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Role Description

Be at the forefront of creating and optimizing the best (and better for you) candy in the market.

This is an exciting opportunity to help build JOYRIDE’s new lab from the ground up. As the company’s first Food Scientist, you will play a key role in establishing lab capabilities and foundational processes while shaping the future of product development. You will focus on optimizing existing products within the current JOYRIDE portfolio, with future opportunities to contribute to innovation initiatives. This role partners closely with the Founder, contract manufacturing teams, and external R&D resources to bring better-for-you candy to life.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the optimization of existing SKUs, improving formulation, functionality, cost, scalability, and overall product performance while supporting broader innovation initiatives.
• Develop and refine product concepts within the innovation pipeline, with a primary focus on enhancing current offerings.
• Research and evaluate new and alternative ingredients based on functional properties (e.g., solubility, stability, texture) to improve existing products and form factors.
• Coordinate and follow up on samples, prototypes, and test batches, ensuring timely execution and cross-functional alignment.
• Lead product tastings and sensory evaluations; design tests, analyze data statistically, and document results to inform decision-making.
• Collaborate with contract manufacturers to replicate and refine formulations, troubleshoot production challenges, and ensure consistency at scale.
• Support Quality and Operations with product specifications, change controls, and label initiation documentation.
• Contribute to cross-functional brainstorming, troubleshooting, and innovation discussions to support long-term platform growth.
• Participate in cross-functional meetings to understand customer insights, business priorities, and overall company strategy, ensuring R&D efforts align with growth goals.
• Serve as primary internal resource providing guidance and support for product development, and staying ahead of confectionery trends, emerging technologies, novel ingredients, and packaging advancements.
• Maintain and expand professional and technical expertise through regulatory training, industry workshops, publications, professional networks, and relevant associations.
• Support broader company growth initiatives and collaborate effectively with internal stakeholders across teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Biology, Chemistry, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in R&D, product development, or food manufacturing.
• Proven success commercializing products featuring reduced sugar formulations and/or novel ingredients.
• Advanced expertise in confectionery, including gummies, formulation development, and plant-based or alternative sweeteners, with a demonstrated track record of creating “better-for-you” ingredient profiles.
• Hands-on experience in both new product development and product optimization within a commercial manufacturing environment.
• Deep understanding of ingredient functionality, food manufacturing processes, microbiology, quality assurance principles, product evaluation, health and nutrition, and market research practices.
• Strong analytical, written, and organizational skills, with the ability to manage complex technical information and multiple concurrent projects in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent interpersonal and presentation skills; able to collaborate effectively across teams while also working independently.
• Business-minded, with an understanding of the operational and marketing considerations involved in launching new products.
• Adaptable and proactive, with a willingness to take on new challenges and responsibilities as the business evolves.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and performance-based bonuses
• Equity
• Comprehensive health and vision insurance
• PTO
• Opportunities for professional development and career growth