Lead Food Technologist

Job Description

We are seeking a highly skilled Lead Food Technologist to drive the development of innovative, high‑quality finished food products that showcase new flavors and technologies. This role blends hands‑on formulation, trend‑driven concept creation, sensory analysis, and cross‑functional collaboration. The ideal candidate brings deep technical expertise, creativity, and leadership within the food development space.

Responsibilities

• Create finished food and beverage products and transferable flavor technologies.
• Develop new food formulations, including specifications, processing instructions, and documentation for filling, mixing, carbonation, and scale‑up.
• Lead beverage flavor innovation by producing prototypes, specifications, and finished product samples.
• Identify and propose flavor, ingredient, and concept ideas for beverage market launches.
• Collaborate with sales, marketing, innovation teams, and food service to support customer projects and brand initiatives.
• Direct and support innovation teams for strategic launches and trend‑driven development.
• Analyze and verify flavor sensory, technical, and lab data to guide formulation decisions.
• Provide documentation for product launches, including specifications, prototypes, and sample submissions.
• Support the transfer of flavor formulations for production across various technologies for food and beverages.

Essential Qualifications

• 8–10+ years of experience in the food and beverage industry, with a strong focus on food development.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Biochemistry, or related field.
• Strong skills in food manufacturing, laboratory testing, and product development.
• Proficiency in Biology and Chemistry.
• Experience developing function beverage systems

Additional Skills

• Leadership experience in a food or beverage environment.
• Expertise in flavor innovation and beverage ingredient performance.
• Experience collaborating with sales, marketing, and technology teams.
• Knowledge of regulations, beverage stability, and processing techniques.

Work Environment

The role is set in a lab environment where you will work in a small, intimate team, mixing flavors and developing products. Employees gain exposure to the entire lifecycle of a flavor, collaborating directly with customers to create the perfect product. This position offers a unique opportunity to work in a family-owned company.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Newport News, VA.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $28.80 - $48.07/hr.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job

classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be

subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits

available for this temporary role may include the following:

• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Newport News,VA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on May 6, 2026.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

At Actalent, diversity and inclusion are a bridge towards the equity and success of our people. DE&I is embedded into our culture through:

• Hiring diverse talent
• Maintaining an inclusive environment through persistent self-reflection
• Building a culture of care, engagement, and recognition with clear outcomes
• Ensuring growth opportunities for our people

Actalent is an equal opportunity employer.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services. For more than 40 years, we’ve helped visionary companies advance their goals. Headquartered in the United States, our teams span 150 offices across North America, EMEA, and APAC—with four delivery centers in India led by 1,000+ extraordinary employees who connect their passion with purpose every day.

Our Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai delivery centers are hubs of engineering expertise, with core capabilities in mechanical and electrical engineering, systems and software, and manufacturing engineering. Our teams deliver work across multiple industries including transportation, consumer and industrial products, and life sciences. We serve more than 4,500 clients, including many Fortune 500 brands. Learn more about how we can work together at actalentservices.com.