Senior Product Development Scientist - Nutrition - Columbus, OH

at  Abbott Laboratories

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 114,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE, YOU’LL BRING

• BS in Food Science or related scientific field required. BS with 8+ years of relevant experience, MS with 4+ years relevant experience, or PhD with 2+ years of relevant experience preferred.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, strong analytical skills, and attention to detail a must.
• Self-starter with a proven ability to work collaboratively on teams and with cross-functional colleagues.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and projects and adapt in a speed oriented, rapidly changing environment.
• Proficient with Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to stand for long periods of time (up to 6 hours) and lift 25 lbs to execute and support R&D trials approximately four times per month on average.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Day to day activities may include but are not limited to the following:

Primary Function:

• Develop nutritional products for commercial launch in global markets by creating new formulations which will deliver improvements to product claims, comply with regulatory requirements and/or reduce product cost.
• Independently lead the technical development of nutritional products of various complexity.

Major Responsibilities:

• Plan and execute experimental designs to optimize the nutrient, microbiological, organoleptic, and physical quality of new and/or improved products while adhering to relevant internal and external constraints.
• Interpret test results and develop conclusions and action plans. Communicate through verbal and written updates and reports.
• Execute commercial production readiness activities on new formulations through the launch of the product.
• Act as lead product developer on cross-functional business teams including Marketing, Operations, Quality, Purchasing, Regulatory and Legal. Lead project Technical Team meetings.
• Serve as product formulation subject matter expert supporting all areas of the business (Marketing, Commercial Operations, Quality Assurance, etc.).

ACCOUNTABILITY/SCOPE:

• Conceive, design, conduct, and lead formulation development efforts for challenging global projects to make them feasible and ready for commercial production.
• Build by growing knowledge and skills and providing relevant guidance to help indirect/direct reports advance in the organization.
• Deliver new and improved products with quality, accuracy, and expediency by executing development plans, providing recommendations and required documents, and identify and communicating levels of risk.
• Innovate by proposing process and/or product improvements that benefit R&D and the customer. Challenge assumptions, problem solve, and determine root cause for technical issues.
• Embrace the organization’s vision and strategy and influence project strategy by understanding the larger business context and creating role-appropriate strategies.