Food Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Job Title: Senior Food Technologist

Location: Santa Cruz County, California

Reports To: VP, Nutraceuticals

My client is a rapidly growing developer and manufacturer of science-backed nutraceutical and functional ingredients serving the dietary supplement, food, beverage, and wellness industries. Their team combines deep technical expertise with a commitment to quality, innovation, and sustainable growth.

My client partners with leading brands to develop high-performance ingredients that support health and wellness applications. Through continuous investment in research, product development, and manufacturing excellence, they are committed to delivering consistent, effective, and differentiated solutions to the marketplace.

Position Summary

My client is seeking an experienced and innovative Senior Food Technologist to support ingredient development, process optimization, and commercialization initiatives across their nutraceutical portfolio located in Santa Cruz County.

This role will play a key part in evaluating ingredient functionality, improving product quality and consistency, supporting manufacturing operations, and developing next-generation ingredient solutions. The ideal candidate combines strong technical expertise in food science with a practical, hands-on approach to product development and process improvement.

This position offers the opportunity to work across R&D, Quality, Regulatory, Operations, and Commercial teams while helping bring innovative health and wellness ingredients to market.

Key Responsibilities

Product & Ingredient Development

• As a Senior Food Scientist, you will lead development and optimization of functional ingredients and nutraceutical & dietary supplement products from concept through commercialization.
• Evaluate ingredient performance, stability, solubility, sensory characteristics, and process compatibility.
• Design and execute laboratory and pilot-scale trials to improve product functionality and quality.
• Support development of new ingredient formats and delivery systems for dietary supplement and functional food applications.
• Identify opportunities for product innovation and technical differentiation.

Process Development & Manufacturing Support

• Collaborate with manufacturing, quality, and engineering teams to improve product consistency and production efficiency.
• Investigate process variables and their impact on product quality attributes.
• Design experiments and analyze results to support continuous improvement initiatives.
• Assist with technology transfer, scale-up, and commercialization activities.
• Troubleshoot manufacturing and quality issues using a data-driven approach.

Quality & Sensory Evaluation

• Establish and maintain product quality standards and evaluation methods.
• Conduct sensory and functional assessments of ingredients and finished products.
• Evaluate production lots for conformance to established specifications.
• Analyze trends related to product quality and recommend corrective actions where necessary.
• Support development of quality control parameters and product specifications.

Technical Leadership

• Maintain awareness of emerging ingredient technologies, processing methods, and industry trends.
• Interpret analytical and product performance data to guide decision-making.
• Prepare technical reports, presentations, and development documentation.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, Sales, Marketing, and Operations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Food Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Nutrition, or related scientific discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in food, nutraceutical, ingredient, dietary supplement, or functional food product development.
• Strong understanding of ingredient functionality, food chemistry, and product development principles.
• Experience supporting commercial manufacturing environments and scale-up activities.
• Demonstrated success managing multiple technical projects simultaneously.
• Ability to be on-site in Santa Cruz County

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, or related field.
• Experience working with powdered ingredients, extracts, concentrates, or specialty nutritional ingredients.
• Experience with sensory evaluation programs and quality systems.
• Familiarity with design of experiments (DOE), process optimization, and statistical analysis tools.
• Knowledge of dietary supplement and food regulatory requirements.
• Already a Senior Food Scientist

Desired Skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively across multiple departments.
• Strong organizational and project management skills.
• Results-oriented mindset with attention to detail.
• Curiosity, creativity, and passion for innovation in health and wellness products.

What's on the table

• Competitive Salary $120,000-145,000
• Medical, Dental, Vision
• 401k + 4% match