - Demonstrated creativity, innovation, and ability to problem-solve. 
• Teamwork – Excellent team-work skills, including an ability to work with diverse teams of people with multiple perspectives and talents, capable of functioning as individual contributor or team leader.
• Communication – Excellent communication and listening skills:  should be articulate, with the ability to make arguments in a compelling manner at all organizational levels.
• Customer-Orientation – Customer-centric in approach, be they internal or external customers.  Ability to conduct voice-of-customer interviews with customers to elicit insight on product development needs and product requirements.

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California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA")

The Company is committed to complying with the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and all data privacy and laws in the jurisdictions in which it recruits and hires employees. We collect the following categories of personal information for the purpose of hiring the best qualified applicants and to comply with applicable employment laws: Name and contact information; Job preference and work availability; Social Security Number and/or other identification information; Education and qualifications; Employment history and experience; Military service; Reference and background check information, including relevant criminal history and credit history; Social media information; Pre-employment test results; Post-offer medical examination information and results, including drug test results; Voluntary self-disclosure information regarding minority, veteran, and disability status; and Information provided by you during the hiring process.

Tate & Lyle is an equal opportunity employer, committed to the strength of an inclusive workforce.