Sensory Scientist

The Sensory Scientist reports to the Sensory UX Innovation Manager, Asia Pacific and South African (APACSA) and is based in Delhi, India.

This role applies sensory and consumer/customer research best practices and methodologies, to provide guidance and insights to McCain's regional and local ProductDevelopment teams throughout the stage gate process.

This position is a key member of a Asia Pacific and South African (APACSA) regional Sensory UX team and provides direction and training to various stakeholders on all sensory aspects of products. The Sensory Scientist partners with cross-functional teams to integrate sensory practices and testing, where appropriate, throughout the product development process.

The role is responsible for using and creating sensory Consumer/customer and analytical methods to guide product development, enable successful innovation launches and guide renovation efforts. The Sensory Scientist designs and leads testing plans with scientific rigor,issues reports and creates actionable recommendations to stakeholders.

- The Sensory Scientist collaborates with R&D, Marketing, Consumer Insights, Operations, and other internal and external partners on new products, processes, quality improvements and cost savings to drive Company's profitable growth.

- As part of the Global Sensory and User Experience team, the Sensory Scientist also works with internal team members to expand Company's global sensory capabilities. This includes the optimization and standardization of sensory tools and the development of new orhybrid methods. It also includes developing new training materials, assessing and onboarding new vendors, identifying and closing gaps the company has in regard to its sensory needs, and contributing to investigations regarding the linkage between sensory methods or attribute intensities to instrumental test methods.

- The position executes and reports sensory and consumer/customer research studies. As such, the Sensory Scientist builds and maintains strong relationships with core vendors, supervises the application of best scientific practices by such vendors and manages test costs and timelines.

- This position is based in the Corporate office.(Gurgao) Ad hoc travel to regional plants and research venues (including Research Agency sites, Universities etc) may be required (eg for product tastings/review and other R&D focused activities as required).

Core Accountabilities/Outcomes:

1. Partners with Consumer Insights, Research and Development, Marketing, Packaging, Supply Chain, and other business and product teams to guide the optimization of innovation products, product improvements, and define product quality as part of building consumer led specifications.

2. Drives projects through appropriate product and packaging consumer/customer and sensory learning plans from optimization to confirmatory testing, inclusive of building foundational product knowledge, protecting product quality, and enhancing consumer/customer understanding.

3. Facilitates consumer/customer interactions to grow consumer/customer empathy. Examples of this include meetings with Customers to review and define product development briefs and sensory review of stimulus, as well as leveraging any consumer/customer research being conducted by Sensory UX or Consumer Insights, to bring exposure of the internal Company R&D team to the consumer.

4. Facilitates the running of robust, objective, and fit for purpose, round table/cook ups With relevant Company R&D/Technical Operations/Quality/Commercial team members, to make the right decisions at the right time regards prototypes, market samples etc, and/orto educate and immerse the team in product/category insight.

5. Courageously champions product design and product quality as the sensory representative on the Research & Development and business teams.

6. Further strengthens best sensory practices within the Research & Development teams and provoke a 'sensory' and 'experimental' mindset.

7. Applies design of experiments (DoE) to sensory and consumer/customer testing.

8. Translates data to insights through synthesis of qualitative consumer/customer learning and interpretation of statistical analyses of quantitative sensory and consumer/customer data.

9. Communicates key findings in a relevant and easy to understand manner and guide business teams to next steps in the product development process.

10. Develops and fosters strong relationships with key sensory and consumer testing vendors (including research agencies, Universities etc) to ensure flawless execution of tests and appropriate pricing.

11. Partners with the business to activate Product Stewardship programs. These focus on measuring and understanding the competitive space (internally or using external Trained Panel and consumer/customer research) and giving actionable guidance, that may lead to renovation activities.

12. Works with The Sensory UX Innovation Manager, APACSA, to forward the Sensory UX agenda through the region.

Required qualifications and experience:

- Bachelor degree in Sensory Science, Food Science, Statistics, Psychology, or related field, Master degree with emphasis in Sensory Science preferred.

- Minimum 4 years of sensory and consumer research experience across a range of research techniques.

- Experience planning and executing sensory and/or consumer research in partnership with Research & Development and Consumer Insights is preferred.

- Fundamental understanding of applied statistical analysis, including design of experiments and multivariate analysis techniques.

Key Competencies:

General:

- Exceptional interpersonal, collaboration, and influencing skills.

- Strong verbal and written communication skills with ability to communicate effectively with diverse audiences ranging from highly scientific/technical to non-technical personnel and customers. High to moderate level of English required.

- Ability to manage resources and leverage existing data to effectively lead multiple projects.

- Ability to recognize, disseminate, and reconcile information into insights and trends that advance Company's ability to make better business decisions.

- Self-motivated, adapts easily to change.

- Experience in managing external relationships with vendors desired.

Scientific curiosity.

- Engaging individual that encourages the team's experimentation mindset.

Technical:

- Demonstrated track record of supporting the delivery of winning product innovations through providing sensory input that addresses customers' needs.

- Depth of knowledge in all areas of sensory science. This includes experience in the design and activation of analytical sensory techniques (eg Discrimination testing, Descriptive Analysis -Spectrum is a bonus) and quantitative and qualitative consumer research methodologies (eg Focus Groups, Ethnography, CLT's, IHUTs etc). Experience with Operator/Chef/Customer focused research is a bonus. \

- Experience in running internal panels and using tools such as QMA and other mapping approaches, is also required.

- Experience in integrating these methodologies to provide required insights into the business and making recommendations to R&D and the cross functional team.

- Experience in the front end of innovation is a bonus

- Knowledge of Food Chemistry/Biochemistry/Statistics desired.