Vice President, Research & DevelopmentChicago, Illinois, United States

Vice President, Research & Development

Fairlife, LLC is a Chicago-based nutrition company that creates great-tasting, nutrition-rich and dairy products to nourish consumers.

With nearly $3B in annual retail sales, fairlife's portfolio of delicious, lactose-free, real dairy products includes : fairlife ultra-filtered milk ; Core Power High Protein Shakes, a sports nutrition drink to support post-workout recovery; fairlife nutrition plan , a nutrition shake to support the journey to better health.

A wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola company, fairlife, LLC has been recognized by both Fast Company and Nielsen for its industry leading innovation.

The VP, R&D position is vital in the development of fairlife's Research and Development program and key to the company's innovation and continued growth. This position will be responsible for conducting applied research in dairy food process and nutrition. The VP, R&D will lead a team of scientists in the development of innovative projects on time and on budget and will be directly involved with the science and nutrition divisions of Coca Cola, including product development, packaging, and sustainability. This role will be responsible for a variety of tasks that include executing the company's overall technology vision, managing the appropriate development methodologies, and creating an organizational structure that will drive a high performing development team to deliver top-quality solutions to the market. In addition, this role will be responsible for attracting, developing, and retaining top talent for the R&D function. This role is key to the development and expansion of intellectual and proprietary assets for the organization, so a passion for generating new ideas and creating patents is key.

Responsibilities :

• Responsible for continued innovation and discovery of new ingredients / functional foods
• Research and develop new processes for fractionation of milk and techniques to improve stability and texture of beverages
• Research into health benefits of different food components
• Assist in patent research and patent development
• Responsible for the coordination with research centers and universities
• Research new analytical techniques and equipment
• Analyze trends / consumer concerns and perceptions regarding foods, ingredients, and micronutrients
• Direct collaboration with science divisions of Coca Cola including science and nutrition, product development, packaging, and sustainability
• Study scientific research journals to stay current on recent developments in nutritional beverage processing and packaging and related disciplines
• Provide technical support to all processing facilities for the fairlife organization and its subsidiaries and customers
• Educate and train processing and quality control divisions
• Lead in-depth research on raw milk as an ingredient or its components
• Create comprehensive records of all research
• Develop world class dairy / food applied research center
• Develop new processes for manufacturing novel nutritional products
• Maximize intellectual property in processing or recipes of wellness foods
• Expand fairlife laboratories and pilot plant
• Get involved in manufacturing expansion projects

Skills / Qualifications Required :

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements :

Food Safety Requirements :

Position Location : Chicago, IL (onsite)

Reports To : Chief Science Officer

Travel Requirements : 40%, including domestic and international travel

Exempt / Nonexempt : Exempt

Fairlife, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. All qualified applicants and employees will be given equal opportunity. Selection decisions are based on job-related factors. In addition to its nondiscrimination commitment, the Company will also provide reasonable accommodation of qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the Company. If you have a disability and would like to request accommodation in order to apply for a position with us, please email careers@fairlife.com.