What does a senior food scientist do?
As a senior food scientist, you need to study various properties of food to make sure that they are safe for eating. This is a very serious job, and you need to be sincere such that the food manufacturing standards of the company meet those made by the governmental institutions. You need to test food samples in a laboratory and make sure that the ingredients in the foods are safe for consumers.
You will be responsible for setting the food standards of the company. Moreover, you will also be in charge of working closely with other food production staff, including microbiologists as well as packaging specialists and buyers. To qualify for this position, an appropriate degree in Food Science or nutrition microbiology is required.
Senior food scientist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior food scientist resumes:
- Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.
- Work closely with local government agencies as well as USDA, GIPSA, FDA, USWA and CWB.
- Participate on HACCP team for high acid beverages.
- Maintain continuous improvement effort on HACCP system within manufacturing.
- Key activities include process chemistry development, synthesis of intermediates, compound purification and structure identification, and comprehensive scientific documentation.
- Develop an ELISA biosensor system that detects toxins in food.
Senior food scientist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Senior Food Scientists are proficient in Product Development, Culinary, and Food Processing. They’re also known for soft skills such as Math skills, Communication skills, and Observation skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Food Scientists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Product Development, 16%
Provide product development support specifically on mid-to-long term projects from concept phase.
- Culinary, 9%
Developed menu concepts for culinary focused presentations for both internal and external customers.
- Food Processing, 9%
Conducted supporting on sales and business, contributed to contracts, purchased food processing and logistic equipments.
- Food Products, 8%
Developed brand recognizable frozen food products for National and private label customer brands.
- R, 8%
Designed R-statistical algorithms and wrote R codes to develop numerical regression.
- QA, 6%
Performed physical quality analyses of various food items in on-site QA laboratory.
"product development," "culinary," and "food processing" are among the most common skills that senior food scientists use at work. You can find even more senior food scientist responsibilities below, including:
Math skills. The most essential soft skill for a senior food scientist to carry out their responsibilities is math skills. This skill is important for the role because "agricultural and food scientists, like many other scientists, must have a sound grasp of mathematical concepts." Additionally, a senior food scientist resume shows how their duties depend on math skills: "developed and validated quantitative bioanalytical methods to determine various drugs and metabolites in biological fluids using hplc/ms/ms and uplc/ms/ms methods. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling senior food scientist duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "communication skills are critical for agricultural and food scientists." According to a senior food scientist resume, here's how senior food scientists can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "maintained effective interdepartmental communication regarding product development progress between operations, quality control and marketing/sales departments. "
Observation skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of senior food scientists is observation skills. This skill is critical to many everyday senior food scientist duties, as "agricultural and food scientists conduct experiments that require precise observation of samples and other data." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "coordinated and performed commercial release testing of marketed product at manufacturing site in qc environment to address fda audit observations"
The three companies that hire the most senior food scientists are:
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Compare different senior food scientists
Senior food scientist vs. Enologist
A food technologist is responsible for developing safe and healthy food products, managing convenient food manufacturing processes, and ensuring that the procedures adhere to internal guidelines and state regulations. Food technologists identify ways to improve food preservation methods, as well as strategizing in consumer-friendly packaging and distribution processes. They also research the current food trends and technology advancements according to public demands that would generate more revenue resources and increase the business' profits. A food technologist studies the product's reviews and analyzes techniques for more efficient product preparation.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between senior food scientists and enologist. For instance, senior food scientist responsibilities require skills such as "product development," "culinary," "food processing," and "food products." Whereas a enologist is skilled in "wine," "harvest," "winemaker," and "lab analysis." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Enologists tend to reach lower levels of education than senior food scientists. In fact, enologists are 5.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.8% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Senior food scientist vs. Seafood technology specialist
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, senior food scientist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "product development," "food processing," "r," and "qa." Meanwhile, a seafood technology specialist has duties that require skills in areas such as "gross profit," "food handling," "company sales," and "product knowledge." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Seafood technology specialists tend to reach lower levels of education than senior food scientists. In fact, they're 20.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior food scientists in the next 3-5 years?
Nels Hansen Ph.D.
Department Chair, Brigham Young University – Idaho
Senior food scientist vs. Food technologist
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from senior food scientist resumes include skills like "food processing," "bars," "food service," and "extrusion," whereas a food technologist is more likely to list skills in "food safety," "food preparation," "cleanliness," and "safety standards. "
Food technologists make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $67,596. On the other hand, senior food scientists are paid the highest salary in the education industry, with average annual pay of $90,699.When it comes to education, food technologists tend to earn lower degree levels compared to senior food scientists. In fact, they're 11.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior food scientist vs. Product technology scientist
Types of senior food scientist
Updated January 8, 2025
