Associate Scientist

The Madison Probiotic Development (PD) Stability Team investigates the performance of our probiotics over time, enabling optimal product formulation and ensuring our portfolio meets quality standards. The PD Stability Team is expanding its capabilities, providing an exciting opportunity for an Associate Scientist to join our dynamic scientific team, supporting new and existing stability programs.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate a high level of scientific potential and be self-motivated with a desire to learn. The primary duties of the position will be bacterial enumeration, data analysis and report preparation. The candidate must have proven organizational skills to successfully manage a large sample inventory and ensure samples are tested on time. Communication with stakeholders both internal and external to IFF will be required on a regular basis.

The Associate Scientist will support stability testing and may undertake additional research projects with minimal supervision as time permits. These projects may use standard microbiological techniques or molecular methods to study bacterial viability, new probiotic delivery formats, or customer-specific projects.

This is a hands-on laboratory position with the expectation of working on-site daily. Active participation in weekly lab meetings and occasional oral presentation of project results are mandatory requirements of the position. Media preparation and dish washing are expected on a rotating basis, when necessary. Effective collaboration with PD team members, other IFF employees and external stakeholders is essential to the position. The Associate Scientist may also represent the PD team on various IFF committees and may engage in sitewide activities such as community outreach, educational science fairs, and employee appreciation/recognition events.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Support ongoing stability programs and assist in establishing a new program for spore stability testing (85%)
  • Process stability requests from internal and external stakeholders.
  • Formulate small-scale product material needed to execute stability tests
  • Test samples, analyze results, create reports/CoAs, communicate effectively with stakeholders
  • Ensure proper safety precautions are followed
  • Own responsibility for generated data
• Exploratory research (5%)
• Presentation of results/writing (5%)
• Media prep/dish washing (1%)
• Other job functions as assigned (4%)
• Occasional evening or weekend work may be required

Job Requirements

• B.S. degree in microbiology, molecular biology, biology or related discipline with relevant lab experience
• Proven mastery of microbiological aseptic technique
• Understanding of microbiological enumeration methods
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Proven organizational skills with keen attention to detail necessary to manage samples and data, follow specific SOPs and meet deadlines
• Must be self-motivated with demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Preference will be given to candidates with experience in:
  • Report writing and/or regulatory dossier preparation
  • Working with bacterial spores in a controlled laboratory
  • Animal feed microbiology stability studies

IFF is an Equal Opportunity Employer. At IFF, we believe that your uniqueness unleashes our potential. We value the diverse mosaic of the ethnicity, national origin, race, age, sex, or veteran status. We strive for an inclusive workplace that allows each of our colleagues to bring their authentic self to work regardless of their religion, gender identity & expression, sexual orientation, or disability. Visit IFF.com/careers/workplace-diversity-and-inclusion to learn more.

We are a global leader in taste, scent, and nutrition, offering our customers a broader range of natural solutions and accelerating our growth strategy. At IFF, we believe that your uniqueness unleashes our potential. We value the diverse mosaic of the ethnicity, national origin, race, age, sex, or veteran status. We strive for an inclusive workplace that allows each of our colleagues to bring their authentic self to work regardless of their religion, gender identity & expression, sexual orientation, or disability.

Visit IFF.com/careers/workplace-diversity-and-inclusion to learn more