Food Scientist

Salary: $70,000 to $80,000 annually

Job Type: Full time, 18 month contract

Shift & Schedule: M-F Days, flexibility required for trials and production runs

Work Location: Troubled Monk Beverage Company, Red Deer, AB

Application Details: Must include cover letter

Troubled Monk is a growing craft beverage company rooted in community and creativity. We're seeking a skilled and motivated Food Scientist to help build our internal food science capability and strengthen our ready to drink beverage innovation pipeline.

Job Description:

The Food Scientist holds a pivotal role in our organization, helping us develop and scale ready to drink alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages with greater confidence in shelf life, safety, consistency, and flavor quality. This position demands strong expertise in beverage formulation, shelf life evaluation, sensory analysis, and pilot to production scale up. The ideal candidate will be a hands on problem solver who can turn technical findings into practical production guidance.

Key Responsibilities:

Beverage Formulation and Shelf Life Development

- Design and execute formulation trials for RTD alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages, including tea based, soda, and other emerging concepts

- Plan and conduct shelf life, stability, and challenge studies; evaluate pH, sweetness, alcohol content, preservation approach, sensory performance, and microbial risk

- Assess ingredient functionality and preservation strategies to improve flavor, appearance, and commercial stability

- Organize sensory evaluations and interpret data to guide reformulation and improve predictability during product development

Scale-Up and Manufacturing Support

- Translate bench and pilot scale formulas into repeatable production methods for internal manufacturing and external co pack or contract manufacturing partners

- Support pilot runs, plant trials, and validation runs; adjust formulas and process parameters to maintain consistency across different equipment and facilities

- Troubleshoot formulation and processing issues related to stability, flavor drift, haze, sedimentation, separation, carbonation, or other quality failures

- Collaborate with brewing, distilling, production, quality, sales, and marketing teams to align technical work with commercialization goals

Documentation and Technical Collaboration

- Maintain accurate records of formulations, specifications, variables tested, observations, and trial outcomes

- Prepare technical reports, SOPs, and launch ready documentation for scaled manufacturing

- Work with ingredient suppliers, labs, and external food science or manufacturing partners to evaluate materials, technologies, and troubleshooting options

- Support food safety, regulatory, and labeling requirements related to beverage development and ingredient use

Skills and Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related field; advanced degree is an asset

- Experience in beverage or liquid food product development is an asset

- Experience with formulation development, shelf life testing, sensory evaluation, and pilot to commercial scale up

- Strong understanding of ingredient functionality, beverage processing, food safety, and quality systems

- Experience working with co packers, contract manufacturers, or multi-site production environments is an asset

- Strong analytical, documentation, project management, and collaborative problem solving skills

Benefits

- Company Health & Dental Benefits with Employee Assistance Program

- Monthly bar tab and staff discounts

- Company and industry events

- 2 weeks paid vacation

*Applications without a cover letter will not be considered

If you're a growth minded food scientist who thrives in a fast paced, community driven environment, we'd love to hear from you. Please submit your resume and cover letter detailing your experience and why you're a strong fit for Troubled Monk.

Job Types: Full-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 18 months

Pay: $70,000.00-$80,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company events
• Dental care
• Disability insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Extended health care
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Store discount
• Vision care

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Red Deer, AB T4N 1L2: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Application question(s):

• Are you located in Alberta?

Language:

• English (required)

Location:

• Red Deer, AB T4N 1L2 (preferred)

Work Location: In person