R&D Section Manager, Food Sensory

R&D Section Manager, Food Sensory

Land O'Lakes is seeking a visionary sensory science leader to lead our Food Sensory team in the Dairy Foods R&D organization.

This role is responsible for advancing sensory science as a strategic business capability while developing a high-performing team of scientists and technical professionals.

This leader will combine deep scientific expertise with people leadership to shape the future of sensory science within our R&D organization.

The successful candidate will elevate the team's impact on innovation, product development, consumer experience, manufacturing and product quality, as well as input into business decision-making across the Dairy Foods portfolio.

Key Responsibilities:

Build and Lead a High-Performing Team



* Lead, coach, and develop a team of sensory scientists, technologists, sensory panel leaders, and support personnel.



* Create an engaging, inclusive, and high-accountability culture that promotes collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.



* Build succession plans and individual development plans to strengthen organizational capability.



* Serve as the central connector for sensory science with key internal and cross functional partners (ex.

Other R&D Teams, Marketing Research, Product Development, Quality, Manufacturing and Packaging) by maintaining strong wiring connections, enforcing roles & responsibilities, and holding teams accountable

Set the Scientific Vision



* Along with the Foundational Sciences R&D Director, establish the technical direction and long-term strategy for sensory science at Land O'Lakes Dairy Foods R&D.



* Ensure adoption of best-in-class sensory methodologies, statistical approaches, and closely follow emerging technologies.



* Advance sensory science capability through focused and strategy-aligned research, external partnerships, and thought leadership.



* Serve as Dairy Foods primary expert and champion for sensory science.

Drive Business Impact



* Ensure sensory insights directly influence formulation decisions, commercialization strategies, product quality, and consumer acceptance.



* Translate complex scientific findings into actionable recommendations for senior leaders and business partners.

Lead Strategic Portfolio Management



* Own prioritization and resource allocation across the sensory portfolio.



* Balance near-term business needs with long-term capability development.



* Drive continuous improvement in project intake, execution, and knowledge management.



* Ensure efficient utilization of team resources while maintaining the necessary scientific rigor at all levels of projects and activities.

Foundation Science Data Integration



* Establish governance for sensory + analytical data interoperability (shared identifiers, metadata standards, controlled lexicon conventions, data quality checks) to enable advanced analytical modeling at scale.



* Partner with ...