Senior Scientist, Product Development- Wellbeing Collective

WHO ARE WE?

We are the Global Health & Wellbeing (H&W) team at Unilever. We are a start-up (less than 3 years old), focused on one of Unilever’s largest growth opportunities – the €140bn Health & Wellbeing space defined by Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements (VMS).

We work in an agile and entrepreneurial way, collaboratively within the team and with our Unilever colleagues around the world. We work in a project based networked way where everyone needs to be able to take a step back and think strategically as well as rolling up their sleeves and get their hands dirty, to be entrepreneurial and experiment as well as bringing in the best of Unilever and work the structures of a large company, to take charge and lead as well as follow and support others.

OUR BUSINESS

Unilever’s Health & Wellbeing Group holds the company’s functional dietary supplement brands and the portfolio of brands that includes Equilibra (Italy) and US acquired brands Olly, LiquidIV, SmartyPants, Welly, Onnit. Each brand is completely unique and focused on giving consumers superior experiences within their respective spaces and target segments. For the acquired businesses, we are committed to continue growing this strategic business for Unilever through international expansion of the acquired brands, utilizing Unilever’s scale and network in the markets.  

JOB DESCRIPTION OVERVIEW

The Product Development Scientist, Health & Wellbeing will be responsible for supporting the development of the best-in-class formulations to aid the growth ambition for the Health & Wellbeing Collective – specifically in relation to new product development and new market entry and the establishment of an external ecosystem technical partners/capabilities. The role will have cross functional interactions and coordination across Marketing, Supply chain, SEAC, Quality, Regulatory and external Contract labs & Raw material suppliers to ensure timely delivery of the objectives.

The role will be required to provide technical support related to formulation development and would cover a broad range of challenges – from designing consumer preferred robust formulas, to developing raw material and finished product spec, scaling up by leveraging external Contract labs and Collaborative manufacturers.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Support Formulation design work for innovations to deliver superior, design to value and consumer winning products.

• Work seamlessly with other R&D functions (packaging, Consumer Technical Insights, processing, regulatory teams) to ensure delivery on assigned projects.

• Ensuring statutory regulatory & legal compliances for products & process.

• Responsible for identifying and establishing appropriate technology for manufacturing products to specification at lab-scale and pilot-scale.

• Responsible for scaling up to factory with relevant transfer of technology documentation and training factory team.

• Responsible for specification, formulation, process, pack, and Quality Assurance regimes to support / enforce these specs agreed technical action standards.

• Provide support to conduct shelf-life studies to establish shelf-life of new products and/or intervene through formulation/recipes to enhance shelf-life.

• Use appropriate analytical techniques (either existing or develop new techniques) to characterize key physical attributes of the product.

• Appreciating and engaging with marketing team constantly for insights and translating them into product properties & performance.

• Anticipate assessment and minimization of environmental, safety, regulatory, PR and competitive challenges.

• Build and maintain strong networks with cross functional (Brand, CMI, SC, CQA etc) teams.

KEY EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Bachelor’s degree required in Pharmacy/Science. Master’s degree (Science/Pharmaceutics/Industrial Pharmacy) would be preferred.

• 5-6 years’ experience in formulation development or technology development (Dietary supplement/OTC products experience would be preferred).

• Good understanding of Product development Principles – formulation development for consumer-friendly ingestible dosage forms such as Functional Powders, Mouth-dissolving films, Effervescent tablets etc., material understanding, product scale up, ingredient sources and GMP.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, ability to work well with others, and ability to plan and execute work independently with minimal supervision.

• Ability to support projects with multiple external parties including contractors, research partners, manufacturing facilities, etc.

Pay: The pay range for this position is $86,080 to $129,120. Unilever takes into consideration a wide range of factors that are utilized in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, qualifications and education, and other business and organizational needs. 

Bonus: This position is bonus eligible. 

Long-Term Incentive (LTI): This position is LTI eligible. 

Benefits: Unilever employees are eligible to participate in our benefits plan. Should the employee choose to participate, they can choose from a range of benefits to include, but is not limited to, health insurance (including prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage), retirement savings benefits, life insurance and disability benefits, parental leave, sick leave, paid vacation and holidays, as well as access to numerous voluntary benefits. Any coverages for health insurance and retirement benefits will be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans and associated governing plan documents. 

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Unilever is an organization committed to diversity and inclusion to drive our business results and create a better future every day for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal law and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. 

For more information about your Federal rights, please see Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination isIllegal and Pay Transparency Non discrimination Provision.

Employment is subject to verification of pre-screening tests, which may include drug screening, background check, credit check and DMV check.

If you are an individual with a disability in need of assistance at any time during our recruitment process, please contact us at NA.Accommodations@unilever.com. Please note: This email is reserved for individuals with disabilities in need of assistance and is not a means of inquiry about positions or application statuses. The Protected Veterans or Individuals with Disabilities AAP narratives are available for inspection by any employee or applicant for employment Monday through Friday during normal business hours at establishment.