Job title: Research Scientist – Botanical Formulation

Department / Division: Nutrition Center of Excellence / Innovation & Science

Salary Range: $92,196/yr – $119,313/yr, plus bonus

Location: Ada, MI (hybrid)

*You must be able to report to the Ada, MI headquarters at least 3 times per week

What we are looking for:

We are looking for a Research Scientist who has experience developing botanical ingredients to join our Innovation and Sciences (I&S) team. In this role, your main goal will be to formulate the botanical ingredients that go into our globally distributed portfolio of products. Working on this team offers an opportunity unlike any other experience because of our scientific capabilities and full vertical integration capabilities: from farm to finished good. In your role, you will be supporting innovative science in botanical research and development, leading your own botanical innovations, and helping us incorporate those innovations into products that launch in markets around the world.

As a Formulation Scientist, you will:

• Develop new innovative ideas and ingredient prototypes
• Lead the innovation and assessment of new ingredients and processes for product development
• Work with a diverse, collaborative cross-functional team of experts to design, develop, and optimize formulations that meet customer needs and regulatory requirements
• Review scientific literature to further understand development requirements and ingredient efficacy
• Design experiments, and lead bench-scale and pilot-scale trials in our labs to convert plant feedstocks into functional botanical ingredients
• Thoroughly document trials, interpret data and technical outcomes, refine outputs for further development as needed, and develop specifications
• Collaborate externally with agriculture facilities, co-manufacturers, strategic business partners, and academic institutions
• Prepare and present technical reports, documents, and presentations to support product development and regulatory submissions
• Become familiar with our development pipeline, existing portfolio of ingredients, products, and our global network of internal I&S resources

Your key deliverables will be:

1. Ensuring your botanicals meet the profile and cost parameters for product launches.
2. Delivering botanical ingredient innovations; finding new ways to deliver, new ingredients, new partnerships, better efficacy, etc.

Required qualifications:

• Industry experience in botanical (plant-based) ingredient design, plant sciences, natural product chemistry
• Minimum of 1 year of professional experience as well as a Master’s of Science or a PhD in plant chemistry, plant sciences, botany, chemical engineering, or related science/engineering discipline           
  • A Bachelor’s degree and 3 years of experience is also acceptable
• Preferred experience: Understanding of botanical processing/extraction; Understanding of plant phytochemistry; familiarity with the pharmacognosy process

Skills to be successful in the role:

• Proven exposures in scouting new technologies, ingredient assessments, formula and delivery form design, and product profile design

• Progressive experiences in formulation design from bench top development, to pilot scale up, thru manufacturing/commercialization
• Strong communication skills with talent to work both independently and with a team, as well as cross culturally
• Ability to lead an guide technical projects while collaborating with team members
• Hands-on experience with leading lab/pilot plant experiments
• Customer focused mindset

This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship

What’s special about this team:

Amway is the leading direct selling company in the world, and its global Innovation & Science team delivers new product development for our global markets around the world. This team of technical professionals are tasked to deliver innovation into botanical ingredient development to foster new products that fuel the product portfolios in nutrition and beauty/skincare. Working closely with our Amway owned botanical farms, partner suppliers and farms, global network of I&S researchers, and our manufacturing operations, this team reports to a Manager of Plant Ingredient Chassis Development. Working on this team offers an opportunity unlike any other experience supporting global botanical research and development for new and innovative products.