Coffee Beverage Formulator

A Little About Us

Oats Overnight is changing the way people eat breakfast, and since launching in 2016, our high protein spoon-free oatmeal has been enjoyed by over 1,000,000 customers. We are scaling quickly in both direct-to-consumer and retail with the goal of becoming a household brand. We have end-to-end control of all phases of the business, producing and fulfilling the product in-house, which is extremely rare for companies our size. This allows us to create new flavors and products quickly and is a tremendous advantage for our brand – we’re able to give customers a behind-the-scenes look at what we do, highlighting our people and process in content. Being vertically integrated also enables us to incorporate customers directly in the development process.

A Little About How We Do Things

Starting with our founder/CEO and extending to multiple teams across all departments, many of us come from non-traditional backgrounds. This is a superpower – we are not stuck in traditional industry patterns, but instead leverage extreme rationality and first principles thinking to solve problems and find new opportunities. This is a special place to work, and our team is what makes it that way; this is why every employee is also an owner. As such, there is a high level of expectation for all team members.

What We’re Looking For

• Someone that can partner and influence at all different levels
• Not afraid to get out into a manufacturing operations environment to work shoulder-to-shoulder with plant leadership to resolve problems and challenges.
• Ability to handle multiple priorities and navigate in a fast moving environment
• Expectations will be clearly set, but an ambitious approach to the work is key
• Ability to artfully convey even subtle or complex messages clearly, as appropriate for the topic and audience.
• A relentless drive to get things done.
• Curious and entrepreneurial mindset.
• Enjoys working in a highly collaborative and supportive team environment
• Flexible, willing, and quick to learn new processes, new technology, and new ways of thinking.

What’s The Job?

We are looking for an experienced beverage formulator to support our newly introduced Ready To Mix (RTM) coffee beverage product line. This role will be part of our New Product Development team within R&D. The Coffee Beverage Formulator will be responsible for creating new instantized coffee flavor line extensions in addition to improving the overall product quality and consumer liking.

To be successful in this role, you should be able to interpret and apply scientific methodologies to developing new, robust, great-tasting food formulations, know how to translate consumer insights into innovative product opportunities, and understand how to translate business objectives into clear project goals. Top candidates will be team players, passionate about product development, enjoy working with people, energized by accepting challenges as opportunities, and thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. Additionally, the ideal candidate will enjoy mentoring and developing jr. level staff in an open and collaborative environment.

What You’ll Be Doing, Stop Scanning and Read This Part

• Support innovation in the development of new ideas, new products or new product platforms through ideation sessions and bench top experimentation, along with the ability to effectively communicate the concept.
• Work with product management and consumer insights teams to identify and align on product improvement opportunities and new product white space.
• Identify new ingredients to either replace or enhance existing raw ingredient performance in the finished product application in order to create a best in class finished product.
• Perform bench top experiments to test new formula optimizations and work with our sensory department to measure and demonstrate product improvement.
• Perform pre-commercialization trials in our pilot plant to validate new formulas and processing instructions.
• Qualify new product formulation runs through blending and filling at our manufacturing facilities.
• Provide advanced technical solutions to production issues as it relates to ingredient selection, formula development, processing procedures, and specifications to ensure continuous production of existing products while maintaining product quality and safety.
• Evaluate ingredients and processing techniques to identify and commercialize product improvement and cost reduction opportunities.
• Evaluate, confirm acceptability, create/update specifications and implement proposed ingredients or processes for product optimization.
• Document all work according to established procedures and guidelines, provide timely and effective oral and written communication and prepare various project reports to team and project leader to ensure complete communication of project status, progress, issues, solutions, timeline, and accountability.
• Collaborate with, mentor, and guide junior level staff with product and flavor development.

What You’ve Done And Who You Are

• B.Sc. in Food Science, Chemistry, Nutrition, or related discipline.
• Minimum 7 years’ experience formulating RTM instantized coffee powder beverages; preferred 12 years experience
• Experience in mentoring or managing food scientists and technicians
• Expert level proficiency in building complex natural flavors systems using natural bulk sweeteners and natural high intensity sweeteners.
• Expert level experience with formulation software; Genesis is preferred
• Highly acute sense of taste and smell
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Able to lead/teach food product design, formulation, ingredient functionality, process design, product scale-up, plant testing and commercialization.
• Excellent understanding of food industry standards of quality and foods safety, and FDA regulations.
• Proficient in experimental design and application of statistics to interpret experimental data and assess product and process capability.

Why You Might Like Working Here

• This is going to be fun.
• You have the freedom to leverage your own creativity and have a voice.
• Casual, friendly culture. We’re serious about what we do but we don’t take ourselves too seriously.
• We are a fast-growing company, and you will have stock options.
• High growth potential with opportunities to expand
• Free oatmeal. It’s very good.

Why You Might Not Like Working Here

• It’s not a cushy job, the bar is high
• We are growing quickly, and have a fast-paced work environment.

Physical Demands

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Often standing and working in a laboratory environment
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.
• Must be able to work near food ingredients, exposure to food allergens
• Location: inside an R&D laboratory and at times also inside an air-conditioned manufacturing and warehouse environment
• You must be able to safely and successfully perform the essential job functions consistent with the ADA, FMLA, and other federal, state, and local standards
• You must be able to maintain regular, punctual attendance consistent with the ADA, FMLA, and other federal, state, and local standards

The Perks

• Full Benefits; Medical, Dental, Vision and Life
• Generous PTO
• Monday - Friday Schedule
• Weekly Pay
• Stock options, every employee is an owner
• Free, delicious oatmeal

And last but never least….

We value people who roll up their sleeves and support their fellow team members. We embrace diversity and encourage equal opportunity every chance we get, and we look forward to learning from people whose backgrounds, skills, and perspectives challenge and enrich our own.

Oats Overnight provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age,